NEXT, MEMBERSHIP VOTE – PEF Executive Board
members pay close attention as the final tally for the PS&T contract vote
comes in at 91-11, with one abstention. Members will receive ballots in
March for their vote to get the agreement ratified.
— Photo by
Deborah A.
Miles
PEF reaches job-rate parity with CSEA
Tentative agreement abounds with new enhancements
By DEBORAH A. MILES
PEF and the state agreed on a tentative four year-pact February 5 that would give more than 58,000 PEF members in the PS&T unit across-the-board raises, cost-of-living increases for those residing in high-cost areas, and changes to health insurance coverage that include enhanced benefits balanced by some co-pay increases.
“When we took the pulse of our membership prior to the onset of negotiations, we listened and pledged to get the best possible contract,” said PEF President Ken Brynien. “PEF’s contract team worked diligently, intelligently and patiently. The result is a fair contract, one carefully crafted to meet the needs of our members.”
PEF’s Executive Board agreed February 20, when it approved the tentative agreement with a vote of 91-11, with one abstention.
The final leg in getting the contract ratified is determined by the membership vote. Ballots will be mailed March 20 and counted April 10 at the American Arbitration Association in New York City. In the interim, the contract team will meet with members throughout the state to explain and answer any questions about the new pact.
Now, about the deal
The deal, which took nine months to solidify, has similarities to the contracts accepted by the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), the District Council 37 of AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees), and the United University Professions. It also contains PEF-specific enhancements, such as job-rate parity.
“The PEF salary schedule has been a priority for PEF negotiators for more than 20 years,” said PEF Vice President and Contract Chair Lou Matrazzo. “Starting in 2010, the PEF salary schedule will be adjusted so the job rates for salary grades 1 through 25 will be the same for PEF and CSEA. The state will also provide a $1,000 increase at that time in the job rate of employees in grades 26 through 37.”
The Merit Program achieved in the last contract provided a way for members in salary grades 1 through 18 to reach the CSEA job rates. PEF Director of Contract Administration Robert Carrothers said the Merit Program will be eliminated in 2010 as the new agreement provides job-rate parity.
Highlights
The highlights of the agreement include a 3 percent salary increase retroactive to April 2, 2007. The previous agreement expired April 1, 2007. There are also 3 percent salary increases, effective April 1 in 2008 and 2009, and a 4 percent raise effective April 1, 2010.
Health insurance coverage remains intact, with some modest increases in the co-pay. Office visits, office surgery and laboratory and radiology services will go up slightly, from $18 to $20 effective July 1, 2009.
“Maintaining medical coverage and addressing vision and dental needs was what our members asked us to do,” Matrazzo said. “The deal includes an enhancement to the current vision plan benefit, as well as $600,000 to study alternate means to provide dental and vision benefits that may offer enrollees enhanced benefits while actually decreasing the overall cost to the state.”
Starting July 2008, enrollees will be allowed an eye exam and up to 90 days after the exam to select frames, options and lenses. “Currently, this must happen the same day as the exam,” Carrothers said. “This extended period will allow enrollees to comparison shop.”
Members living downstate and in the mid-Hudson area will realize an improvement to reflect the higher cost-of-living. If the deal is ratified, the current downstate adjustment of $1,302 will increase to $1,850 effective April 1, 2008, and jump to $3,026 October 1, 2008.
The current $651 mid-Hudson adjustment will increase to $1,000 on April 1, 2008, and climb to $1,513 on October 1, 2008.
A previous pilot program, NYS-RIDE, will become permanent under the new pact. The program allows employees to pay for mass-transit commuting expenses on a pre-tax basis, The program will be expanded to all locations statewide effective six months following ratification of the deal.
The tentative agreement addresses mandatory overtime for nurses with the establishment of a pilot program, plus enhanced professional development programs.
PEF unlike other unions
“There are gains and trade-offs in the tentative agreement,” said Roger Scales, PEF director of labor relations and chief negotiator. “Unlike most of the other unions that have contracts with the state, PEF has a practice of not agreeing to a conceptual contract and then writing language. PEF insists the language be written and agreed to before a deal is announced.”
Among the 14 units that bargain with the state, PS&T is the most complex. It includes more than 2,000 job titles located at thousands of worksites, in all agencies, with incumbents holding pay grades between 3 and 38.
“No other union represents such a diverse membership,” Scales said. “Bargainers for PEF are charged with negotiating contract language in one agreement that satisfies the unique character of our PS&T membership.”
Kudos to the team
Brynien and Matrazzo applauded the PEF bargaining team for a powerful contract campaign and bargaining with a position of power and patience.
The team included: Matrazzo, James Blake, Giselle Castro, Bill Cruz, Kathy D’Arminio, Mike DeVoe, Todd Fryer, Germaine Greco, Jemma Marie-Hanson, Bill Holthausen, Gail Noble, Bob Reynolds, Karen Spotford, Adam Sumlin, Carolyn Willson, Bill Wurster, and PEF staff – Scales, Carrothers, Elizabeth Hough, Tamara Carney, Lorraine Simpkins and Deborah Stayman.
