PS&T CONTRACT UPDATE
Team
addresses contracting-out, career mobility
PS&T
contract talks continuing
By DEBORAH A. MILES
Going into the fourth month of PS&T contract
negotiations, PEF’s negotiating team addressed
several topics, including contracting-out, the Career
Mobility Office (CMO) program and terms for teachers or
vocational instructors who work a 10-month academic year.
The team delivered a comprehensive presentation to
representatives from the Governor’s Office of
Employee Relations (GOER) on the excessive use of
contractors by the state, saying statistics prove that
contractors cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of
dollars more per year, than if the state used its own
employees to do the work.
“If the state could reduce wasteful spending on
these contracts, it would be a great start down the path
of fiscal prudence,” said PEF’s lead
negotiator, Roger Scales.
“There is money to pay for PS&T Unit services,
if the state discontinues the funding of other corporate
patronage that so many of these contractors view as an
entitlement,” Scales said.
Worth the price?
PEF Vice President and Contract Chair Ken Brynien said
the PEF team is also reviewing the union’s
investment in the CMO program, which replaced the
Employees Service Office. The CMO is jointly funded
through the contract and is administered by the
Department of Civil Service and GOER. PEF would have to
pay more than $240,000 to keep the program in the
contract.
“We are examining if it is worth the money,”
Brynien said. “We are finding that Section 78 of the
Civil Service Law serves the same purpose as the CMO
— assisting members who find their jobs in jeopardy
or who desire a transfer or promotional
opportunity.”
Educators’
needs raised
For the more than 1,000 PEF members who work as a teacher
or vocational instructor in the state Department of
Correctional Services and at the Office of Children and
Family Services, the contract team posed their special
needs to GOER.
“The complexity of the 10-month employees’
increment system requires a careful study,” Brynien
said. “Our goal is to avoid any inequities for these
members.”
To learn about future topics at the bargaining table,
visit www.pef.org and click on the 2003 orange button for
weekly contract updates. Members are also invited to
visit the FAQ section on that Web page.
For more
info click the button
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COMMUNICATOR HOMEPAGE
Inside This Issue:
Features
PEF pushes to plug corporate
tax loopholes
Members fight proposal to
merge NYSPI
PEF leads demonstration to
protect patients, RNs
Annual lobbying pays off for
PEF nurses
Union gets preliminary
injunction
Departments
President's Message: PEF is
major player
You Said It: Member's
letters this month
Member Mobilization:
Training with rallies
Nurses' Station: PEF acts to
protect nurses
Legislative Update: PEF gets
record restorations
Health Benefits: Empire Plan
Update
Legal Issues: Members win
grievance at DOL
PS&T Contract Update:
Talks continuing
Member Highlights
Retirees In Action: Huge
health hikes threaten
PEF Membership Benefits
Program & Travel Corp
Union Matters
PEF RNs deliver quality care
at Elmira PC
Full mobilization creates
union power in Reg. 5
PEF wins Article 78
Members bring Benson team
back for 3rd term
PEF Election Guide: Download
Supplement
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