Pledges on
sick-leave parity, job security earn support
PEF backs Pataki
re-election bid
By SHERRY HALBROOK
The PEF Executive Board in August gave Gov. George Pataki
the union’s endorsement in his bid for re-election.
It marked the first time PEF has endorsed a Republican
for governor. And Pataki is only the second Republican in
a statewide race to garner the union’s support
– the first being US Sen. Al D’Amato in 1986.
“George Pataki has earned our endorsement,”
said PEF President Roger E. Benson. “Over the last
four years, the governor has made a priority of
preventing layoffs of our members, despite some very
difficult economic times. He pledged to our board to
continue these important job-security activities next
year.
“This weighed heavily in our determination. This,
combined with the governor’s recent history of
accessibility and moderation on state-employee issues,
warrants his re-election.”
The board’s gubernatorial endorsement came at the
end of its two-day quarterly meeting in Albany, where the
union’s political endorsement process had dominated
the agenda as it sifted through recommended choices in
more than 200 congressional and state-legislative
contests. (See page 4 for a list of these endorsements.)
The board voted 72-30 with 20 members absent or
abstaining to approve the PEF Political Action
Committee’s recommendation to back the incumbent
Pataki in his bid for a third four-year term.
 Making their cases
Prior to the vote, Pataki and state Comptroller H. Carl
McCall, who is vying to be the Democratic candidate for
governor, addressed the PEF board separately and answered
questions on issues ranging from declining tax revenues
and pension reform, to mandatory overtime for nurses.
Both candidates made strong appeals to the board that
were warmly received. And they both took credit for
working with PEF to achieve permanent, automatic
cost-of-living adjustments to state pensions and
tier-equity reforms.
McCall stressed his long record of support for PEF’s
goals and issues and characterized the union’s
endorsement decision as a choice between “a new
friend and a true friend.”
Pataki repeatedly thanked the PEF members “for what
you do every day. What we do in government is important.
New York has the finest workforce of any state in
America,” he said.
Pataki praised the heroism and sacrifices of PEF members
and others who died during the attack on the World Trade
Center, as well as those who responded to it and the
anthrax attacks and those who overcame great hardships to
ensure state services continue.
“Thanks for the courage and sacrifices you
made,” the governor said.
THEY’RE
LISTENING — Members of the PEF Executive Board
listen carefully to the gubernatorial candidates. —
Photo by John Epting
Looking ahead
The governor acknowledged that PEF had been treated
unfairly by another administration during 1982 PS&T
contract negotiations when the union was forced to give
up three days of annual sick leave for employees hired
after April 1, 1982, and said he would take steps to
restore the days in the next round of contract
negotiations.
A few days after the endorsement, PEF announced it had
reached a “handshake” agreement with the
Governor’s Office of Employee Relations to that
effect.
The governor also said he would work to make TransitChek
available to state employees “as quickly as
possible.”
“I’m looking forward to what we’re going
to continue to do,” he said. “Whether it’s
TransitChek, whether it’s solving that sick-day
problem, ... I want to be your partner in
government.”
Among his achievements as governor, Pataki cited his use
of hiring freezes, incentives for early retirement and
inter-agency transfers, instead of layoffs, to reduce the
state workforce.
Asked if he would support making the new 25/55
state-retirement provision — which is a one-time
option to be available for just three months during this
fiscal year — a permanent year-round opportunity,
Pataki said he needs time to evaluate the limited
offering.
“We’ll see how it works out, before we decide
whether to make it permanent,” he said.
The governor also stressed his vigorous efforts to reduce
the number of long-term provisionals in state service.
“The state had more than 8,000 provisional employees
when I first took office (in 1995),” Pataki said.
“Some had been there 20 years. Today, provisionals
make up less than 1 percent of the state workforce.”
 MEETING MEMBERS
— Gov. George Pataki shakes hands with PEF Region 10
Coordinator Jennifer Faucher as Trustee Olubiyi Sehindemi
and Region 11 Coordinator Alan Schulkin look on at the
August meeting of the PEF Executive Board. — Photo
by John Epting
Feeling
PEF’s pain
Asked if he would sign legislation to ban mandatory
overtime for state nurses, the governor said he
recognizes “the goal has to be not to require people
to act against their self interests. ... I can’t
tell you I will sign it, but I appreciate the
problem.”
He added that he is “taking major steps to bring
more people into nursing” and wants to turn (other)
health care workers into nurses.”
Asked about the state Transportation Department’s
continuing reliance on expensive contract engineers to
perform much of its work, Pataki praised the work of
state engineers and said, “We need to see how we can
do more in-house.”
And while it’s necessary to supplement the state
engineers with contractors for certain large or one-time
projects, he added, “we’re continuing to use
in-house employees as much as possible.”
Likewise, the governor expressed sympathy for state
employees who are reassigned to other regions of the
state when state facilities are closed or services
restructured.
“It means uprooting families,” he said,
“and we have tried to avoid it.”
“We have to continue to stand together,” the
governor added. “And I have to continue to show you
respect.”
Benson noted that this is the first time in 12 years
PEF’s Executive Board has voted to endorse a
candidate in a gubernatorial election.
“There have been times in the past where we
haven’t seen eye-to-eye with the governor on issues,
but we’ve managed to get beyond that,” Benson
added. “Our endorsement gives Gov. Pataki’s
campaign access to thousands of volunteers in virtually
every county across the state, and to our network of
phone banks.”
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HOPEFUL — Gov. George Pataki,
above, and NYS Comptroller H. Carl McCall, below, ask
PEF to endorse their bids to be governor. 
