ON THE AMENDMENT — Anton Trapman and Charlene Lojewsky wait while Richard Dillard speaks on a proposed amendment. — Photo by Bill Sachs

Resolutions focus on benefits, work, retirement issues

By SHERRY HALBROOK
The 57 proposed resolutions faced one tough audience at the 25th Annual PEF Convention last month.

Convention delegates adopted only 10 of the 57 resolutions, and amended nine of those — one by total substitution.

The delegates referred seven of the remaining resolutions to various PEF committees, and defeated, tabled or ruled out-of-order the other 40.

‘And the winners are .... ’
The successful resolutions call for PEF to:

• Protect members’ choice of health care insurance plans and providers;

• Support legislation to limit mandatory overtime for nurses;

• Make it a legislative priority to increase the state Retirement Law’s limit on vacation payments that Tier 3 and 4 members can add to their final average salary from the existing 10 percent of base salary to 20 percent of the base pay;

• Work for further improvements to the law allowing veterans in state service to buy additional pension credits based on their military service;

• Post the minutes of Executive Board’s meetings on the union’s Web site within 30 days after they are approved;

• Require regional coordinators to provide a yearly accounting of their regions’ finances to the Executive Board members and division council leaders in the region;

• Roll over any fund balances in PEF regional political action committee budgets for a maximum of two years, starting with fiscal 2004-05;

• Routinely challenge appointments to state positions that are made without competitive exams, pending jurisdictional classification, and also review PEF’s challenge process and recommend improvements to it;

• Support making development and use of sustainable alternative energy sources an important part of national energy policy; and

• Determine if TransitChek or other types of aid are available to help reduce commuters’ expenses and inform PEF members about how to get it. If no aid is available, work to get this relief to members who commute.

Let’s think about it
A resolution to make all division stewards automatically delegates to PEF conventions was referred to the union’s Constitution and Bylaws Committee for review.

And a resolution was referred to PEF’s PS&T Contract Team that calls on PEF to support legislation that would allow surviving spouses and domestic partners of state employees who die before retiring to use the employees’ unused sick leave to extend state health-insurance coverage for the survivors. The team has already proposed changes in the PS&T bargaining agreement that would do the same thing.

Five more resolutions, all relating to improvements in pensions or other retirement issues were referred variously to PEF’s Legislative Department and Political Action Committee.

The delegates defeated some resolutions relating to contract issues, voicing a reluctance to restrict the PS&T Contract Team’s ability to negotiate. Resolutions on a variety of other issues were also defeated.

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