Scroll down to read member's letters.
| Scroll down to read member's letters. |
| We can't let
pols take us for granted To the Editor: It seems the only time state workers are taken seriously by our Legislature and governor, is at election time when our votes are need. However, when it's time to meet the needs of the state employees through budget allocations and contractual agreements, their support for us appears to be absent. If this was a good time to increase their salaries by 38 percent and 40 percent, then this should be a good time for our salaries to be substantially increased without the loss of other benefits. It would be helpful to all state employees if you would publish the names and dates of re-election of all our advocates as a valuable tool at election time. Every vote counts. We could make a huge difference and a lasting impression. Lynn Dove Poughkeepsie |
| Help! Commuting costs are a killer To the Editor: Kudos to the PEF leaders who negotiated an agreement with the Capital District Transportation Authority. This agreement provides PEF members with up to a 36 percent discount on buses if they use monthly swiper cards. A pretty good deal, if you ask me. Maybe you should ask me. Currently, my transportation expense getting to work in Manhattan using the Metro North Railroad and the NYC Subway System is $168 per month. Believe it or not, that isn't considered too expensive. I know colleagues who have commuting bills of nearly $300 per month. Has PEF ever considered negotiating a discount with the Metropolitan Transit Authority or any of the local bus companies? It would affect nearly everyone I work with, along with other PEF members who use mass transit. Daniel Bell New York City Editor's note: The PEF Membership Benefits Program has checked and found that the Metropolitan Transit Authority does not offer corporate or group discounts similar to those PEF members now receive from the Capital District Transit Authority. However, early in negotiations for a new PS&T contract, PEF identified as an issue the high cost of commuting to work especially in the metropolitan New York area. PEF's team continues to vigorously pursue a "Transit Chek" provision that would allow members to pay for mass transit through pre-tax payroll deductions. |
| Members at ATC doing their
share To the Editor: I thank Judi Phillips of PEF Division 311 who took photos of the Buffalo contract rally in the September issue of The Communicator. In recent months, 10 of the 24 Division 311 members at the Stutzman Addiction Treatment Center in Buffalo have participated in contract rallies and in political action activities in Albany, Syracuse and Buffalo. As their council leader, I appreciate their time and energy. Howard W. Henry, Jr. Buffalo |
| Questions wisdom of attendance award To the Editor: Once again the time of year for recognition and awards is upon us, and once again I find myself debating the benefit of one particular award. I'm referring to PEF's "Outstanding Attendance" award, given to employees at Sunmount Developmental Disabilities Services Office who haven't used any sick leave accruals during the previous year. This award is prejudicial and unfair. The very nature of the award is hypocritical. Employees are given sick leave for those times when they are not well, or when a family member is not well. Contradictorily, this award encourages people to come to work when they don't feel well, possibly spreading infections to their co-workers and extending their own illnesses, or perhaps to send a sick child to school when the child belongs at home. What percentage of award recipients are parents of young children or persons responsible for the care of an ailing relative? I suspect it's a rather low number. Perhaps the Outstanding Attendance award should be eliminated and the money used to finance a more meaningful award for "Exceptional Effort in the Care of an Employee's Loved Ones." Barry Lobdell Saranac Lake |
| Inspired by PEF's new spirit,
fervor To the Editor: It has been my pleasure and privilege to serve as a Department of Health representative to the PEF Executive Board for the last two years. Previous experience as a member and activist in PEF was always rewarding, despite the usual frustrations. However, recently the opportunity to serve has provided the most invigorating and inspiring experience. The concepts associated with being in a union (as opposed to merely a professional affiliation) were lost on me for a long time. My father's and his father's commitment to union activity didn't seem relevant today. Of course, the harsh realities of the loss of labor's influence and politicians' readiness to dismantle the merit system weren't on my horizon then. The wake-up calls came in the forms of the growing disparity of wealth distribution and our governor's eagerness to contract out government functions. As the picture grew darker, I saw no response to counter these twin assaults. Watching PEF turn its members from well behaved (even when angry) and passive observers into galvanized activists has been pretty breathtaking. I've seen the Member Mobilization initiative transform even the most quiet and detached state workers into organized rabble-rousers. Now, all this happens with the support of many dedicated staff and member activists. But without our president's organizational fervor and spiritual leadership, I (for one) would never be this ready to rumble (let alone to ride that Detroit bus for a million hours). Thank you, PEF. You're giving us a great ride. Mary C. Mahoney Albany |
| Deferred Comp rules pose financial
risk To the Editor: The New York State Deferred Compensation Plan, enacted in 1982, arrived with much fanfare stating that it would "be considered as part of that employee's compensation for retirement benefit." When I retired in April 1993, the many retirement courses I took gave little advice on Deferred Compensation investments. Directly after retirement I was given 60 days to decide how I would receive my Deferred Compensation payments. I selected $2,000 per year starting after age 70.5. In 1997, we bought a farm near our children. To help pay for the land, while awaiting proceeds from the sale of our home, we found we could take a one-time change in Deferred Compensation payment and directed the Deferred Comp administrator, Copeland Companies, to pay a lump sum in January 1998. Only after the payment date came and no money arrived, were we told the payment date could not be reselected until after the originally selected date of September 1998. There was no way for us to direct the sale of my Deferred Compensation holdings by market prices or even the time and actual date of sale. We were never able to obtain a reliable formula for the sale, and market prices were down at the final selling. At tax time in 1999, we received a W2 Form from Chase Manhattan Pension Services for my lump-sum Deferred Compensation. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent we visited for advice wrote two request forms to Chase Manhattan Bank Pension Services asking for a 1099R replacement and corrected W2, so we could correctly do 10-year income averaging on the lump-sum payment. The savings we were to receive in getting Deferred Compensation after age 70 would not materialize if a W2 form was used. My "wages" would instead be higher than at any time in our lives, although both of us have long been retired and living on retirement benefits and Social Security payments. Surely errors have been made in these New York State Employees' Deferred Compensation taxations that must be corrected now and before the many other New York State employees get hit with these painful discrepancies. We have saved our money all our lives. Don't let taxes wrongly take away such a large percentage when we finally take our just rewards of delayed gratification. Madeline H. Nadworny Stony Brook Editor's note: PEF's Deferred Compensation Committee and Legislative Department are pressing Washington for changes to the federal tax code to allow the rollover of 451K-type deferred-compensation proceeds into individual retirement accounts (IRAs) to help alleviate the tax hit. |
| Letters
policy The
Communicator welcomes letters to the editor about
union issues and events relevant to PEF's diverse
membership. |
Home - Back to top - Contents |