The
PEF Contract Resource Center made its debut on the union’s Web site October 5.
It allows members in the PS&T unit to view their 2007-2011 agreement online, and
provides a new database to quickly find information about the contract and
related benefits.“Many times our members have questions about the contract and, although the information might be contained in their contract book, they are unable to easily find the answers they need,” said PEF President Ken Brynien. “One of the key features of the Contract Resource Center is a subject-matter index with more than 1,500 entries, each linked to the relevant section of the contract.”
The online version is found on PEF’s home page by clicking on Contract Resource Center at the top left side of the screen. The index includes cross-references in the text of the contract and related side letters.
The site also will provide other key documents in PEF’s history.
“Members can now access any PEF contract or any salary schedule PEF has negotiated since it began in 1979,” Brynien said.
The Contract Resource Center includes links to common subject areas such as compensation, travel, grievances and workers’ compensation.
The site represents an effort to provide easy access to information from a wide variety of sources, including various publications prepared by New York state.
“While the site covers a range of subjects, it is far from complete,” said Robert Carrothers, PEF director of contract administration. “The site will never be complete, as it will be the platform for organizing new information and resources as they become available. For example, when a new payroll bulletin is released, it will be linked to the appropriate section in the compensation page of the Contract Resource Center.”
Each section of the resource center also contains a link for members to ask questions.
“Cases will still arise in which the inquiry has to be referred to the appropriate field representative. But through this link, we hope to provide quick replies to general inquires, and subsequently build a list of frequently asked questions,” Carrothers said.
The printed contract is in production. When the date is announced for mailing, PEF will post it on the Web site and report it in the weekly PEF Information Line.
