IT’S A DEAL — PEF Secretary-Treasurer Arlea Igoe and PEF Vice Presidents Tom Comanzo and Joe Fox answer questions from a dozen reporters in Albany after the count of the PS&T contract votes was released. — Photo by Deborah A. Miles Members ratify agreement with landslide vote By DEBORAH A. MILES By one of the largest PS&T contract vote counts in the history of PEF, the membership overwhelmingly agreed to ratify the pact with the state by 27,718 to 11,645. The ballots were counted by the American Arbitration Association in Manhattan November 3. The revised four-year agreement saves the jobs of 3,496 PEF members. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the PEF members would be laid off starting November 4 if the deal was voted down, as it was in September. A lot of factors played into the ratification of the contract. The first order of business was to get the governor to resume negotiations. PEF’s international affiliates, the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of Teachers helped the governor get back to the bargaining table. “The second time around, PEF members came to us to help communicate the importance of a ‘yes’ vote,” said PEF President Ken Brynien. “They volunteered to do phone banking and explain the losses and gains in the tentative agreement to other members.” PEF also held tele-town hall meetings to answer members’ questions. Vote yes stickers were distributed in all PEF regions and a billboard on Interstate 787 in Albany encouraged members to vote yes to save jobs. PEF Vice President and Contract Chair Tom Comanzo said this time around people weren’t just looking at the number of threatened layoffs. “Our members realized many of these targeted employees are the people sitting next to them, or down the hall from them. People could associate a face with a title, a person with a family to support, a person whose job plays a crucial role in the function of a department or agency,” Comanzo said. “Our members also may have realized that due to the state’s complicated system of ‘bumping,’ thousands of additional workers would have received pay cuts by displacing employees who had less seniority,” he said. “This vote shows union members are willing to do their part to put New York state on a stable financial footing, as all New Yorkers should, and are helping to resolve a fiscal crisis for which they were not responsible,” Brynien said. “The agreement preserves our members’ jobs and the services they provide. During this economic downturn, the state’s citizens are more dependent on these vital services than ever, especially in the wake of the flooding earlier this year.” Outpouring of volunteers At a press conference in Albany when the count was released, PEF members who were on the layoff list told reporters they have regained faith in humanity. BACK TO WORK — PEF members who were on the layoff list tell members of the media they are grateful to those who voted to pass the contract. They include Peter Rea, Tom Giorgio, Susan Olsen and Eric Scheffel, who volunteered with other members to do phone banking. — Photo by Deborah A. Miles Peter Rea, a senior transportation analyst at the state Department of Transportation (DOT), said, “We were grateful the membership decided to accept the shared sacrifice on this contract. It’s not the best contract in the world, but voting yes saved 3,496 jobs. We are very pleased it went through. I was extremely impressed with the outpouring of volunteers, from different agencies and different parts of the state. It wasn’t just the people who were targeted for the layoffs. There were people who were sympathetic and understood how important it was to pass this contract. It was an overwhelming effort.” Susan Olsen, a transportation analyst at DOT, added, “I want to thank all the members who voted yes, who sacrificed for the good of the whole. Now that the contract is ratified, the union needs to unite and prepare for future battles. I think many people agree the millionaire’s tax should be extended beyond December 31. A fight to extend that tax would create more solidarity within PEF.” At a glance The agreement preserves the pay-scale, and the employment and careers of PEF members. It maintains increments and salary-grade parity, longevity payments and co-pays for doctor visits at their current levels. It calls for no salary increases for years 2011, 2012 and 2013. A 2 percent salary increase is included for 2014. The new contract increases the share members will pay for their health insurance premiums, but includes changes to the productivity enhancement program which will allow members greater opportunity to use vacation time to offset health insurance costs. PEF Director of Labor Relations and Chief Negotiator Robert Carrothers said, “There will be no impact on the calculation of a person’s final average salary for retirement purposes, as a result of the temporary salary reductions related to the nine deficit-reduction days. If an employee separates from state service prior to the full repayment, he or she will be paid the balance of the money owed at the time of separation.” Employees will be allowed to take nine days off without charging them to existing accruals before March 31, 2013. They will be repaid for these reductions over 39 payroll periods beginning with the pay period that includes April 1, 2015. The full text of the contract is available on the PEF website, www.pef.org, along with links to topics such as gains and losses, and other frequently asked questions under Contract Resource Center at the top of the home page. COUNTING THE BALLOTS — Employees of the American Arbitration Association open and scan the ballots in Manhattan November 3. — Photos by Richard Dillard

The Communicator Letters policy We welcome letters to the editor about union issues and events relevant to PEF's diverse membership. All letters are subject to editing for space, fairness and good taste. Please keep them brief (up to one page, double-spaced or a maximum of 250 words), and please include your name and phone number for verification. Send letters to thecommunicator@pef.org: The Communicator Public Employees Federation P.O. Box 12414 Albany, N.Y. 12212-2414 Email to Sherry Halbrook, Editor or Darcy Wells, Editor-In Chief