PEF, state agree on retroactive salary increase

ALBANY, NY (04/08/2016)(readMedia)-- The New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) announced today that it made significant progress with the state regarding negotiations for the PS&T contract.

PEF and Gov. Andrew Cuomo's team agreed upon a 2 percent raise for state employees in the bargaining unit, retroactive to April 1, 2015 when the PS&T contract expired. The teams will continue to negotiate for salary increments for the remaining years in a new agreement, as well as for the other issues important to PEF members, such as health insurance benefits and job security.

"I applaud the governor for the cooperative and fair manner his team has demonstrated at the bargaining table," said PEF President Wayne Spence. "The elected leaders within PEF, our members and I, also appreciate the governor's recognition of his valuable workforce and the way each union member contributes to making New York the nation's greatest state. I also credit PEF's contract team members for their diligence and professionalism at the table. Their dedication and areas of expertise have made this step possible."

"After negotiating in good faith, we have reached an agreement with PEF that protects the rights of our state's workforce and New York taxpayers," Gov. Cuomo said. "This agreement aligns PEF's contract with other state labor contracts, while continuing the trend of fiscal responsibility in New York."

The retroactive raise of the PS&T agreement must be brought to PEF's Executive Board for a vote, and then sent to all the members for ratification. Once this is completed, details for the payments will be made available. PEF's Executive Board is scheduled to meet in mid-May.

PEF is the state's largest white-collar union representing 53,000 professional, scientific and technical employees, and is the second-largest state-employee union in New York.

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