News from New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) and Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)

For more information contact: Darcy Wells, (518) 785-1900 Ext. 277 or Richard Impagliazzo, (631) 462-0030

State Employees Rally for Economic Relief in High-cost Areas

HAUPPAUGE, NY (10/17/2007; 1200)(readMedia)-- - Members of the New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) and the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) gathered outside the Hauppauge State Office Building for a noontime rally today to call for locality-pay increases in this and other high-cost areas of the state.

Hundreds of PEF and CSEA members carried signs, marched and chanted, urging contract negotiators for the Governor's Office of Employee Relations (GOER) to address the cost-of-living crisis faced by those who live on Long Island.

"The quality of life for many of our members is eroding," said PEF President Ken Brynien. "Our members are dedicated public servants who are no longer able to afford to live and raise their families in the communities in which they work."

Just seven years ago, 60 percent of the homes sold on Long Island could be classified as affordable for families with incomes of up to $100,000 a year. Last year, that figure dwindled to just 2 percent.

"State employees are being crushed by economic conditions and costs beyond their control," said Dee Dodson, PEF Region 12 (Long Island) coordinator. "The vast majority of state employees living in this region earn far less than $100,000, making the goal of home ownership even more elusive."

PEF Vice President and Contract Chair Lou Matrazzo said the location pay issue continues to be a top priority in contract negotiations with the state.

"Cost-of-living pay increases simply have not kept pace with soaring housing costs, forcing many of the state's engineers, accountants, health care providers and others to consider abandoning their communities in search of more favorable economic climates elsewhere," Matrazzo said. "It's imperative that economic relief is included in our next contract."

CSEA Long Island Region President Nick LaMorte added, “Long Island is a great place to live, but the cost of living continues to skyrocket. It’s no secret that everything is more expensive here and our members are having a hard time making ends meet. We believe New York State’s current locality pay system is inadequate and we join with PEF today to advocate for the adoption of the federal model.”

The federal government currently provides its downstate employees 10.59 percent of salary to compensate for the high cost of living here.

PEF is the state’s second-largest state-employee union, representing 58,000 professional, scientific and technical employees. For more information, please call Darcy Wells, PEF director of public relations, at 518-785-1900 ext. 277 or 518-859-1274.

CSEA is New York’s leading union; It’s Long Island Region alone represents more than 50,000 municipal and private-sector workers in towns, villages, cities, school districts and libraries throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties. This includes some 11,000 state workers. For more information, please call Richard Impagliazzo, communications associate, CSEA Long Island region office at 631-462-0030.

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