Members of New York's second largest state government union, the Public Employees Federation (PEF), have voted to ratify a four-year contract that includes a three year freeze in base pay, ten payless furlough days, and a permanent increase in employee contributions to health insurance. Gov. Andrew Cuomo had threatened to lay off 3,500 PEF members if the contract was not approved.
The contract is a modified version of the five-year deal Cuomo first reached with PEF in July, rejected by union members in September. Other than being one year shorter than the original (which, in turn, was identical to Cuomo's agreement with a larger state union), this version reimburses PEF members for lost pay for all 10 (and not just four) of the furlough days, while dropping a non-recurring bonus that had been part of the original deal. The five-year version of the contract would have ended in two consecutive 2 percent base pay increases; this ends with a single 2 percent increase.
In effect, PEF members are betting that the state will be able to afford a bigger pay increase than the original contract would have given them in 2017. The final vote, by the way, was 27,718 to 11,645.
In effect, PEF members are betting that the state will be able to afford a bigger pay increase than the original contract would have given them in 2017. The final vote, by the way, was 27,718 to 11,645.
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