Division 198 of the Public Employees Federation (PEF) represents over 600 Registered Nurses, as well as, a number of Research Scientists, Computer Operators, Chaplains, and other Professionals at the State University of New York - Downstate Medical Center.
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Don Morgenstern Council Leader and Executive Board Representative
Gale Baptiste Assistant Council Leader
Sherron Hunte Treasurer
Joy Fletcher Secretary
Jemma Marie Hanson Region 11 Coordinator and Steward
Stewards: Cynthia Clark Corina Florece-Ruiz
Pearl Jones Gloria Kaufman Dolly Romeo
Sheila Hyppolite-Frances Patrick Byrnes Josephine Headley
PEF Field Rep Barry Markman
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Phone (718) 270-1362 Fax (718) 270-2782 Office BSB 5-82B
email Dmorgenstern@PEF.org
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Memo on Mandatory Overtime MANDATORY OVERTIME
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BREAKFAST 2009 BREAKFAST
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Many of you may have heard that there will be a buyout of targeted positions, with State workers who take advantage of the program getting a $20,000 payout. Most likely SUNY will NOT be part of the program - and even if does take part, Nurses will not be targeted. Do not delay or change any plans to retire because of this buyout program.
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PEF and the Governor have reached an agreement concerning the State's budget deficit. The Governor agreed not to layoff State workers, and to stop trying to get us to give up our raises and lag our pay. In return, PEF (and CSEA) agreed not to oppose the Legislature passing a bill to create a new Tier 5 pension plan. This new Pension plan would only affect employees hired in the future - no present State worker would have their pension benefits changed. Under Tier 5 new State workers would have to pay 3% into the plan for as long as they work for the State, would be vested in 10 years, and could not start collecting their pension before age 62.
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Nurses – come to SUNY Empire State College and turn your life experience into a Bachelor of Science in Community Health
All information sessions will be held at the
SUNY Empire State College, located at
Sessions will be held on the following dates:
Thursday, July 2
Monday, July 6
For local nurses who wish to further their careers, the Cohort Program in Community Health at SUNY Empire State College is one of the best options around. The program serves nurses in the
Students work closely with an academic mentor on planning their degrees and exploring the option of getting college credit for their prior learning and life experience in all aspects of nursing, as well as in other fields. This is a terrific option for nurses who are working in the field, want to finish their degrees and don’t have a lot of time or expendable income or time to invest in the process.
All nurses are welcome in the program. UFT and PEF union members get full tuition reimbursement, yet even students who are not union members and who may need to pay out-of-pocket can benefit from this low-cost program, with its minimal time commitment, professional mentoring and flexibility. Nurses in other unions should talk to their employers about the possibility of tuition reimbursement.
Nurses with foreign transcripts are welcome to apply and to have their transcripts evaluated by the World Education Service. Interested prospective students should contact program coordinator Ruth Goldberg at Ruth.Goldberg@esc.edu or at 646-230-1247
*** SUNY Empire State College is one of the State University of New York’s thirteen colleges of arts and sciences. Founded in 1971, the college is committed to serving working adult students and to date, more than 57,000 students have graduated from SUNY Empire State College. In recent SUNY student surveys, Empire State College consistently ranks #1 in student satisfaction.
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PEF STATEWIDE ELECTIONS
The results of PEF's Statewide elections are in. Locally, Council Leader Don Morgenstern was returned to his Executive Board seat, while Assistant Council Leader Gale Baptiste was certified as the Executive Board Member in the new seat Downstate obtained this year. Statewide President Ken Brynien and Secretary/Treasurer Arlea Igoe were also returned to office. Our own Jemma Hanson remains as our Regional Coordinator for another 3 year term.
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INCREASES, LAYOFFS, AND PROTESTS
We will be getting our 3% salary increase in our 4/29 paychecks. Longevity payments for those who have been at the top of their salary grade for 5 years or more will also be paid on 4/29 – but will come in a separate check, no direct deposit. There also will be no lag of our paychecks.
As we have said all along – PEF, and the other State Unions, will not reopen our contracts and give back our hard earned raises, as the Governor has demanded. We realize the State has a budget problem, but we shouldn’t be forced to unequally shoulder the burden. When the State was pulling in billions in tax revenues from Wall Street, I don’t recall anyone saying that our contracts should be reopened to let us share the wealth.
The Governor has responded by threatening to layoff over 8,000 State workers (none here at Downstate) because we won’t give up our raises. Yet recently he gave his own staff raises that averaged over 28% and he has not listened to any of the cost saving measures that the Unions have suggested. For example, the State could save billions by replacing costly private contractors with State workers. Just think how much Downstate alone could save if Traveling and Agency Nurses were replaced by Staff Nurses.
The threat of laying off State workers and the Governor’s attacks on the employee unions are political ploys. His poll numbers are the lowest of any Governor in history and he has obviously made the decision that attacking State workers and their Unions will help him raise those numbers. This really isn’t about balancing the budget or the deficit - it’s about him trying to get elected as Governor in 2010, running on a platform as someone who stood up to the “powerful State Employee Unions.”
PEF and CSEA are working together to stop the layoffs and the loss of State services. We are picketing at every public event the Governor attends. This past Friday over 500 State workers protested in
OTHER NEWS
The State is conducting an audit of eligible dependents in our Health Insurance Plan. You should have received mailings about this. Do not ignore these letters. Read them carefully and send back the forms as required.
Our educational benefits have doubled. You can now get reimbursed for up to 4 courses per year (not per semester) - $600/course for undergraduate, $1200/ course for Graduate level.
When the Staffing Office calls your unit they are allowed to ask which Nurses are present and can require that Nurses who are late call the Office to let them know that they have arrived. They cannot ask to know the exact times that each Nurse has arrived. If they ask for this information, call me immediately at ext. 1362.
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MARCH ON ALBANY
JANUARY 7, 2009
Over 5,000 PEF members and other Union supporters took to the streets in Albany around the state Capitol in the March for Main Street on January 7, 2009. The event was coordinated by the NYS AFL-CIO, PEF, CSEA, SEIU 1199 and AFSCME, which combined represent nearly 1 million working New Yorkers.
To help reduce the State’s budget deficit the Governor wants the State Employee Unions to reopen their contracts. Specifically he wants us to give up our 3% increase scheduled for April 2009 and to lag another weeks pay. He also wants us to have to pay more for our health insurance in retirement. The workers of New York State did not cause this budget deficit, we should not be asked to make all the sacrifices necessary to solve it. I want to thank those of our Downstate members for getting on the bus and supporting the cause.
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November 2008 quicknote Quicknote
October 2008 Newsletter Newsletter
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TUITION REIMBURSEMENT LINK FORMS
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Division 198 News and Information
Holiday Party 12/2008 photos Holiday Party
Lobby Day 2008 photos Lobby Day 2008
Photos 2008 Nurses' Breakfast BREAKFAST
Photos Xmas 2007 xmas
Lobby Day 5/22/07 Report REPORT
Photos 2006 Convention Photos
Photos Lobby Day 5/22/07 Photos
Scarf Day Photos Scarf Day Photos
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PEF NOTES (Division Newsletter)
April 2008 Quicknote Newsletter
Feb 2008 Quicknote quicknote
December 2007 December 2007
JUNE 2007 june 2007
March 2007 Quicknote March quicknote
March 2007 March2007
February 2007 February
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Other Links
PEF Contract contract
College Scholarships scholarships
Health Benefits health
PEF Albany PEF Albany
PEF Membership Benefits MembershipBenefits
PEF Nurses pefnurses
PEF Region 11 Region11
SUNY Downstate Medical Center SUNY Downstate
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The Public Employees Federation (PEF) is a union representing 59,000 professional, scientific, and technical state employees. Our dedicated and talented members - NY's professional work force - keep our state government operating efficiently and provide quality services for all New Yorkers.
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Statewide PEF Officers:
President: Ken Brynien
Secretary-Treasurer: Arlea Igoe
Vice Presidents: Pat Baker Joe Fox Lou Matrazzo
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PEF Albany telephone (800) 342-4306
Region 11 (Brooklyn) Office (718) 637-2019
Visitors since April 29, 2007




