New York State Public Employees Federation, AFL-CIO, Environmental Conservation Division records,
- Author:
- New York State Public Employees Federation, AFL-CIO. Environmental Conservation Division.
- Call Number:
- MSS APAP-114 local
- Abstract:
- The New York State Public Employees Federation, AFL-CIO, or PEF, collection documents activities at both the state and division level. Contract negotiations were a central activity of the union and are well-documented. Other statewide activities include PEF's annual convention, lobbying and campaigning through the Political Action Committee, the Women's Program, and many other committees. There is extensive coverage of executive board meetings from 1978-2000. Also included are files for PEF Division 169, PEF's Environmental Conservation Division. These include correspondence, agendas and minutes for labor/management meetings, material on committees, and administrative files. This collection also documents the activities of reform groups and political parties within PEF, most notably, the Statewide Coalition for a Democratic Union, and PEF's relationships with its national affiliates, the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of Teachers. Particularly strong is the collection of bulletin board postings, which includes almost everything posted on Division 169 bulletin boards from 1979 through 2000. There are also official PEF publications, including a near-complete run of PEF's official monthly newsletter to members, The Communicator, dating from 1979-2000. Records in this collection were kept by Stanley Byer, who was involved in PEF at the state and division level since its inception.
- Historical Note:
- A The Public Employees Federation (PEF) was certified in 1979 as the collective bargaining agent for the members of the Professional, Scientific, and Technical (PS & T) unit of New York State. PS & T employees had formerly been represented by CSEA, the state's largest public employee union. PEF founders believed that the concerns of the PS & T unit were not adequately represented by CSEA, the majority of whose members were non-professional state employees. PEF began negotiating its first contract with the state on April 23, 1979. As of 1999, PEF represented approximately 52,000 workers throughout New York State. Five full-time officers are elected by union members: a president, three vice-presidents, and a secretary-treasurer. Three elected trustees monitor PEF's finances. Members also elect 1000 delegates to an annual convention where major policy decisions are made. A 120 member executive board handles policy decisions between conventions. PEF is also divided into 12 geographical regions, each with a regional office and member-elected coordinator. At the local level, members elect officers and shop stewards within divisions (the equivalent of what most other unions call locals), each of which represents PEF workers in a specific building or facility. PEF Division 169 consists of PEF members employed by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) throughout New York State, excluding Long Island. Division 169 is also referred to as PEF/ENCON. PEF's stated mission is to "provide the leadership necessary for PEF members to achieve employment security, higher wages, better working conditions, and improved retirement benefits." In the years covered by this collection, PEF presidents were John Kraemer (1979-1982), Elizabeth Hoke (1982-1985), Rand Condell (1985-1991), Howard Schafer (1991-1994), James Sheedy (1994-1997), and Roger Benson (1997- ).
- Physical Description:
- 23.17 cu. ft
- Access Terms:
- Access to the collection is unrestricted.
- Notes:
- Part of the Archives of Public Affairs and Policy. local
- Subjects:
- Civil service New York (State), Government employee unions New York (State), Labor laws and legislation New York (State), Labor unions New York (State), Civil service, Government employee unions, Labor laws and legislation, and Labor unions
- Genres/Forms:
- Agendas. aat, Budgets. aat, Clippings. aat, Constitutions. aat, Contracts. aat, Correspondence. aat, Minutes. aat, Newsletters. aat, and Reports. aat
- Names:
- Benson, Roger, Byer, Stanley, Condell, Rand, Hoke, Elizabeth, Kraemer, John, and Sheedy, James
- Corporate Names:
- New York State Public Employees Federation, AFL-CIO. Environmental Conservation Division, American Federation of Teachers, Civil Service Employees Association (N.Y.), Service Employees International Union, Statewide Coalition for a Democratic Union, American Federation of Teachers, Civil Service Employees Association (N.Y.), and Service Employees International Union
- Geographic Terms:
- New York (State)
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