PEF Parole Officers,

I am happy to announce that PEF has achieved a major accomplishment towards reaching our long sought goal of 100% line of duty injury or illness for New York State Parole Officers. Although Veto #173 was issued for the PEF Parole legislation on November 29, 2017, we continued the fight. The veto message stated, “Consistent with past practice, the benefit provided by this bill should therefore be negotiated.”  

As a New York State Parole Officer myself, I want you to know that PEF has never given up fighting for the parole parity language. On July 5, 2018 I sent each of you a pre-written letter to sign and send to the Governor. I am proud to report that hundreds of you signed letters and that combined support was noticed in my most recent conversations with the Governor. Together we sent a strong message about parity and fairness, which resulted in the attached letter from the Governor’s office stating agreement has been reached to work towards enhancing the current workers’ compensation benefit. I would ask that you print a copy to share with those PEF members who have not provided up-to -date emails; so that accurate information is being relayed.

I would like to also recognize the outstanding work that Senator Robach and Assemblyman Skoufis have done for PEF, as they both repeatedly fought for PEF Parole legislation and were successful in having our bill pass in both the Senate and Assembly during numerous consecutive legislative sessions.

New York State Parole Officers perform some the most dangerous work in the state and we will continue to fight for the protections that recognize those hazards.

We are stronger together!

In Solidarity,

Wayne Spence
PEF President

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                                                                         August 16, 2018

Wayne Spence                               
President
Public Employees Federation

1168-70 Troy-Schenectady Road PO Box 12414
Albany, NY 12212-2414

    Re: Line of Duty Benefit – Parole officers

Dear President Spence:

Recognizing the importance of this issue and the impact upon Parole officers represented by PEF, we both agree that when we begin negotiations for a successor to the 2016-2019 State/PEF collective bargaining agreement (hereafter “Agreement”), the State and PEF shall prioritize renegotiation of Article 13, Workers’ Compensation Benefit, as it pertains to line of duty injury or illness suffered by Parole Officers Specifically, the parties shall work towards enhancement of the benefit.

We both understand that such negotiations shall be subject to all ground rules agreed to by the parties with respect to negotiations for a successor to the current Agreement and that the outcome of negotiations on this issue shall not be binding until the resulting contract language is ratified along with the rest of the successor agreement. This letter shall not be construed to imply that any outcome of negotiations is promised or guaranteed and that this issue will be negotiated in the context of an overall agreement. We look forward to engaging you in negotiations for a successor agreement.

If you agree, please counter sign below and return a copy of this letter to me.

Sincerely,

Michael Volforte

Wayne Spence
President
Public Employees Federation