[7] Not only was AFSCME's growth substantial, its demographics matched those of SEIU's: At least two-thirds of the rival union's members were blue-collar workers, and a fifth of them worked in hospitals and nursing homes.
[17][18] Hardy, convinced SEIU could successfully raid CSEA, conducted secret polls which showed that deep unrest in the professional, scientific, and technical (PS&T) unit.
The 1,100-member Statewide Coalition for a Democratic Union (SCDU), at the time PEF's only organized "political party," had formed to challenge Kraemer and support Hoke.
[49] Although Condell expected easy passage of the dues hike,[50] the proposal did not win the 60 percent majority needed at the PEF convention in October 1986.
[62] As Condell's first term ended, he promised to push for "substantial" pay raises in the union's upcoming contract negotiations even as his opponents attacked him for concentrating authority in staff hands and for poor leadership.
[72][73] On July 20, 1988, PEF won its first private-sector representation election (for workers at the New York City branch of Narcotic and Drug Research Inc.—a contractor for the state).
[75] Convinced that PEF would be fighting layoffs the following year as well, Condell proposed raising dues 26.6 percent ($5.28 a month) to build a public relations and legal war chest.
Shafer, supported by the Team for a Stronger Membership caucus, ran a full slate of candidates and accused Condell of poor leadership and embracing Governor Mario Cuomo too strongly.
Condell signed an agreement which would give his senior aides lucrative severance payments worth thousands of dollars each if they were fired by Shafer.
[107] But negotiations for the expiring PEF contract soon broke down, a legislative fact-finding panel was imposed on the talks, and the state proposed eliminating nearly 14,000 public sector jobs.
[119] The internal dissent became so bad that alleged assaults, racially inflammatory fliers, and accusations of financial fraud occurred at the SEIU Convention which PEF delegates attended in May 1992.
[129] The board meeting was a raucous one, with alleged physical confrontations, a "Dump Shafer" movement hanging banners near the entrance, rumors of decertification, and proposals for PEF to abandon its independence and join either SEIU or AFT.
Although Shafer and Sheedy had originally been on the same political slate three years earlier, the relationship between the two men had deteriorated into a chilly civility in which they communicated with one another largely via memo (despite having offices next door to one another).
[160] A third candidate, Jim Israel (a PEF shop steward), entered the race in January 1997 but withdrew when he was unable to obtain enough signatures to secure his nomination.
[161] Benson's slate of candidates included Jane Hallum (a computer programmer) for secretary-treasurer and future PEF president Kenneth Brynien as an executive board member.
[183] Days later, after another state union accepted a contract containing a 13.6 percent raise over four years, about 2,000 PEF members held a noisy rally outside the governor's offices demanding faster negotiations.
[187][188] A tentative agreement reached on June 10, 2000, incorporated a 13 percent wage hike over four years, rejected the new working time data collection methods, and imposed slight increases in member health care payments.
[193] But the PEF executive board retroactively approved the sick leave buybacks in a private meeting in August 1999, forcing Benson to drop the lawsuit.
[200][201][202] PEF also sought increases in the number of health care workers on staff, an end to mandatory overtime, and minimum worker-to-patient staffing ratios.
[216] One of the final achievements of the Benson presidency was enactment of legislation requiring the state to disclose the number and amount of money spent on private contractors.
[226] Brynien and the union confronted a state proposal to close or merge several state-owned hospitals and other health care facilities during his first year in office.
Legislation on the issue was introduced in May 2007,[239] and on June 18, 2008, Governor David Paterson signed into law a ban on mandatory overtime in state facilities.
PEF had long sought a permanent version of the law, one which enacted a "fair share" provision requiring non-members to pay a portion of dues (for the services they received).
[252][253] Led by PEF, the state's public employee unions produced television commercials and newspaper advertisements depicting Paterson with his fingers in his ears and unwilling to listen to voters.
[273] PEF countered once again by arguing that the state spent $3 billion a year on 23,000 consultants at a cost that was 62 percent higher than hiring a permanent worker.
[297][298][299] Governor Paterson then proposed laying off 10,000 state workers on January 1, 2011 (the day after his no-layoff pledge with the unions expired)—a plan PEF also opposed.
[300][301][302][303][304][305][306] On June 1, 2010, during the height of the tension created by the fiscal crisis, The New York Post ran an article revealing that Ken Brynien had enjoyed an increase in salary of $25,000 annually from $112,440 in 2008 to $137,622 in 2010.
[314] President Spence was re-elected for a third term in 2021, and PEF had to contend with the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the challenge of the state mandating the return employees to offices despite a surge of COVID-19 cases.
[315] Highlights during this term include the 2021 ratification of a four-year contract (retroactive up to 2019, and lasting until 2023),[316] defending employees impacted by COVID-19 vaccination requirements and addressing PEF member concerns about returning to state office amidst a COVID-19 surge,[317] securing an agreement to successfully restructure nursing titles resulting in pay increases for PEF nurses,[318] and the successful ratification of a three-year contract under Governor Kathy Hochul lasting from 2023-2026.
PEF declined to endorse Cuomo, instead backing New York City Public Advocate Mark Green in his unsuccessful bid for that office.