DMV PEF Division 211

Capital District
6 Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12228

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January 25, 2010:

Division 211 Members:

PEF Division 211 encourages all members to participate in the second semester of the DMV Leadership Program starting in January 2010. The Spring Leadership Program will offer two separate sessions: The first offering will be a new track (Track 2) consisting of Business Process Management, Information Security and Performance Measurements. This will be open to all returning participants first and will then be filled with any new applicants on a first come first serve basis as space is limited. The second offering (Track 1) will be a repeat of the Fall session and will consist of Labor Relations, Personnel and Communications. The Track 1 session will be open to all new applicants. Applications can be found (DMV Internal Intranet Only):

http://dmvweb/intranet/oqd/upload/LeadershipProgramApplicationFormSpring Semester2010Track2.doc

http://dmvweb/intranet/oqd/upload/Leadership_Program_Application_FormSpring2010Track1-2.doc



January 13, 2010:

Division 211 Members:

Employee Health Service (EHS) of the Department of Civil Service will be conducting various vaccination clinics. Both the injectable vaccine - the shot - and the nasal spray vaccine will be available. Vaccination is a critical measure to protect yourself and your family from becoming infected with H1N1 and we strongly encourage all PEF members to consider taking advantage of this opportunity.

These vaccinations are voluntary. You are not required to participate in these clinics.

We have attached CDC factsheets on the two different vaccinations that are available 1) the inactivated 'flu shot' and the live attenuated nasal spray. Certain people are in 'high risk' groups that are a priority for vaccination such as pregnant women, people who live with or care for infants, people with certain pre-existing health conditions, and people under 25 years of age.

Fact Sheets:

If you have questions or concerns you can consult the www.flu.gov website or talk to your own personal healthcare provider.

The schedule is as follows:
CityEHS Nurse StationDatePhone #
SyracuseEHS Nurse Station at the Sen. Hughes SOB, 333 E. Washington St., Syracusetbd315-428-4956 Please call on 1/15/10 or 1/22/10 to schedule your appointment
UticaEHS Nurse State at the Utica SOB, 207 Genesee St., Utica, NY 135011/12, 1/13 and 1/14/10 315-793-2221 Please call to schedule your appointment
Buffalo EHS Nurse Station at the Mahoney SOB, 65 Court Street, Buffalotbd716-847-3712 or 716-847-7640 Please call the week of January 18th to schedule your appointment
HauppaugeSuffolk State office Bldg, 3rd floor, Veteran's Memorial Highway, Hauppauge, NY 117881/20/10631-952-1656 Please call to schedule your appointment
BrooklynEHS Nurse Unit at 55 Hanson Place, Brooklyn 112171/14/10718-722-3008 Please call to schedule your appointment
AlbanyConvention Center2/10/10You will need to pre-register on-line; please see below:

Because the purpose of these vaccination clinics is to protect the health of state workers and minimize the impact of H1N1 flu on state operations, participation is restricted to state employees. You may not bring family members for vaccinations if they are not currently employed by the State.

As with H1N1 vaccination clinics that county health departments have offered to the general public in recent weeks, these clinics will offer the vaccine at no charge to recipients. However, you must attend on your own time. You have the following options if your regular work schedule overlaps with the hours of these clinics:

  • Attend on a scheduled break or meal period
  • Secure supervisory approval to charge appropriate leave credits for the resulting absence from work
  • Secure supervisory approval for a one time work schedule adjustment that allows you to make up the time you are absent from work

Albany employees who wish to be vaccinated at the Convention Center on February 10, 2010 must pre-register online at www.cs.state.ny.us/employees/state/h1n1. You will need to use your Civil Service User ID and password. If you don't have a User ID and password, you will be given the opportunity to activate one. If you encounter any problems pre-registering, an error page will provide a telephone number to call for help. Once you log in, you will be prompted to select the vaccination clinic you will attend and reserve a time. When you arrive at the clinic, you will need to show your state employee identification card which will be checked against the list of employees who pre-registered.

As we receive updated information regarding clinics, we will share the information with you.



January 12, 2010:

Division 211 Members:

BUFFALO, N.Y. (RELEASE) - United States Attorney, Kathleen M. Mehltretter, stated that Robert M. Vernon, age 57, currently residing in Fairfield Heights, State of New South Wales, Australia, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in a 3 Count indictment charging him:

(a) In Count 1 with the aiding, abetting, counselling, commanding, inducing and procuring another to, on December 22, 2006, damage and destroy by means of fire a vehicle that was the property of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles;

(b) In Count 2 with aiding, abetting, counselling, commanding, inducing and procuring others to damage and destroy by means of fire on December 25, 2006, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Office located at 334 Dingens Street, Buffalo, New York; and

(c) In Count 3 with conspiring with others to destroy by means of fire a vehicle that was the property of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles and to destroy by fire the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Office located at 334 Dingens Street, Buffalo, New York.

Each of these counts is punishable by a mandatory minimum period of 5 years incarceration and a maximum period of 20 years incarceration, a $250,000.00 fine, or both.

United States Attorney Mehltretter stated that the indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on July 17, 2008, but was sealed by order of the Court at the request of the United States Attorney's Office. Assistant United States Attorney, Richard P. Maigret, who will prosecute the case for the United States Attorney's Office stated that the investigation had revealed that Vernon had left the Western District of New York sometime after the arson of the Department of Motor Vehicles building, and relocated to the Nation of Canada. Vernon subsequently left Canada and returned to his native Australia before the indictment was returned by a federal grand jury. AUSA Maigret stated in open court that, after the indictment was returned, the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York applied to the Nation of Australia to begin the extradition process of Vernon. Vernon was arrested by Australian authorities on January 6, 2010, on the basis of this extradition request. Formal extradition proceedings to return Vernon to the United States and the Western district of New York in order to stand trial on this indictment are being commenced in Sydney, Australia.

This indictment is the result of an investigation conducted by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Buffalo Field Office, under the direction of Acting Resident Agent in Charge, Francis J. Christiano and fire investigators from the Buffalo Fire Department. They were assisted in this investigation by members of the New York State Police and employees of the Department of Motor Vehicles.



January 8, 2010:

Division 211 Members:

Albany - "State lawmakers have passed two reform measures that will save taxpayers millions of dollars and significantly increase accountability to the public," said Public Employees Federation President Kenneth Brynien.

"The first piece of legislation will reduce the state’s reliance on costly information technology (IT) consultants in state agencies replacing the private contractors with state employees who can do the work for less. For years, PEF has urged the state to reduce costs by cutting the use of IT consultants where the same work can be done by state employees at a savings.

"The legislation allows the state to hire a limited number of civil service employees into temporary project titles to perform IT work for a period of up to five years. It also authorizes a skills inventory of job candidates who are on specified civil service eligible lists for IT titles to allow for appointments to be made from qualified candidates. The state will also work with PEF to expand current training programs to upgrade IT skills of the current state workforce.

"This cost-cutting initiative will save taxpayers millions of dollars while also improving the capacity and efficiency of the state’s extensive IT systems. We will continue to push for further reductions in the reliance on consultants for a savings of as much as a billion dollars over the next four years./p>

"The second piece of legislation increases oversight of public authorities or "shadow agencies" by making them more transparent and accountable. It establishes an independent authorities budget office with power to examine the finances of authorities and raises the standards for fiduciary responsibility and accountability for the management of authorities.

"There are more than 700 public authorities that spend public funds, but operate outside the normal system of public oversight resulting in years of waste, corruption and billions in debt.

"PEF has long supported reducing the reliance on costly IT consultants and providing greater oversight and accountability of public authorities. Enactment of both laws is a victory for taxpayers and a move in the right direction toward government transparency,” Brynien said.