PEF board members to vote today on tentative agreement

PHOTOGRAPHER: The Associated Press

The executive board of New York state’s second largest union is expected to consider a tentative agreement with the Cuomo administration that would avoid laying off nearly 3,500 state employees.

If the 130 members of the Public Employees Federation board approve the agreement this afternoon, it will be put up for a vote by the union’s 56,000 rank-and-file members, who rejected a previous contract offer last month.

PEF officials announced Sunday that it had reached a tentative agreement with Gov. Andrew Cuomo on a revised contract.

Cuomo has said he will lay off 3,496 PEF members this week if the union didn’t accept the state’s offer. The union says if its executive board approves the contract, the layoff date will be pushed back to Nov. 4 to allow enough time for the membership vote.