With Micron in mind, Le Moyne to offer new physics major in 2026

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SYRACUSE — Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) has plans to build a massive semiconductor-manufacturing campus in the town of Clay, and Le Moyne College wants to help prepare future students to secure a job with the Boise, Idaho–based company. The school is set to offer a bachelor’s degree in applied physics “as the region prepares […]

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The school is set to offer a bachelor’s degree in applied physics “as the region prepares for the arrival of Micron Technology within the next several years.”

The New York State Department of Education approved Le Moyne’s request to offer the degree program, the school said in a Nov. 21 announcement. It’ll be available for new and current students starting with the 2026 fall semester.

The new major “unlocks the physical principles behind modern breakthroughs” such as semiconductors, sensors, renewable-energy systems, and other technological advances, preparing students to work in fields that are expected to “grow significantly” over the next 10 years.

“Le Moyne is excited to offer the new applied physics major, which will strengthen Le Moyne’s position as a key player in emerging careers in engineering, as well as specific fields such as semiconductors and material sciences,” Le Moyne College President Linda LeMura said in the school’s announcement. “Building from a foundation in liberal arts and sciences provided by our core curriculum, the program was created to meet the anticipated employment growth and a strong student interest within the region and across the state.”

These careers could include positions at the Micron facilities that will be built in the town of Clay. With an investment of up to $100 billion over the next 20 years, the firm estimates the fabrication (fab) plants could eventually result in 9,000 jobs at Micron and 9,500 jobs in businesses that supply Micron.

Le Moyne cites both state and federal labor statistics as indicating job growth in areas such as electrical engineering and materials science are anticipated to grow between 6 percent and 7 percent through 2034, higher than the average for all occupations.

The industries that will be hiring individuals with applied physics degrees include semiconductor and microelectronics (e.g., chip manufacturers, fabs); advanced manufacturing and materials; aerospace and defense; medical imaging and diagnostic sonographers; energy and renewable technology; software developer (instrumentation, embedded systems); government and national labs; and analytics and quantitative finance, per the Le Moyne announcement.

“Applied physics has been described as where scientific curiosity meets hands-on innovation,” Christopher Bass, chair of Le Moyne’s physics department, said. “Applied physics fully embraces Le Moyne’s educational mission by incorporating ethical scientific conduct and inquiry into the curriculum. The program will offer personalized mentoring, advanced labs and research opportunities where students will gain the knowledge and experience that will allow them to step confidently into high-demand careers.”

SUNY Sustainability Fellows include area professors

Education & Training, Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Subscriber Only

ALBANY — Three Central New York college professors and one from the Southern Tier are among 11 of SUNY’s inaugural Sustainability Faculty Fellows. They include Jean Yang, assistant professor of landscape architecture at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse; Augusta Williams, assistant professor of public health at Upstate Medical University in

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ALBANY — Three Central New York college professors and one from the Southern Tier are among 11 of SUNY’s inaugural Sustainability Faculty Fellows.

They include Jean Yang, assistant professor of landscape architecture at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse; Augusta Williams, assistant professor of public health at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse; Jeremy Jiménez, associate professor of foundations and social advocacy at SUNY Cortland; and Neyda Gilman, associate librarian / assistant head of sustainability and STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) engagement at Binghamton University.

The 11 fellows, representing 11 SUNY campuses, will assist other faculty in incorporating climate and sustainability topics into existing courses and develop new applied-learning opportunities.

SUNY Chancellor John King, Jr. on Sept. 23 announced SUNY’s inaugural Sustainability Faculty Fellows as part of New York Climate Week.

“SUNY is proud to be a key partner in Governor Kathy Hochul’s plan to build a resilient and sustainable New York,” King contended in the SUNY announcement. “With climate change affecting all elements of our society, from extreme weather emergencies to the emerging clean energy field, our students will need to be knowledgeable about sustainability to thrive as citizens and in their careers. Today’s students are eager to participate in climate action, and SUNY is taking steps so that New Yorkers are prepared.”

The Sustainability Faculty Fellows will advance climate literacy and knowledge of sustainability topics throughout the SUNY system. They’ll develop pedagogical resources and provide support for faculty as they develop and teach courses across a broad spectrum of disciplines and levels of study from microcredentials through doctoral programs, SUNY said.

SUNY selected the group following an open call for nominations.

Jean Yang

Yang is a landscape designer, urban planner, and educator with a focus on design-driven, equity-focused, and benefits-based landscapes.

“Congratulations to Jean Yang’s for her selection as a SUNY Sustainability Faculty Fellow. Professor Yang’s research reflects the critical role ESF plays in shaping a resilient and equitable future through design and environmental leadership,” ESF President Joanie Mahoney said in a Sept. 24 ESF announcement. “We are proud to have Professor Yang represent ESF at the table ensuring that sustainability education is rooted in both innovation and impact.”

Augusta Williams

Williams has a research interest in climate change, environmental health, and health benefits of sustainability and climate solutions. Williams, who joined Upstate in 2022, also serves as the assistant director of the Upstate Public Health Program and the assistant director of the Central NY Children’s Environmental Health Center.

“Climate change has been deemed over the last decade by multiple international bodies to be the greatest public health threat of this century,” Williams said in a Nov. 17 Upstate Medical announcement. “No matter what area of public health you work in climate change will impact it in some way and it really has the potential to exacerbate existing health disparities. It’s so wide-reaching that we need many different professions, many different perspectives at the table to be ready to respond to this.”

Neyda Gilman

For Gilman, the fellowship is an extension of the work she does to advance the mission of the University Libraries. Through her involvement with the Sustainability Hub located in the Science Library, Gilman recognizes the importance of environmental literacy and the impact having these skills integrated with the curriculum.

“At its core, this fellowship is a way to further integrate sustainability and climate information into courses across SUNY,” Gilman, librarian for sustainability, STEM engagement, and health sciences, said in an Oct. 7 Binghamton University announcement. “This program combines three things I find to be central to my identity and work: sustainability, education and community. Participating in this fellowship will allow me to use my skills and knowledge as a librarian to find, evaluate and share information that will be useful for faculty to integrate into their courses and beneficial to the students in those courses.”

Jeremy Jiménez

Jiménez, a faculty member in the Foundations and Social Advocacy Department in SUNY Cortland’s School of Education, earned his doctorate in international and comparative education from Stanford University in 2017. He previously taught high school social studies for more than a decade across the world, including Norway, Venezuela, and the U.S., per a Sept. 9 announcement on the SUNY Cortland website.

Jiménez’s course topics explore race, class, gender and international issues in education and how they intersect with environmental justice. His current research focuses on how to prepare educators and schools for the transition toward life after fossil fuels, with special reverence for Indigenous conceptions of land stewardship.

Sustainable Office Solutions prepares to close its doors

Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Small Business, Subscriber Only

DeWITT — Sustainable Office Solutions, LLC — a 16-year-old small business that sells and rents out new and pre-owned office furniture — is getting ready to close. Owner Andy Picco believes he will be ready to end operations in mid-December. Until then, he’s working to liquidate the firm’s remaining merchandise. Sustainable Office Solutions is located

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DeWITT — Sustainable Office Solutions, LLC — a 16-year-old small business that sells and rents out new and pre-owned office furniture — is getting ready to close.

Owner Andy Picco believes he will be ready to end operations in mid-December. Until then, he’s working to liquidate the firm’s remaining merchandise. Sustainable Office Solutions is located at 3955 Eastbourne Drive, off New Court Ave. in the town of DeWitt. It has operated in that location since 2022.

In a Nov. 26 interview with CNYBJ, Picco cited a change in the marketplace and financial reasons for closing the business.

“The market has changed completely here in Syracuse. In the furniture industry, what most people don’t realize is [the aftermath of] COVID is killing us,” says Picco. “Think about how many people are working from home that used to work in an office. Think about how much office space is wide open with nobody moving in. And lastly, what happened to all that furniture they had? It flooded the market … Nobody’s expanding. No one’s moving into [available] space, [and] people are still working from home. So, that killed us.”

Picco had hoped to hand the business over to one of his sons, but neither was interested. He has a nephew who expressed interest but is now dealing with a health problem. Another potential buyer showed initial interest, but in the end, decided against it.

“That’s why we’re closing. It’s financial and [there’s] no one to run the company,” says Picco.

Picco says he’s contacted a lot of furniture companies about his remaining merchandise, but very few are in the used-furniture business. “No one’s really interested in my product … so that’s why I can’t sell it to them,” he adds.

So, he’s alerting people he knows, along with his customers, and the general public about the remaining office furniture that’s available. He plans to notify IMS (International Monetary System) Barter and its members.

Picco would also like to donate some of his remaining merchandise to interested nonprofit organizations.

“Instead of it going to a dump, or being turned into metal, I’d rather give it to nonprofits, and I have a lot of nice stuff for them,” he stresses.

Remaining products include more than 300 chairs, file cabinets, and desks.

Besides Picco, Sustainable Office Solutions currently has two part-time employees, both of whom are family members. He’s been leasing his Eastbourne Drive facility, and the lease is now complete.

Picco, age 69, says he’s looking forward to getting away from day-to-day business activities.

“I’m ready to enjoy life with my wife, so it’s not a bad thing that I’m closing,” he says.

Company history, owner advice

Sustainable Office Solutions launched on Nov. 1. 2009 at 1811 Le Moyne Ave. in the town of Salina, eventually moving in the same town to 900 Old Liverpool Road. The operations at the Old Liverpool Road location also included warehouse space in the former Will & Baumer candle factory at 100 Buckley Road, also in the town of Salina.

Picco says his business lacked a revenue-in-force (RIF) base, or ongoing revenue from a given client. He went on to explain that office furniture generally lasts 15 years, so once the product is sold, his business isn’t generating any more revenue from that client for several years.

Picco recommends to anyone that wants to start a business that they make sure to have an RIF base, and that they know their market.

“Make sure the products are always being consumed, so you have a steady market,” he notes.

Company legacy

Picco is referring future customers to Just the Right Stuff, which his former employer Hurbson WorkPlace Furnishings, is now part of following a merger. Just the Right Stuff is located at 103 Twin Oaks Drive in the town of DeWitt — situated between Carrier and Military Circles.

When asked if he believes he accomplished what he wanted to with Sustainable Office Solutions, Picco immediately replies, “No.”

“I did the best I could. If the market would’ve evolved like it was supposed to … go from a bleeding edge to a cutting edge where everybody had to have it … I would’ve been in great shape,” he says, noting he was one of only two local dealers focusing on used office furniture. “The market didn’t evolve.”

Despite that, Picco says he is satisfied with how Sustainable Office Solutions conducted business, specifically how it treated its customers and vice versa.

“In 16 years, we’ve never been stiffed for one penny. Every customer we’re ever done business with … have paid us what we asked. I never had to sue one person. … I always made sure we gave the customers more than they expected,” he says.

Picco also recalls when he started a membership group called Sustainable Upstate Network, which focused on and had interest in sustainability.

“We had non-competing members. We could be referring [to] each other all the time and make it easy for the customer to really embrace sustainability … Save energy, insulation, lighting,” he says.

It’s still in operation and now calls itself Sustainable Syracuse, Picco notes.

Cornell plants ash trees it hopes are resistant to borer insects

Education & Training, Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Southern Tier, Subscriber Only

ITHACA — Newly planted ash saplings on Cornell University property are potentially resistant to destructive emerald ash borer insects, making the university the first propagation center in New York state. The planting is part of The Nature Conservancy’s Trees in Peril project, seeking to restore disappearing ash trees across the United States, according to a

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The planting is part of The Nature Conservancy’s Trees in Peril project, seeking to restore disappearing ash trees across the United States, according to a Nov. 20 article on the Cornell Chronicle media relations website. The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit founded in 1951 in the U.S.

Emerald ash borers usually kill all the trees in a stand, but studies by the USDA Forest Service have found that sometimes a few healthy trees — called lingering ash — remain, suggesting they have some natural resistance, according to the article.

After finding several resistant trees in its natural areas, Cornell Botanic Gardens is working with other conservation partners to propagate more-resistant trees. If successful, these trees and their progeny could be used to reforest decimated woodlands in New York state and elsewhere.

“Our goal is to propagate and conserve trees from 50 to 60 unique parents of green, white and black ash species, and we are thrilled that our first cohort of lingering ash have been planted out in their conservation banks,” Todd Bittner, director of natural areas for the Cornell Botanic Gardens, said in the article.

Emerald ash borer larvae have devastated black, white, and green ash trees by burrowing and eating the living tissue under the bark, which kills the trees. The insects have wiped out ash trees in 37 states, costing billions of dollars for tree removal, treatment, and replacement.

When emerald ash borer populations are at lower levels, natural resistance will likely protect trees, but when populations and pest pressures are high, the trees will likely need additional protections, or otherwise would still get destroyed the borer, Bittner noted.

The Trees in Peril program includes The Nature Conservancy, the USDA Forest Service, experts from academia, research organizations, and other partners — all of whom are collaborating to monitor, research and breed pest-resistant American beech, Eastern hemlock, and black, white, and green ash.

For more information on this project, check out the Cornell Chronicle article at: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2025/11/cornell-ash-trees-aim-beat-back-borer-insects

OPINION: New York State’s Raise the Age Isn’t Working; Reform is a Must

Opinion, Subscriber Only

The abject failure of New York’s criminal-justice reform has been evident for years. For example, “Raise the Age,” which calls for many cases involving 16-year-old and 17-year-old adolescent offenders (AOs) to be heard in family court rather than criminal court, has done nothing to make New Yorkers safer. That is much like other failed “progressive”

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One look at New York City clearly demonstrates how dangerous and ineffective this policy is. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the number of young shooters has nearly doubled since the law was changed and the number of children victimized by shootings is up 83 percent. However, this problem is far from a downstate-specific issue. In Albany, one incident involved 10 young people being shot, one fatally, and buildings were set on fire on the Fourth of July. Statistics indicate an overall increase in violent crime committed by 16-year-old and 17-year-old offenders across the state, while convictions plummeted.

Prior to Raise the Age, in 2017, nearly 60 percent of AOs, or 4,000, charged with serious crimes were convicted in adult criminal court, and more than 1,000 received a prison or jail sentence. In 2024, however, fewer than 10 percent of AOs, or 418, charged with a felony received a felony conviction. And less than 5 percent were placed in an Office of Children and Family Services facility for more than a year.

“The data is telling us, over the past five years, a very clear, stark story. We need to listen to that data,” said Tisch. The Assembly Minority Conference has been listening. We have been tracking this data for years, and we have continued to call for criminal accountability, fair and appropriate judicial discretion, and meaningful reforms to criminal-justice legislation that respects the rights of all New Yorkers, especially the victims of violent crime.

As such, it’s no surprise that district attorneys, law-enforcement agents, victims’ advocates, and lawmakers from every corner of New York have been persistent in their calls for change. With major changes coming in 2026 — New York City’s socialist experiment will undoubtedly create new challenges for residents and state lawmakers — it’s critical we continue to push this fight forward.

I have introduced legislation (A.4705) to prevent 16-year-old and 17-year-old adolescent offenders who commit serious felonies from escaping criminal liability by being shielded by family court, where records are sealed. The reason for this legislation is simple: These young men and women know what they are doing is wrong. The gang leaders who recruit them to do their bidding while shielded by this law know what they are doing is wrong. We must hold them accountable.

The Assembly Minority Conference will always advocate for the victims of crime. I look forward to working with my partners and colleagues in the Assembly and Senate in the upcoming session to hold perpetrators accountable and restore common sense to our criminal-justice system. Raise the Age simply did not work, and it’s long past time to move on from this failed policy.

William (Will) A. Barclay, 56, Republican, is the New York Assembly minority leader and represents the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses all of Oswego County, as well as parts of Jefferson and Cayuga counties.

OPINION: Congress Needs to Rebuild its Political Muscles

Opinion, Subscriber Only

Watching the media’s reaction recently to the recent 427-1 vote in the U.S. House and the Senate’s unanimous consent for releasing the Epstein files, I was struck by two things. First, that even though the votes went against President Trump’s vehement opposition (until a few days before), they were hardly profiles in courage. As House

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Watching the media’s reaction recently to the recent 427-1 vote in the U.S. House and the Senate’s unanimous consent for releasing the Epstein files, I was struck by two things.

First, that even though the votes went against President Trump’s vehement opposition (until a few days before), they were hardly profiles in courage. As House Speaker Mike Johnson put it afterward, “None of us want to go on record and in any way be accused of not being for maximum transparency,” a recognition that GOP members were under great public pressure to override the president’s original wishes.

And second, as the insider publication The Hill wrote afterward, no one should take that vote as an indication that the president’s hold on his own party has been broken. “To the contrary, he still exerts a vise-like grip on Republicans on Capitol Hill on the vast majority of issues,” they argued. To be sure, others argue differently, and you can certainly find exceptions, like the Senate’s votes in October against the administration’s tariff regime and its willingness to rebuff the president when he sought to eliminate the filibuster. Still, it’s fair to say that on most issues, President Trump still gets what he wants from the Republican-led Congress.

I wish it were otherwise. That’s because I believe Congress has grown listless in the face of presidential authority — and not just when it comes to President Trump. When I first went to the House in the mid-1960s, it was still in a decades-long period of vigorous legislating, muscular oversight of the executive branch, and even — at least in the Watergate hearings — a fierce determination to hold a president to account. The decades since have seen congressional authority erode drastically.

There’s a thread that ties together this journey from handing the president War Powers and budget-making responsibility — explicitly given to Congress by the Constitution — to what we have today: a majority party that mostly refuses to challenge the president, members who prefer to duck town halls rather than face their constituents, and committee chairs who shy away from calling agency and department heads named by a president of their own party to account. That thread, I’d argue, is pain avoidance. Over the decades, many members of Congress have lost their appetite for engaging with people who don’t agree with them and for standing up for what they believe despite presidential pressure.

True, these were both easier to do in the past, when Congressional leaders like Sam Rayburn, Mike Mansfield, and Howard Baker saw protecting Congressional prerogative as worth spending political capital on — they made it clear that they would endure pain on behalf of the institution of Congress, and that they expected their members to do so, too. These days, many members see Congress not as an institution to defend but as a platform for individual brand-building. In this world, taking political risks doesn’t hold much appeal.

Yet, if Congress is to reassert itself as a responsible branch of government, it will need both a leadership and a majority of members who embrace and understand that political give and take, and persuading people who are skeptical of their arguments, are crucial skills to develop in a representative democracy — especially when dealing with one another on Capitol Hill.

In other words, they need to rebuild a sort of muscle memory for persuasion, negotiation, principled disagreement, and compromise.

This is impossible if they opt repeatedly to take the easy route of letting others make tough decisions. Instead, people who serve in or run for Congress need to learn how to persuade and work with members who don’t agree with them — and to stiffen their spines when a president tries to browbeat them into relinquishing congressional authority. To do this, I believe, they need to build their abilities by running in competitive Congressional districts, holding regular town halls, holding floor debates that make more room for amendments, serving on committees that are empowered to make difficult decisions, and reasserting Congressional authority over tough issues like taxes and spending. In other words, they need to rebuild the skill sets that once served members of Congress — and the American people — so well.

Lee Hamilton, 94, is a senior advisor for the Indiana University (IU) Center on Representative Government, distinguished scholar at the IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, and professor of practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hamilton, a Democrat, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years (1965-1999), representing a district in south-central Indiana.

Ask Rusty: If We Both Collect SS, Will our Benefits be Affected?

Business Mentors, Subscriber Only

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Dear Rusty: I reached full retirement age (FRA) back in June, but I have not yet filed to collect Social Security (SS). My husband currently collects SS funds, and he waited until he had reached his FRA a few years ago. I am considering signing up now to receive my funds, but I am a little confused about whether I will receive my full benefit or is there some kind of adjustment made based on both of us collecting? We are a simple case. We have been married for 46 years, so there are no other exes involved in this equation. He did everything online when he was ready to start receiving his funds, but we didn’t consult with any advisor when my husband claimed. Now I think that adding me as a spouse might trigger some other things I should consider. Thank you for your advice.

Signed: Concerned Wife

Dear Concerned: Since you and your husband have both reached your respective full retirement ages, you are both entitled to receive your full benefits without any reduction. And since you haven’t yet filed, you are now accumulating delayed retirement credits (DRCs) at the rate of 0.667 percent additional benefit for each month you continue to delay. You will get your full SS retirement benefit (plus any earned DRCs) when you claim. The only question you need to consider is whether either you or your husband will be entitled to a “spousal boost” (an increase) when you claim.

If the SS retirement benefit you were entitled to at your FRA is less than 50 percent the amount your husband was entitled to at his FRA, then you will get a “spousal boost” on top of your own SS retirement amount (the “boost” amount would be the difference between your FRA amount and half of his FRA amount). But if your SS amount at your FRA is more than 50 percent of your husband’s FRA entitlement, then you will only get your own SS retirement benefit based on your own lifetime earnings record. Spouse benefits are always determined from each partner’s FRA entitlement, and if one partner’s FRA amount is less than 50 percent of the other partner’s FRA amount, then a spousal boost will be given. And that also works if your FRA entitlement is higher than your husband’s — if your FRA amount is more than twice your husband’s FRA amount, then he will get a spousal boost from you. Otherwise, each of you will receive only your personally earned SS retirement amount, and both of you collecting SS will not negatively affect each other’s individual SS benefit.

FYI, the spousal-boost amount stops growing at full retirement age. So, if you are eligible for a spousal boost from your husband, then you should claim your SS benefits now and ask for benefits retroactive to June (your FRA month). However, if you will not get a spousal boost from your husband, you have the option of delaying even further and earning more DRCs (thus a higher monthly benefit). You can earn DRCs up to age 70, at which time you will receive the maximum possible Social Security benefit (about 127 percent of your personal FRA amount if you delay that long).

Russell Gloor is a national Social Security advisor at the AMAC Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC). The 2.4-million-member AMAC says it is a senior advocacy organization. Send your questions to: ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org.

Author’s note: This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained, and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). The NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration (SSA) or any other governmental entity.

VIEWPOINT: New York State’s Effort to Replace the NLRB Is Enjoined

Business Mentors, Subscriber Only

On Nov. 26, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction barring New York State from enforcing the recent legislative amendment that gave the New York Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) jurisdiction over private-sector labor-relations matters in New York. The court found that federal law preempted the

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As we previously reported, earlier this year Section 715 of the New York Labor Law was amended to provide coverage for private employees that are traditionally covered by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by granting authority to PERB to oversee labor disputes in the private sector unless the NLRB had affirmatively obtained a court order establishing jurisdiction. The legislation enabled PERB to certify new union representatives without elections, adjudicate unfair labor practices, and exercise authority over new and previously negotiated collective-bargaining agreements.

Two lawsuits to challenge the legislation were quickly filed. The NLRB sued New York to protect its jurisdiction. That matter remains pending. At about the same time, Amazon.Com Services, LLC (Amazon) filed suit to enjoin the prosecution and investigation of an unfair labor practice charge filed with PERB under the new law.

In granting the injunction, the federal court recognized that the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution establishes federal law as the “supreme Law of the Land . . . any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding,” which means that when federal and state law conflict, federal law prevails and state law is preempted. In the context of private-sector labor relations, the U.S. Supreme Court has long held that when an activity is arguably subject to regulation under the NLRA, the states must defer to the exclusive competence of the NLRB and, as such, states are prohibited from setting forth standards of conduct inconsistent with the substantive requirements of the NLRA and from providing their own regulatory or judicial remedies for conduct prohibited or arguably prohibited by the NLRA. The court in the Amazon matter rejected all of New York State’s arguments to create an exception to these established principles and defend the legislative amendment. Given that Amazon faced an immediate risk of parallel and potentially inconsistent proceedings from the state and federal regulatory schemes, the court found there was irreparable harm justifying an immediate injunction.

While an appeal is expected, the current result is very good news. In the NLRB’s action, PERB had already agreed to stay any proceedings initiated against private-sector employers. It is now enjoined from enforcing the New York law against private-sector employers. This action, however, does not impact employers already subject to PERB’s jurisdiction, including public employers and agricultural employers.

As a result, it is far less likely that unions will file representation petitions or unfair labor practice charges with PERB, and instead address complaints through the NLRB. Currently, the NLRB remains without a quorum; however, the NLRB’s regional offices and general counsel’s office are active again following the government shutdown and have restarted conducting elections, issuing complaints, investigating charges, holding hearings, and issuing interim ALJ (administrative law judge) decisions.

Thomas G. Eron is a member (partner) of Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC. Located in its Syracuse office, he exclusively represents private and public-sector employers in labor relations and employment law. Contact Eron at teron@bsk.com. Samuel P. Wiles is an associate attorney in Bond’s New York City office. His practice involves advising employers on labor and employment issues including matters related to compliance with federal and state laws. His practice also involves representing employers before federal and state courts, in addition to federal and state agencies including the NLRB. Contact Wiles at swiles@bsk.com. This article is drawn from the firm’s New York Labor and Employment Law Report on its website.

Marchello begins serving as DEC executive deputy commissioner

Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Subscriber Only

ALBANY — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has a new executive deputy commissioner with the recent return of Michelle Marchello to New York. Marchello joined the DEC in this position on Sept. 8, bringing more than a decade of experience advancing state and local-government priorities on climate, energy, and environmental policy

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Lockheed Martin Owego awarded more than $15M Navy order for H-60 helicopter equipment

Manufacturing & Engineering, Southern Tier, Subscriber Only, Technology

OWEGO — Lockheed Martin Corp.’s (NYSE: LMT) Owego plant has been awarded a more than $15.1 million order under a previously awarded basic ordering agreement from the U.S. Navy for the procurement of 12 receiver processors in support of H-60 military helicopters. The delivery order does not include an option provision. All work will be

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