Feb. 28, 2022

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Retiree Advocate is a member of UNITED FOR CHANGE
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"We do the Work"

2022 Unity Caucus campaign slogan.

from New Action Caucus, an open letter to Mulgrew.

Dear Michael Mulgrew,

Unity Caucus claims “[they] do the work.” But over the last several decades, they’ve allowed the DOE to pile on extra responsibilities for all UFT members. In essence, under Unity, we’re overworked.
Let’s take a look at an example. The other day, I was logged in for some mandatory per session. After a long day, I was ready to go home. But, this year, whenever a student quarantines, teachers are obligated to do remote office hours. In many schools, COVID rates are so high that teachers find themselves doing these office hours many times a month if not every week. Yes, teachers can pick which days they work the extra hours or forego their lunch breaks. But this extra work is compulsory. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize what’s happened here – our work days have been extended, and undemocratically at that. Had I had a seat at the table, I would have argued to replace Monday PD time with this new task. (After all, there’s precedent for this – we did something similar last year with ‘office hours’ and ‘co-planning time’ in lieu of long weekly PDs). I also would have pushed for better remote infrastructure in the first place. But, I didn’t get a vote. You’d think the DA would have been consulted, but we weren’t. As usual, you and the rest of the Unity leadership pushed the forced overtime on teachers without consulting us.
So, inspired by Norm Scott’s excellent piece detailing the ways that Unity has ‘not done the work,’ I decided to put together an incomplete list of the ways they’ve also pushed more work onto the rank and file.
We are overworked, because Unity Caucus:
-Negotiated endless PD Mondays and OPW time on Tuesdays in exchange for one-time wage increases. Years later, our wages have not kept up with inflation, but the extended days remain.
-Let the DOE enforce mandatory per session for office hours (as well as special education recovery services) rather than repurpose already existing extended days.
-Is committed to healthcare givebacks, making us work harder to find providers or get affordable necessary care.
-Gave the greenlight for tenure to be extended from three to four years minimum, which is now routinely denied or extended by principals and superintendents, even after teachers put in the work to create expansive portfolios that were never required previously.
- Has failed to reduce class sizes or caseload caps in 60 years, even as the instructional techniques mandated by the Danielson rubric (e.g. differentiation, collaborative learning strategies) essentially require small class sizes.
-Stripped us of many of our protections against abusive administrators, such as the PINI program, and the right to grieve letters in the file.
- Allowed the discipline code to deteriorate, without building up the functioning restorative justice programs we were promised would fill the void. Without any disciplinary infrastructure, teachers have significantly more draining experiences managing their classrooms, and to the detriment of all students (many of whom are traumatized by witnessing fight after fight).
-Let schools reopen at full capacity, without a remote option, during Omicron, leading to thousands of student and teacher infections. As misinterpretations of the new CDC guidance flourish, many of these teachers have been harassed by administrators to come back only five days after testing positive, despite maintaining symptoms. Many others have contracted long-COVID in the unsafe classrooms that Unity rubber stamped, and now must grapple with whether they even have the energy left to continue their teaching careers.

I for one am sick of being over-worked because Unity fails to deliver. Next election, I’ll be voting United for Change. They’ll actually do the work.

45,000 NYC retirees have rejected the MAPP to stay in their traditional free Medicare Plan in spite of the fact that they will have to pay a $200 a month premium. Why?

-Prior Authorizations (an AMA report) delay treatments
-Private Insurance Plans are more expensive

Elizabeth Fowler, Biden's pick to head the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) used to work for insurance company Wellpoint which later became Anthem. She has always looked after the interests of Private Insurance.

When PNHP launched this campaign three months ago, the Direct Contracting (DC) program was flying under the radar of both seniors and Congress. But through our tireless advocacy, organizing, and media outreach, we’ve succeeded in making Direct Contracting a toxic name.
CMS had to respond. But instead of rejecting this backdoor privatization model, they tried to push it back under the radar with a new name — “ACO REACH.”
Just like it’s evil twin, Direct Contracting, the proposed REACH program would:
-Pay third-party middlemen a flat fee to "manage" seniors' health, allowing them to keep up to 40% of what they don’t spend on health care as profit and overhead.
-Automatically enroll Traditional Medicare beneficiaries into REACH without their full understanding or consent.
-Require beneficiaries to change primary care providers if they wish to opt out of the program.
-Allow virtually any type of company to be a REACH middleman, including those owned by commercial insurers and private equity investors, as well as every company currently participating in the DC program.
Wall Street is betting on Medicare privatization as their next big score, and it will take a movement to stop. PNHP

More about ACO REACH - Accountable Care Organization

From Bloomberg News a brief example of how Wall Street is closely aligned with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation

Clover Health at More Risk on Rollback of Trump Medicare Program OKA "Direct Contracting"

Concerns over CMS policy changes threaten Medicare-tied stocks
Clover Health shares slide 90% from June peak, Cano down 60%

By Cristin Flanagan, Bloomberg News, February 17, 2022

A potential rollback of a Trump administration Medicare program could threaten a handful of recently listed stocks from the past two years including Clover Health Investments Corp.

Clover, which went public in a blank-check merger backed by Chamath Palihapitiya, has already seen its stock drop 90% from a June peak. But the stock could take another leg downward if a program known as direct contracting -- a payment model that allows private companies to take part in Medicare -- is ended or scaled back, as it accounts for roughly 60% of its sales, according to Citigroup.

Clover is one of several health-care technology and service upstarts that have come to the market with big-name backers and heady valuations recently. But a broad market rotation away from high-growth names in the face of rising interest rates, as well as cooling daytrader interest, has reined in stock prices. Now, potential Medicare changes could further pressure the stock and others, with little room to reverse course.

Citigroup analyst Jason Cassorla has opened a 30-day negative catalyst watch on a trio of health companies including Clover saying there is “limited upside” from any decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The list also includes Cano Health Inc., a medical provider backed by billionaire Barry Sternlicht that gets about 16% of its sales from the Medicare program, and health insurer Bright Health Group Inc., which earns roughly 5% from the program. Both Cano and Bright Health shares are down more than 50% since June. Additionally, clinic operators Oak Street Health Inc. and 1Life Healthcare Inc. -- both trading below their 2020 IPO prices -- could be impacted, according SVB Leerink analysts. All the Medicare-levered names tumbled Thursday amid a broader geopolitically driven selloff; 1Life closed down 12% while Clover tumbled 11% and Cano Health slid 9.3%.

Want Answers?
More on the name switch from Direct Contracting to ACO REACH
PSC CUNY - What's happening with retiree healthcare
FAQs from the NYC Retirees Organization
Updated MLC FAQs
Evidence of Coverage
UFT Welfare Fund
Prior Authorizations
Dark History of Medicare Privatization- article
Court Documents

Message from United for Change

We will fight to remove private greed from our profession, our livelihood, and our schools.

Reverse privatization of Medicare for NYC municipal retirees. No in-service healthcare givebacks.
Support single payer public healthcare.
Rescind mandatory HMO enrollment for new UFT members. Bring back choice.
End high-stakes testing. Replace with fairer forms of student assessment
Fight the privatization of public education. Reverse the spread of charter schools in public education.

Retiree Advocate is a member of UNITED FOR CHANGE

Retiree Advocate Platform

SAVE RETIREE BENEFIT

Protect our Healthcare from being privatized
Expand our Social Security benefits and ensure that they are not diminished or removed
Win a (single payer) universal health program, support and organize for the NYHealth Care Act
Increase our COLA (cost of living adjustments)

PROTECT WORKING EDUCATORS and SAVE PUBLIC SCHOOLS WITH FULL FUNDING•UFT

Take immediate steps to support teachers working under abusive administrators
Fight for Pension Equity- tier 1 for all. Equal work deserves equal pensions
Restore the Retiree Organizing Committee.
Defend our public schools and take a more active role in preventing them from being privatized
Say No to Charters, vouchers and any system that creates unequal worker tiers
Reduce Class Size! Cut administrator costs

EXPAND UNION DEMOCRACY

Working members should have greater voting weight when electing union leadership
Change the current “winner take all” election system using proportional representation for union slate
Represent a variety of views and interests in our chapter. Diversity of ideas leads to better decision making (which results in a stronger union)

FIGHT FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE FOR ALL

We support The Black Lives Matter movement. End systemic racism and oppression
We call for an end to police brutality, real police reform and the end of the militarization of police departments
We support raising the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour.
The federal government should institute a massive jobs program to address racial and economic disparity. Support economic and health victims of the pandemic
Work to cut the excesses in the military budget and redirect monies to expand social services and benefits in local communities.