Ed Notes Extended

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Mulgrew in his own words - Brags about MedAdv Program HE Helped Design - Before he abandoned it

Listen to Mulgrew brag about the plan he designed and promoted and attacked those of us who were critical. Hear Mulgrew talk about how proud he was about the MedAdv - until he abandoned it after the judge ruled in our favor.

And don't forget -- if you support medicare for all/single payer, backing Mulgrew and Unity Caucus is a total contradiction.

https://youtu.be/8DxZrE5WGmM

 From United for Change blog:

Mulgrewcare Has Failed. Now, We Must Vote Mulgrew Out – #VoteMulgrewOUT

Mulgrewcare has failed because of Michael Mulgrew’s hubris.

Mulgrewcare was hatched in backroom secrecy after Mulgrew’s 2014 retro pay contract fiasco with the city that raided over a billion dollars from the Healthcare Stabilization Fund to pay for raises.

Mulgrew and De Blasio dipped into a fund solely designed to offset the healthcare inflation costs. And then Mike convinced the MLC to follow his lead.

Then, in 2021, when Mulgrew and the UFT-led MLC were backed into a corner by the mayor to replenish this now depleted fund, they designed and tried to sell us all, a privatized Medicare Advantage plan, that penalizes city retirees for their healthcare choices and burdens them with scores of pre-authorizations, to pay for his mediocre labor agreements of the past.

Mulgrewcare would have forced all of our city’s retirees into an ill-conceived managed plan, or retirees who opted out would have to pay well over $2000 to $4000 a year to keep their existing coverage promised to them by the City.

Thousands of retirees stood up and said: NO! They organized, protested, raised their own funds, and sued – AND WON!

On March 3rd, 2022, a Manhattan judge ruled in favor of the retirees who were opting out of this failed, coerced plan. The law says the city cannot charge retirees or active city employees for healthcare unless it is above the cost of the HIP plan. This is the language the judge used in citing the city’s administrative code: “

This section states unequivocally that “[t]he City will pay the entire cost of health insurance coverage for city employees, city retirees, and their dependents, not to exceed one hundred percent of the full cost of H.I.P.-H.M.O. on a category basis.”

The city and unions (the Municipal Labor Committee) were violating the law by agreeing to charge all of our city’s retirees who wanted to keep their current Senior Care supplemental Medicare insurance $191 per month if they opted out of the new privatized Mulgrewcare.

Now, that Mulgrewcare is dead, for now, we must make sure Mulgrew never again places our most seasoned civil servants, retirees, and our current in-service UFT members in harm’s way. He also has designs on our next UFT contract, too, with his penchant for healthcare givebacks and weak negotiating posture.

In April of 2022, UFT members must vote him and his Unity caucus OUT!

Vote United For Change, a coalition slate that stood with our city’s retirees in organizing against Mulgrewcare

 

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