A few contract words and New York City Organization Of Public Service Retirees Holds Rally at City Hall to Celebrate Councilman Barron Introducing Legislation to Protect Them

I'm getting ready to head down to the rally soon but wanted to update readers on a few items. 

I posted yesterday about why people should vote NO on the contract: Why A NO Vote on UFT Contract is a NO Brainer, UFC Vote No Town Hall June 21

Last night's zoom town hall with United for Change HS ex bd members was excellent with a big audience with many people who were not the usual suspects, so clearly there is some outreach.

I saw a report yesterday from the UFT to chapter leaders not to mail in the ballots because of a screw up with the mailing labels hinting that the AAA (American Arbitration) screwed up. With all the conspiracy theories and increasing doubts about trusting the AAA, showing incompetence is not comforting. In my recent years of observation, they have seemed more and more inept in a number of ways - and they have a massive contract with the UFT. As observers we used to have closer monitoring but they have increasingly pushed us further away. Many machine breakdowns and slow counts and delayed reporting the outcomes have become a pattern. Some ballots have been mailed to functional chapter members. They must be returned by July 5 and the count is July 6 at either the AAA or the UFT.

The retiree rally today is delineated by Marianne below. City retirees are fighting to remain in publicly managed Medicare instead of being pushed into privately managed profit-making Medicare Advantage. Ultimately the lobbies benefitting have the ears of both parties and with 60% in Medicare Advantage, Medicare looks doomed over the next ten years given the political landscape. The NY Health Act would remedy all this with a single payer plan for all. UFT opposes because the leadership loves to see capitalism at work and corp exec make enough money to beat inflation and stockholders increase the value of their stocks.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                       

June 22, 2023

 

New York City Organization Of Public Service Retirees Holds Rally at City Hall to Celebrate Councilman Barron Introducing Legislation to Protect Them

 

 The NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees is thankful for Councilman Charles Barron, who will introduce legislation today to protect NYC Union, municipal retirees. The legislation is a simple bill that requires the City to offer Medicare-eligible retirees a Medigap plan to supplement Federal Traditional Medicare as they have had for 56 years. 

 

It is two sentences long and states: "To preserve retiree health care choice, the City shall offer Medicare-eligible City retirees and their Medicare-eligible dependents at least one Medigap plan with benefits equivalent to or better than those available to City retirees and their dependents as of December 31, 2021.  Nothing herein shall be construed to impair the ability of any employee organization to negotiate the terms and conditions of employment for their employee members," said Marianne Pizzitola, President of the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees. 

 

For months, retirees have called, emailed, and rallied to bring attention to the fact that they will be forced off their current Medigap plan and Traditional Medicare losing access to their doctors, physicians, and treatment facilities. The Retirees feel Mayor Eric Adams sold them out by forcing them into an inferior and profit-driven privatized Medicare Advantage plan. 

This legislation will allow them to maintain access to Federal Medicare and their doctors.

 

The health of hundreds of thousands of women and men who dedicated their lives to the City of New York is at risk of being forced into a narrower network with pre-authorization requirements that will cause potentially life-threatening delays and denials of care. 

 

Pizzitola added, "This legislation allows retirees who paid Medicare Tax since their first paycheck to stay on Federal Medicare and allows them to keep access to their doctors.  This also preserves Medicare, the Federal benefit given to America by President Lyndon Johnson, given to NY-ers by Mayor John Lindsay, and preserved By Councilman Charles Barron!”   

“A Democratic City, a Democratic Council, the party of Medicare! This is a long-standing party ideal, and if they truly want to preserve Medicare, they would not be advocating the privatization of Medicare, a public Health Benefit.  Otherwise, they are enabling a for-profit insurer access to NY taxpayer dollars at the expense of the retirees!  We say Healthcare is a human right, not a political fight.  So the very people who said they want to preserve this public benefit should, and CM Barron is taking the lead and we hope the rest of the Council will stand with their colleague and thousands of their constituents .  The Retirees are thankful.”

Marianne Pizzitola 

President

NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees