Unity Caucus Favors Co-Pays: NYC Educators Penalized for Retiring - Sign the Petition

Tell Michael Mulgrew and Unity to stop charging retirees premiums while claiming our health plan is premium free. Let’s send Unity a message to respect us. Let’s tell them we demand what other unions have. The UFT Welfare Fund is sitting on over a billion dollars. Let’s tell them how we’d like it used. Let’s tell them that the very worst time to impose premiums on us is when we retire. Let’s tell them if other unions can better support retirees, we can too. DC37 doesn’t charge members for prescription insurance when they retire. Firefighter and police unions don’t do it. Sanitation, and other unions don’t do it.... Arthur Goldstein

 Sign the petition. 1,575 have signed in 24 hours -  let's hit 5k.

Imagine a world where UFT would fight like the Nurses Union. Those nurses don’t play around. They are standing on business!! I love it....Anon. FB quote 

ABC's Leah Lin tells it all: Paying more in retirement just doesn't make sense.  

Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026

 

I just finished 3 months of physical therapy for my knee, twice a week, at $15 co-pay a pop -- that's $30X12 weeks = $330 for my "premium free" healthcare. Plus all the other doctors I go to --- It's probably close to $500 given visits for my cancer and diabetes (due to removal of over half my pancreas). Listen, I can handle it all financially at this point, but for many NYC retirees these co-pays are a real burden. I've even heard stories of people who expected to retire are forced to hold off. 

 

I'm proud of my colleagues at ABC are at least making a stink of this while other supposedly opposition groups are fundamentally silent. My sense is that the non-Unity leaders of the RTC, many of whom defended the new healthcare plan, seem reluctant to be openly critical.

 

Today is an RTC Executive Board meeting and I'm looking forward to some action beyond a lot of whining over Mulgrew not calling on them at the DA. I detect a hint of fear that if they are too publicly critical of  the Unity leadership and Mulgrew, who has elements of Trump-like vindictiveness, he may turn off the lights and heat to their offices at 52 Broadway. I'll bring candles.

 

Arthur Goldstein authored a summary cross posted on the https://stopchargingretirees.org/ site: Should NYC Educators be Penalized for Retiring? Do you want to pay at least $180 a month, forever, when you retire? If not, please sign and share our petition. Please sign our petition demanding UFT stop charging retirees, some of whom are already struggling to get by. Please tell your friends to sign and share widely.

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Here's a message from on the new PPO Plan. I logged on and found that one of my diabetes meds is not on the forumulary as a 1MG but is as 2 MG. We were promised the new plan would not result in changes. 

 

York City Municipal Employees & Retirees

 

January 1st the new NYCE PPO plan was implemented for all active workers, and Pre-Medicare Retirees.   In a few weeks, we will roll out a survey to see if you are having any concerns that need to be addressed.  

January 1st also began the new Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) for those in the NYCE PPO plan, or those who are on the City Drug plan, the optional rider.  The new PBM is "Prime Therapeutics" - no longer Express Scripts.  They are the MANAGER...   Think of them like the middle man to your drug access.  A simple way to understand their job - they get you access to the drugs..   You have the drug manufacturers, the PBM and the Pharmacy.  

 

 

 

 

This was prepared by Bob Pfefferman as a briefing report prior to a meeting with newly elected City Council member Virginia Maloney. He invites questions and comments. 

 

Briefing paper, January 7, 2026, V3

 

The unions’ claim that they can negotiate for current retirees is specious for all of the following:

 

·      There is no such thing as a collective bargaining certificate for retirees.

 

·      Except for UFT retirees, we have no say in electing the union leadership. Even then UFT retiree votes are capped at a certain number.

 

·      To my knowledge, neither OLR or the MLC have cited a specific section of the Taylor Law that 1096 violates.  Any legal memo the city or the unions have is not public so no one can comment. Would you accept an unsupported allegation like this in a high school debate class?

 

The unions don’t mean this as a policy discussion. It is meant to intimidate any city council member that asks too many questions and threaten with a primary challenge.

 

·      When a union does negotiate, at least in my local, 371, AFSCME (DC 37), the members approve the collective bargaining demands. No such vote was held.

 

·      The results of any collective bargaining from an AFSCME entity holding a collective bargaining certificate must be approved by the membership. No such vote has been held.

 

·      Christopher Marte’s office has cited a US Supreme Court ruling Chemical Workers V Pittsburg Glass, 1971, in which it ruled that retiree benefits are not negotiated by a union

 

·      Marte also points out that in the past DC 37 and the UFT have supported city council legislation protecting retiree health care and never cited the Taylor Law. Because unions cannot bargain for retiree health care, the city council must pass legislation to change it.

 

Status of Lawsuits (Brentkowski case; I don’t know how to spell it)

 

·      Marianne’s group filed a lawsuit in September 2021 saying that the city cannot only offer one health insurance plan for retirees and must offer traditional Medicare and a wrap around. They cited 12 “causes of action” why the city could not do what they wanted.

 

·      The trial judge ruled “irreparable harm” and issued a TRO. He only ruled on one of the 12 causes of action. The city appealed and four years later, the Court of Appeals overturned the trial judge’s ruling and sent it back to the trial judge for ruling on the other 11.

 

·      Should the city and/or the unions (one entity for this purpose) be so reckless as to try this again, the trial judge would likely issue another TRO and the city and the unions will be wandering in a judicial morass for another two or three years with an uncertain outcome.

 

·      Retiree will not accept a Medical Advantage Plan as the only option for health insurance. We will fight this politically and legally. The city council has already seen what we can do. Do you really want to try it again?

 

The Comptroller’s Audit

 

·      The audit confirmed what retirees have been saying since 2021: that the fund was knowingly misused by the MLC and OLR and lacks transparency.

 

·      OLR tried to cover this up by submitting false annual certifications to the Comptroller’s Office, asserting in writing that the Fund is in compliance with Directive 27 requirements, that Fund balances are accurate, and that the Fund will be used for its stated purposes.

 

·      The audit also found that HISF lacks transparency and has inadequate governance and decision-making capacity. HISF does not maintain meeting agendas, materials distributed at meetings, or records of discussions held at meetings—such as recordings, minutes, or notes—and stated that it relies on HISF’s monthly reports which include only the Fund’s revenue, expenses, and cash balance.

 

·      Furthermore, while the $600 million would have improved HISF’s financial position somewhat, it was not sufficient, on its own, to keep HISF solvent

 

·      As detailed in Table XV in the audit, OLR and the MLC did not report significant HISF liabilities as required by Comptroller’s Directive 27 and GSAB Statement No. 54.

 

Garrido Speaks Untruths

 

·      In February of 2021, Henry Garrido reported to his delegates (I am one) that he was shocked, absolutely shocked, to discover that the HISF was bankrupt and retirees would have a new, improved health plan.

 

·      I spent almost two years plowing through federal legislation and virtually nothing he said checked out. The HISF did not suddenly go broke, and the new plan was only better in the warped minds of Garrido and Michael Mulgrew.

 

·      For example, they touted free gym membership but never reported on how many retirees not currently belonging to a gym would enroll. I believe that the number would have been miniscule and almost everyone who would enroll would drop out after a few months of basically not using it. And which gym? Not Equinox.

 

The Management Benefits Fund offers gym reimbursement but it is capped at $50 per month. Someone claiming such a benefit has to keep records and file a claim.

 

·      I then discovered that the new plan would be administered by a for-profit private insurance company accountable only to its shareholders. The newspapers over the past year or two have been bursting reporting on the fraud riddling these plans. In the 2006 amendments to the Medicare Act (best known for creating Medicare Part D), it was an experiment to see if private for-profit companies could deliver high quality health care and have cost-savings as well. It’s no secret that this experiment has failed.

 

·      Unanswered is why the union leadership was comfortable consigning retirees to a fraudulent system where the profits depended on denying care recommended by medical professionals.

 

·      Garrido got one thing right: the HISF was created to cover health insurance expenses for actives and retirees. I incorrectly thought it was created only for retiree health care.

 

·      I have an incurable but treatable neurological disease and I go three times a month for infusions. The price per infusion for the uninsured is $45K. Medicare pays about $7K. You can imagine the lack of enthusiasm that a private for-profit insurance company will have for such treatment.

 

Other reasons we need 1096:

 

·      The initial number cited by the city and the unions was $600M, however that was calculated. Henry Garrido reported to his delegates in the spring that because of DC budget actions that number was now $300M, however that was calculated.

 

·      Assuming that $300M has not vaporized further, we know from years of reports delivered to his delegates by Henry and from other sources that whatever number is being conjured by the MLC’s consultants, was going right back into the same slush fund bankrupted by the city and the unions.

 

The Thieves Have a Falling Out:

 

·      Now there is a falling out among the thieves over an alleged $4B, give or take $1B, in health care savings that the parties failed to generate in allegedly contractual commitments.

 

·      Henry Garrido has publicly and privately reported that he has in writing that the unions have been relieved of any commitment to save the $600M (or $300M. Or whatever number they are flying this week) by forcing retirees into a Medicare Advantage Plan. So the current $$$B squabble has absolutely nothing to do with retirees and we will not take the fall.

 

The Thieves Open The Backdoor

 

·      Frustrated by their unsuccessful attempt to steal health care directly from retirees, they have resorted to slapping $15 co-pays on every medical interaction after the deductibles are satisfied. This piles fees on top of one another so prevalent that retirees cannot afford them; you can’t tell where one stops and another starts.

 

·      The “lucky” ones have incomes so low that they are dual eligibles (Medicare and Medicaid) if you are callous enough to call being living in poverty “lucky.”

 

·      The rest of us have to pay deductibles that are not reimbursed, Rx drug co-pays that are not reimbursed, transportation, vision above what is reimbursed, dental above the cap, and front $2430.80 for 12 months’ premium before being reimbursed. This comes to about $5,000.

 

·      The 27% of city retirees who exist on pensions of $15K or less (even with a reasonable amount for social security added) simply can’t afford it. The 57% with pensions of $35K or less, with an appropriate amount for social security, aren’t doing so great either.

 

·      The contract for the wrap-around, currently GHI/Emblem Health Senior Care, will be re-bid this year. I an working on a table, not straightforward, showing how devastating the co-pays have become. I will forward when ready later this week.

 

·      I, personally, begin the year with 86 co-pays: 36 for the above mentioned infusions and 50 for weekly psychotherapy. That’s $1290 (minus the deductibles.) Now, I’m in physical therapy twice a week. This is a heavy hit. There is no indication that the unions will reduce the out-of-pocket in the bid document. I wonder who they think they represent: the taxpayers or their former members.

 

They have no shame:

 

·      DC 37 ought to be ashamed.  Most low-income retirees are their former members. They are stealing money from those who can least afford it to subsidize taxpayers. (If not for the co-pays, the premiums paid by the city likely would be higher.)

 

·      While DC 37 and other unions’ welfare funds provide an Rx benefit (with co-pays), many other retirees have to purchase city of New York Rx Part D with a 2026 monthly premium of $180 (some of which is reimbursed by the city or various union welfare funds). They also may face a Part D surcharge that is not reimbursed.

 

What can the city council do?

 

·      Enact 1096 which will end any discussion of a Medicare Advantage Plan or co-pays.

 

Bob

917-733-0925

 

UFT Election 25 Dissection: ABC Broke New Ground, Just Not Enough to Win, While ARISE Dived

With indications that ABC will continue to function, I'm writing this analysis as a warning sign for the future of oppo in the UFT as I can foresee the divisions not going away and a similar two slate situation emerging again. I am making the case that only an ABC-like strategy and organization - or dis-organization of individuals can beat Unity. (On Thursday, June 19th, ICEUFT will meet in person to take a deep dive into the issues raised here.) 

That doesn't mean legacy caucuses go away and continue to do the work they do on social justice and other issues, but release their people to run with an ABC-like group while supporting the effort. Knowing the caucus-first mentality, don't expect this to happen on an organizational level, but I appeal to the individuals in the caucuses to think this through. 

 

ARISE spent thousands of dollars on campaign and a glossy flier (almost a work of art) and raced to hundreds of schools to stuff mail boxes, while ABC spend a minimal amount and focused on its people getting out the vote in their schools. 

 

If you are looking for the difference in outcomes, look at these numbers: 

 

ABC ran 560 candidates, 520 of them in the schools (about 40 retirees) while ARISE, despite bragging of the largest number of candidates in decades, had only 490 or so, with 140 retirees, a difference of about 150 in school people. Back in the fall when people were calling for both slates to unite, at least one ARISE steering committee member mocked ABC as being only 7 people and claiming ABC could not get a slate together and would have to come begging. That led to a mentality within ARISE that ABC would fail. 

Monday June 16, 2025 

 

I received a post-election call from a long-time major oppo left-leaning activist from years ago, who did not run in the election, praising ABC on the outcome of the election  - a group of individuals came together - people who had never worked with each other in the past - to win almost 18k and 32% of the votes - the largest oppo vote total in history despite another slate running. He was impressed. 

 

Another left-leaning non-candidate activist also was surprised at the 32% outcome. We had argued throughout the campaign over my contention ABC had a chance to win -- my odds were 10%. His were 1%. My position that ABC could win even with two slates, which was much mocked, while not proven, showed that it was possible. What I never considered was how poorly the legacy caucuses would do - and I even include Unity, given their 54%.

 

Losing by 22 points to Unity still put ABC closer to beating Unity than any oppo I can remember. During the campaign, Unity focused its attacks on ABC and some ARISE leaders from NAC and RA spent more time attacking ABC than Unity, and receiving much praise from Unity people for doing so. This is not to taint all of ARISE, most of whom, especially those in MORE, mostly refrained from attacks. I detected a sense of growing respect, despite differences, between some ABC and MORE people. From the beginning last summer, ABC was open to individuals from MORE running with ABC and some did and played an important role.

 

I've seen some comments from ARISE people talking about the two oppo groups lost to Unity, as if both outcomes were equivalent, thus burying the lead. ABC finished 22% points behind Unity while the ARISE legacy caucuses, despite decades of so-called organizing, finished 40% points behind Unity. 

 

A flip of 11% points between ABC and Unity would have put ABC in a tie with Unity. As people are already looking to 2028, keep this in mind. But don't expect the legacy caucuses to learn a lesson and some in NAC and RA, not willing to face the truth, attribute the difference to dirty tactics or social media or shady practices.

 

Back in December when everyone was going nuts over two slates running against Unity I put forth reasons I thought ABC had a chance of winning: UFT Elections: The Two Slate Solution - Keep Calm. Here were a few key takeaways then (in red) and my current response:

• I've maintained the only way to win this election with the prospects of building dynamic change into the UFT is by enlisting large numbers of working UFTers. Do not rely on retirees to win and dominate a fossilized union (yes I am one of these fossils.) The current configuration of the legacy caucuses unfortunately leads us in this direction.

There was an increase in turnout of 15% up to 28%. ABC needed closer to 33% turnout. For an upstart non-caucus based group, we did not get deep enough but showed a path to victory even with two oppos -- and even if we had run common candidates we would have lost in every area other than the 7 high school seats.

• The 63% retiree vote that the legacy caucuses are relying to deliver will not hold up for this election. In the 2022 UFT general election retirees won 29% -the same number they did in the 2021 RTC election. In the latter election word was out about the medicare situation - my biggest disappointment in that election was not seeing the retiree vote expand. That we didn't increase the retiree vote from the year before when few knew about the health plan changes. That led to me being pessimistic for the past June election. I was wrong. We ran a great campaign but the difference maker: Marianne. Where will she land in this election and if she doesn't get her people involved the retiree vote will drop significantly. Unity still won over 10k in the 2024 chapter loss. Expect that to hold and grow as Unity supporters may have turned on Tom Murphy as RTC leader but may not be willing to turn over the entire union to what will clearly be labeled a left-wing opposition run by legacy caucuses that they have fought for years. RA did not have a bad rep a year ago.

This prediction came through - Unity clawed back 3k votes to get 13K this time but ABC got 9K and ARISE 3k -- not enough to win the retiree vote but close. Clearly RA failed drastically in dropping from 17K a year ago but ABC getting 3x their total proved the influence of Marianne, something my pals in RA had been downgrading, thinking it was their organizing a year ago.  

• ABC is the non-ideological, non-sectarian option with people from every caucus, including Unity, so Unity retirees who know the score may go ABC, but not with a slate dominated with MORE candidates.  

Give me a check on this one. MORE has over 500 members. RA counted on its 300 delegates, who had no say in the choice to run with ARISE to come through. NAC has shown little presence in the schools and did not have faith in the possibilities of ABC and felt an alliance with MORE would make a difference. I argued the opposite to them, to no avail. 

•  The numbers from the UFC full frontal coalition vote in 2022 were not much different from the smaller MORE/NAC coalition in 2016. Why would this election be any different from the in-service vote (Mah Nishtanah), especially since what was UFC is diminished? Given the 2022 vote and reduced caucus coalitions, I maintain Unity would win the election if we were limited to a coalition run similar to UFC, which the legacy caucuses not even reaching the same levels of organizing that UFC, had reached. 

I wrote:

UFC's main success was the increased % for UFC but that was due to Unity drops which did not go to UFC. That dropped Unity vote just might shift into the ABC column due to the Unity presence in ABC.  UFC did not bump up the in-service vote or even the retiree vote in that election.  I contend that with a weakened UFC, these numbers will remain constant for the caucus coalition, with the only wild cards retirees. The only way to win is to go after the 80% who don't usually vote, not an easy task but that looks like the major initiative of ABC and to siphon off Unity votes.

Constant? I was wrong. I actually thought ARISE might get 20-25% and ABC over 30%. And I was wrong about Unity continued drops -- they really brought out their base and increased in every area other than High schools.

I used the 2022 outcome to base a lot of my theories and the numbers for ARISE were worse than they were for UFC, which I also predicted - that ARISE was a diminished UFC which had 7 or 8 components. Nick bragged that the trimmed down to 3 ARISE was so easy to work with. That's very nice and comfortable - for them. The "less is more" theory didn't work in this case. 

• Oh, but what about the retiree and para votes from last spring? They are not automatic and must be worked for. Fix Para Pay is aligned at this point with ABC. So Don't forget the 27k para potential vote. The in-service para vote, with 27k paras, long ignored by the opposition,  may prove more crucial than the retiree vote if we get turnout. Note: A key organizing strategy is taking direct aim at this vote with a plan to fight for para pay instead of the Unity policy of telling them to be happy they have a job.

So this point sort of worked out with 120 paras running with ABC but we had hoped to do much better despite tripling ARISE and getting 1500 more functional votes than UFC did in 2022. That was due mostly to paras but the Unity push for 10k para bonuses (a smart election ploy, still unrealized) worked and the hoped-for tap into the 27k para vote was only partially successful. ABC also aimed to tap into other functional areas like OT/PT and nurses and probably did. But the Unity campaign worked - compare 2025 to 2022.

 

• ABC with a drastic new approach to not just running in the election but open to taking the election-building process out from behind closed doors and get more rank and file involved - and it has been working. Sample: 100 showed for a zoom for paras and district 75 on Tuesday, and over 50 for a High School zoom Wednesday, including chapter leaders from large high schools, including some key people from Unity.That followed a general meeting with 260 people. Think each in-service having some kind of network outreach in their schools. ABC is building the broadest coalition and still invites all legacy caucus members and supporters to run on the ABC independent slate with no labels. Already some have signed up to run. Is it enough yet? No. But there's a long way to go before ballots go out in May and petitioning starting Feb. 12. And ABC has the petition king: ME.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised at how relatively easy the petitioning was compared to 2022, with loads of ABC retiree and active people coming out to assist. Even I underestimated the vigor of ABCers. The one snag, if you call it that, was how aggressive ABC people were in recruiting candidates in the final week which forced us to spend the final weekend processing them - every candidate needed wet signature which made things difficult. A delightful snag. If we had another week we would have run a full slate of 750.

• Almost 40% of Trump supporters in NYS are in a union and many of them in the UFT and also anti-Mulgrew. Many have been non-voters in the past. With an ABC option that is focused on bread and butter and without a leftist ideology reputation, they may vote. Some will say how dare you hope Trump supporters vote for you? How dare I run to win.   

ABC WAS WILLING TO TALK TO ALL UFT MEMBERS AND AVOIDS PURGES AND SHUNNING -  HORRORS!

 

ABC has been vilified for trying to keep communication open to a wide variety of UFT members and focused on what members felt were important in their schools. Some in ARISE bragged about how moral and progressive they were and branded ABC as right wing troglodytes despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of key activists had a long record of progressive politics. 

When you run to win, you have to be willing to listen to everyone and not set up ideological walls -- you know, not call fellow UFT members you disagree with "deplorable."   

 

In recent discussions during the vote count when I asked some of the ARISE people why run if you know you will lose, the response was to "get our ideas and visions out". The thinking is that long-term they can win enough progressives over. I respond that you will have little influence unless you can win and then have the full resources of the UFT to try to win people over in a democratic and transparent process. But running in elections is embedded in the DNA of caucuses and don't be surprised to see it happen again in 2028.

 

Unity bummed at how poorly ARISE did 

The biggest disappointment to Unity was how bad ARISE did as ABC emerged as the big oppo dog. For ABC, it should try to convince the independent minds in ARISE to work with ABC in the next election while also continuing to work with their caucuses which could still use the election process and save their resources to promote their positions. They could still put out a leaflet and flood the mail boxes while not running --- a position I advocated for MORE in my final days there in late 2018 before the 2019 election. That helped get me kicked out of MORE. 

Split in MORE - Results strengthen the "don't run wing"

Back in August/September when MORE was debating whether to run at all, run alone or run in coalition, a strong group of 35 out of 160 who voted (what happened to the 500 MORE members?) were against running in coalition "with people who do not share their values." That says a lot about MORE and the lack of GOTV. In the vote to accept the coalition only 70 MOREs voted. 

 

The pro-coalition group knew full well that NAC had little pull in the schools but did have a large group of retirees who would do the work. NAC believed MORE had the horses in the schools to pull out votes. RA was viewed by both as the big retiree dog and the failure on that end is clear. 

 

I will say that inside ABC, while not wanting to run in an election with a group having the MORE label, the feelings about individuals in MORE have not been negative while there is a lot more people pissed off at NAC and RA. A lot of the ABC crowd are thankful to the people in MORE for informing them of the urinal attack on Amy. I think on the person to person level we may see some cooperation on common issues. 

 

 

NEXT: I will breakdown the elem, ms and hs results. 

 

Future of the Dem Party 

Is Randi moving left? Randi Quits DNC -- 

 

And these articles:

https://post.substack.com/p/whos-going-to-run-new-york?

https://rosselliotbarkan.com/p/the-collapse-of-the-professional?

https://rosselliotbarkan.com/p/the-three-factions-of-the-american?

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/03/22/the-making-of-the-new-left

 

 

UFT Election Results: Unity’s Grip Weakens—A Better Contract Rises as Only Growing Force- By Mike Schirtzer

 June 8, 2025

First let me state that neither Mike nor I speak for ABC but our words will be used as representative of ABC. ABC clearly arose - or arised - or arrived. ABC is criticized for being too aggressive - exactly the opposite of how UFT leadership behaves passively when dealing with the DOE and politicians -- but they sure are aggressive in attacking ABC. Frankly, I want more ABC in your face when dealing with the DOE and Mayor.

I don't agree with everything that Mike Schirtzer, the eternal optimist, says here. As a pessimist I can't even guarantee ABC is still around in 3 years. Or next month. (Cheers arise from ARISE - and Unity.) But getting about 18k votes, the highest of any opposition in history, is nothing to sneeze at and was not due to social media but to having people in the schools. Do they know you, do they trust you, as James Eterno used to say, is operative. 

Mike will come under attack for this post. How dare Mike celebrate the UFT election as a "win" for ABC? I'd say some people in ABC are not celebrating because they thought they would win, unlike ARISE which knew they would lose. They would be celebrating if they ran roughly even with ABC. But instead of analyzing their 18 point loss to ABC and their 40 point loss to Unity, they are blaming ABC's campaign. Talk about tone-deaf. My prediction is that ARISE will re-arise in 3 years and play the same losing game by making it impossible to have one slate - the Einstein definition of insanity. 

This is not to say that many ABCs would work with almost everyone in ARISE in the future (except for one or two) but not with the caucuses themselves. And in fact ABC took that position since November and will continue to take that position.

[Check out what I wrote 5 years apart: April 28, 2019: UFT Election Overall and Retiree Data... and June 25, 2024 - Can Unity Be Beaten in 2025 UFT Election?]

The major obstacles to defeating Unity after these results are the weakness of the caucuses after decades of getting the same results and their insistence that only they should be allowed to run UFT elections. (My next post will do a breakdown of the numbers). 

The attacks on ABC from both Unity and ARISE are similar (Leo Casey and Nick Bacon separated at birth) - and we saw in the campaign an informal alliance of sorts between Unity and ARISE -- like the ARISE candidate who ran against Mulgrew is doing workshops next weekend at the UFT (and Mulgrew called on her twice at the DA). And the enormous praise for a co-chair of one of the ARISE caucuses who is also on the ARISE steering committee for relentless attacks on ABC going back months -- a clear sign that elements of ARISE are already thinking that the goal is not uniting with ABC but exterminating ABC and leaving the field to the same old caucuses that failed so badly in this election. And Unity has the same goal. Build up ARISE as the legitimate and loyal opposition and try to bury ABC.... Oh, and Mike, who has been on the UFT Exec Board for 9 years, elected on the MORE and then the Unity slates, will now be off the board ------ Norm

UFT Election Results: Unity’s Grip Weakens—A Better Contract Rises as Only Growing Force- 

 By Mike Schirtzer

 

Unity didn’t win. They survived. And their time is running out.

The numbers are in—and while President Mulgrew and his Unity Caucus claims another win, the truth is undeniable: their mandate is collapsing.

Out of over 200,000 UFT members, 57,905 ballots were counted (an increase of 15% from the last election but still only 28% of eligible voters). Of those, Unity received just 30,219 votes. That means fewer than 1 in 10 members actively support this leadership. Most didn’t vote at all—because they either didn’t know there was an election, or they’ve lost faith that anyone is listening.

UFT Election Fallout - Retiree Advocate Loses Two Elections - Warning Signs for Future Control of RTC

This is updated from the original post.

Takeaway:

RA loses to Unity and ABC as ABC triples the retiree vote of ARISE, which has two 30 year old caucuses full of retirees. How can that happen? Will RA face the facts or look to place blame on the way ABC ran their campaign or the issues they ran on - or maybe they used voodoo.

Can the damaged RA brand, king of the hill a year ago, be restored? Not without restructuring. The total retiree non-Unity vote was still 47%. To stop the bleeding, a non-partisan retiree council should be formed that would be inclusive of retirees from ARISE, ABC and independents. 

Monday, June 4, 2025

Unity has its sights set on winning back the RTC from RA in the 2027 chapter election and the recent UFT election results indicate they have a good chance. 

The impact of Marianne has been major and I will prove it with the numbers over the past 4 years of retiree votes in both chapter and general UFT elections. No wonder Unity and some ARISE went after her. And with only 53% retirees for Unity in this election, look for the attacks on her to continue (ie. Leo Casey whose analysis is a total attack on her and ABC while not recognizing that the pro-Marianne faction tripled the vote of the non-Marianne group - clearly his favored opposition is the one that got 14%). 

An old lefty told me not long ago that he thinks Marianne is remarkable and has put the left so-called labor organizers to shame by building a multi-union machine reaching deep into the working class. Let me point out here that Unity only recovered 3k votes from last year while the combined ABC/ARISE lost about 6k - meaning a whole bunch of former supporters did not vote this time and attribute some of that to the split opposition. A united retiree group next time could bring these votes back. 

The only question is will RA wise up and face the reality of their poor showing with ARISE with only 12% of retiree votes or team up with ABC and its 35% and stop Unity from taking back the chapter in 2027? Knowing the politics I'm not so sure.

Let me point out this is not about ARISE and ABC but about retirees from both groups coming together. But the way RA does business has got to change for this to happen. 

A year ago RA and the oppo cheered Marianne's support for RA but soured once she supported ABC in this election. I even heard some RA people claiming it was their organizing that won 63% a year ago, with some assistance from Marianne, which astounded me. You don't go from 30% to 63% in such a short time just based on a caucus doing better organizing.

First the hard numbers, and then some background. 

Jon Halabi chart

As you can see, Unity took 53% of the retiree vote while ARISE had only 12%, with ABC getting 35%. Now look at 2022 when UFC, an expanded form of ARISE, garnered only 29% with Unity getting 70%. I have to say that the 2022 results really disappointed me since the Medicare issue had been out there for a year and I had hoped RA would get the vote over 40% which is why I had dim hopes of winning in last year's chapter elections. Even I didn't think Marianne would be such a factor.

In the last UFT election in 2022 RA was one of the 7 or 8 members of the United for Change coalition,  which this time split into 3 for ARISE and elements of the rest with ABC. (Thus my contention from almost a year ago that an ARISE like coalition would not be able to even match the UFC output, which proved true.

Retirees: 

68,970 ballots sent,  

Retirees: 27,451 - this was over the 23k limit so each vote counted as a fraction - RA got over 8k and Unity over 18k in terms of real votes but 

Adjusted  

UFC - 6837.15      29.20%

Unity - 16580.64  70.80%

Also note that in the 2021 RTC election, RA got just short of 7K real votes, also 29%.

Now the 2021 result, just as the Medicare story was emerging, was a big improvement for RA over previous elections when they used to get under 4K -- 20%. That ARISE only pulled half of RA got in 2021 is shocking. 

In past elections, we would have seen a 53% Unity retiree vote as giving us a real shot to break their control because historically they had been winning with high 70s to 80s %. But times have changed. This time RA hoped that the way they ran the RTC chapter compared to the Unity old guard would bring votes but that had no effect as the 3k total takes us back to 2018 days.

The Chapter elections are not quite the same but are also indicators. What a difference in last year's vote, which saw a massive turnaround when Retiree Advocate, the 30-year old oppo to Unity in the retiree chapter, blew things open with a 63% win with over 17k to Unity's 10k votes, a complete reversal of recent elections. 

How do we explain these flip flops? One word - MARIANNE. She has activated a whole range of people from many city unions, which is what scares the UFT leadership. And frankly, an uncontrolled newly active group also seems to scare the old-time oppo who are often more interested in control and getting the "right" people - meaning, of their political persuasion. God forbid a Trumpie should slip in. 

RA has got to change from a tiny self-chosen group that meets and makes decisions behind closed doors.

I've been part of the Retiree Advocate organizing committee for about ten years and it's been a very satisfactory relationship - until this election where I was the only one of the dozen members to go with ABC while the rest went with ARISE. I'm not going into the details as they get annoyed if I reveal what happens at their meetings, which by the way is a problem for a group that calls for transparency and represents retirees, most of whom are not aware or invited to these meetings or even see minutes of what is discussed.

Now we were all very happy for the arrangement we had where we chose whom to invite to join us - and until we won the massive victory over Unity with 63% of the vote last June when people who ran (300 delegates) or voted for us started asking questions on how we operate. At first, back in July, I defended how we operate but it was clear RA would have to do something to expand the organizing committee which I thought would happen in 6 months. But then the division in the election came along and RA Org decided to join ARISE without any discussion with its supporters, especially the 300 who ran as delegates. 

Look at the numbers. Unity won back about 3k which I expected to happen and thought it might be worse. We won unity votes a year ago but while they might be ok in losing the chapter they were not willing to hand over the entire union yet. But together we still got 46%. Also thousands of retirees who voted last time didn’t vote. Those were our potential votes. 

Let’s get them back. 

 

Election Reaction - Statement from A Better Contract

Hey folks. I just want to thank all of you that chose to support this slate. Although we didn’t win, we knocked Unity down from 66% in 2022 to 54% this time around. We're chipping away at Unity's choke hold on UFT... Comment from an ABC candidate

Sunday June 1

For a brand new group of people getting a third of the vote is a decent showing. If not for some unforced errors we might have gotten close. 

But we will try to examine where we missed. But also examine the strengths. Building the plane while flying it is tough but also fun. What does this say about the caucuses and their outreach after decades of existence? But do watch the spin. I know there are demands to come together. Can you mix a caucus based group with the free-style ABC? I don't think easily but ABC always has a welcome mat out for anyone interested.

I left the count Friday night at 7:30 to catch the last ferry to Rockaway under the assumption they would count until 1-2AM to get it done, but when I got home there was a new plan- to stop and continue Saturday morning.  

So I shlepped back on the 8AM ferry, stayed until 1PM - and still no results until our intrepid reporters sent out the results around 2PM. Our crew to the right. 

UFT Election Results - 46% say NO to Unity (Slate only): Unity 54%, ABC 32%, ARISE 14%

We Are Down But Not Out: Unity wins again, but by the lowest margin in their history ---- Arthur reported on his experience on Saturday. 

Now, there's a lot to mull over but I admit to being somewhat surprised to see the positive reactions from so many ABCers who expected to win this election. I thought they might be crushed and disappear but holy cow, they seem rearing to go back to the fray - well, maybe take a week or so off. In the past, the usual suspects from the oppo - usually an alliance of caucuses, went their separate ways and let two years go by before realigning for the next election. Since ABC is an alliance of individuals, this separation may not happen and there's a lot of excited back room chatter on next steps. Hard to say, given the loose structure of ABC.

I loved the comment from one of our retirees who said on Friday that she loved running with ABC and felt so welcome and heard, unlike being associated with RA where she felt left out. 

There is a lot of hand wringing from the same people who wanted one slate and felt we could have beaten Mulgrew. They refuse to understand that the only way there could have been one slate would have been under the ARISE caucus driven formula -- how did that work out? Don't forget --- ABC always offered everyone the opportunity to run with ABC and will do so in the future. Those who want one slate go talk to the 14%ers.

Sorry, after all the scurrilous attacks by some ARISE leading lights, some just a few days ago, I'm not in the mood to be magnanimous.  

I can only say how happy I was to be involved with the people from ABC. We were serious about trying to win rather than running to try to make a point about where we stand politically but also had a lot of fun with each other. We were attacked for not talking about Trump enough -- like talking about para pay or how teachers were under attack or retiree healthcare were attempts to appeal to Trump supporters. Give me a break. I call bullshit in advance at what will be some of the bitter people in ARISE who will try to blame ABC as a way to cover for their failures.

Now let me point out, the bitter people in ARISE are the few. More than a few may seek to work with ABC but their caucus structures will be an obstacle. I will get more into those structures and delve into why two 30 and one 13 year old caucuses with all their supposed outreach could only muster 14% after spending a lot of money and energy on this campaign, while an ad hoc group of individuals that spent maybe 2 grand managed to get a third of the vote. What do these outcomes auger for the future? I will delve into these issues very soon. 

 

Statement from A Better Contract: This Campaign Changed the UFT

A Better Contract

May 31, 2025

The results are in. While our slate did not win this election, what we built together will outlast any ballot count.

From the beginning, we knew what we were up against: a well-funded machine with decades of institutional control. But we had something they couldn’t manufacture—member energy. Across chapters and titles, UFT members showed they were ready for change.

A Better Contract was never just a slate. It is a movement. And that movement has reshaped this union’s political landscape. Secretaries, paraprofessionals, school nurses, teachers, clinicians, retirees—thousands of members organized their schools, reignited chapters, and took ownership of our union’s future. For many, this was their first time participating. It won’t be their last.

We ran on the belief that this union belongs to its members. That leadership should be earned, not handed down. That our contracts should reflect the real value of our work—not serve as placeholders while our conditions erode. And that power grows through connection—not control. Our union isn’t a ladder with a few at the top—it’s a living network, strengthened by every relationship, every act of solidarity, every member who refuses to stand alone.

That belief is now shared by more members than ever before.

We are proud of what we’ve done. Proud to have shifted the narrative. Proud that demands for transparency, democratic reform, and member-led bargaining—once silenced or dismissed—were brought into the open, debated, and embraced by members hungry for a different kind of union.

So we’ll say this plainly: we’re watching. We all heard the promises Unity made during this campaign—for paras, for retirees, and for those working in Tier 6, to name just a few. Those promises were born of pressure from facing a viable challenge for the first time in UFT history, and they will be met with accountability. The membership demands that Unity now deliver.

This campaign has changed the UFT. It awakened members who had long been disengaged. It connected voices across boroughs, titles, and schools. It reminded all of us that organizing works and that no amount of money or messaging can stop a union whose members are ready to lead.

None of this would have been possible without our supporters, who have from the start been the heart of our efforts. “Member-driven” isn’t just a slogan for us, it’s an ethos. To everyone who voted for the change we offered, we offer you the sincerest and most heartfelt of thank yous.

We may not have won this round. But we’ve already won something bigger: a shift in what’s possible.

In Solidarity,
The A Better Contract Slate

Here is one other point of view:

I’m proud to have run with ABC. We stood for member driven democracy, transparency, honesty. We did change the narrative and hopefully more will be listening and waking up. Than you for all the hard work everyone put in! Let’s keep the message out there.

Win or lose,, you are the best. The fight persists.

This is not the result I wanted. Just know I promise to be here with you for the fight. I believe in ABC!

An abolitionist minister, Theodore Parker, stated that "[t]he arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice." Congratulations on taking the longer view, the unselfish road, the path toward justice for all members.

I'm very sad. Thank you for organizing. Thank you for running. When is the next election? In three years? There is time. There is hope. Always. Always. ABC!!!

We gave it our all. There’s always tomorrow. Never give up. Thank you

Live to fight another day. I find it hard to understand why we lost since Mulgrew clearly did not act in the best interest of the retirees and longterm he did not act in the best interest of the active members. This might have been the first but it will not be the last time Mulgrew makes a malevolent decision.

Well that means arise only got 14 percent. I don’t understand why Mulgrew got 54% of the votes. I wish people would come to their senses.

I hope the next election ABC and ARISE can unite against unity caucus.

I am very sad and thank you for your support.

 

UFT Election Results - 46% say NO to Unity (Slate only): Unity 54%, ABC 32%, ARISE 14%

 Lots to analyze and break down. We could have swamped the HS if we had run some joint candidates. ARISE might actually win a seat of two if individual votes come through. But overall, the ARISE coalition did very poorly. ABC which as a new group matched and in some areas exceeded what UFC did 3 years ago, had decisions to make as to whether to continue working together. Overall, I'd say people really had a good experience.

I'm planning an ICE forensic analysis in person on Juneteenth. We will also do a zoom. 

More later.  

 

Unity won the election. Here are the unofficial results. Certified results will be available later.

Overall ballots sent - 201,791

58,318 registered

413 voided/empty envelopes
57,905 valid ballots

1,946 booklets of individual votes still being counted

55,959 slate votes


ABC - 17,874 32%
Unity - 30,219 54%
Arise - 7,866 14%

Elementary:
ABC - 2,897
Arise - 1,241
Unity - 5,967

MS:
ABC - 619
Arise - 520
Unity - 1,536

HS:
ABC - 1,472
Arise - 1,769
Unity - 1,985

Functional:
ABC - 3,889
Arise - 1,305
Unity - 7,158

Retirees:
ABC - 8,997
Arise - 3,031
Unity - 13,573