1096 is now 1008 - Retirees Rally (Again) on Healthcare - Who was there, UFT/Unity MIA

I posted about this event just as I was leaving to attend Thursday morning: 

NYC Retirees Press Release - Legislation Introduction with Council Member Christopher Marte to Protect Retiree Healthcare

No one from the UFT/Unity was there (of course) but we had 4 members of the RTC Exec Bd at the event and a nice crew from Fix Retiree Benefits, which has been working closely with NYC Retirees.

Fix Retiree Benefits in the house

 

 

Saturday, August 15, 2026 

DSA had a bunch of social events going on today and I intend to go to a beach party in Rockaway where I will stand around and try to find someone over 30 to talk to. There is also a local Rockaway DSA group meeting elsewhere which actually includes older people. Oh, the choices.

I attended the Thursday morning NYC Retiree rally and presser near City Hall along a nice sized crowd where the new bill replacing 1096 was announced by Democrat Chris Marti, one of the most liberal city council members from the lower East Side who was joined by Staten Island Republican Frank Morano, one of the most conservative members.

Only Marianne Pizzitola could accomplish such a feat of unity. I find it more than ironic that certain forces inside the current leadership of the Retired Teachers Chapter of the UFT have been critical of her efforts to unite all sides of the political world in the the support of the healthcare of retired NYC workers because they would rather people whose politics they abhor not to support us and castigate Marianne for getting them to work in our interests. The level of support for working with Marianne is one sticking point in the disagreement between the 30 year old Retiree Advocate, which won the 2024 election with Marianne's massive support, and the new kids on the block, Fix Retiree Benefits (FRB), which has been working with her organization to battle on issues like co-pay and para pensions.

After it was over and we took photos, I was one of the few people left when Rockaway lifeguard legend Janet Fash showed up. 

 

She came by subway, so no surprise that the A-train would get here there late. She was disappointed in not getting to meet Marianne and Arthur Goldstein. I had just bought her book the day before and she signed it. (CBS Saturday morning just did a major feature on her and she has been appearing on NPR and other media). Her book goes beyond her life story and explores the corrupt lifeguard union. I remember reading about her battles with the union leader, who was also her boss. (Yes she was retaliated against). She was also active in the UFT as a chapter leader in a Queens middle school and had gone to UFT DAs and borough meetings and was aware the UFT is not democratic.

She is very up to date on the doings in the retiree chapter. I ran into her at the June RTC meeting and she attended the FRB zoom in late June and signed up to be more involved. She decided to take the ferry back to Rockaway and I considered going with her. I was trying to decide whether to go back to Rockaway or go back uptown to Bryant Park for a 12:30 Broadway in the park. I also had tickets for an Art Cart drawing class at 2:30. Having had chemo the day before, I had to make sure I had the energy to keep going. I decided to stay in the city and take a late afternoon ferry home. 

I stopped for breakfast at a Dunkn on Chambers St. and took the subway uptown to Bryant Park (one of the great wonders of NYC and only a few blocks from my pied... er apartment (don't tell Mamdani - lucky I have a cheaper one). The night before I missed the 6PM yoga class but this Monday I'm going to the City of God movie. 

Anyway, I'm so glad a went because I met two ladies with health issues, one with Type 1 diabetes (she was wearing a dexcom patch) and later at the Art Cart a cancer survivor who had a lot of knowledge and was very encouraging. We talked so much, my drawing of the buildings surrounding the park look like a Jackson Pollock. 

Back to the rally and presser, this is an updated version of Intro 1096 that was proposed during the 2024-25 Council session.

The bill summary states: This bill would maintain the health insurance coverage of eligible retired employees of the city of New York and their dependents by prohibiting the City from increasing the total costs for healthcare above the rate paid by each retiree as of December 31, 2021, or by decreasing the level of coverage that was provided to each such retiree as of December 31, 2021.

The full text of the bill reads as follows:

Int. No. 1008

 

 

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to protecting the health insurance coverage and contribution for Medicare-eligible retired employees of the city of New York and their Medicare-eligible dependents

 

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

 

Section 1. Subdivision a of section 12-126 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 9 for the year 2010, is amended to read as follows:

a. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings [hereinafter stated]:

[i. “]City employee.[“] The term “city employee” means [A] a person: (1) who is employed by a department or agency of the city; and (2) is paid out of the city treasury; and (3) is employed under terms prescribing a work week regularly consisting of twenty or more hours during the fiscal year; and (4) is not employed by the board of education. 

[ii. “]City retiree.[“] The term “city retiree” means [A] a person who: (1) is receiving a  retirement allowance, pension or other retirement benefit from a retirement or pension system either maintained by the city or to which the city has made contributions on behalf of such person pursuant to subdivision (g) of section 80-a of the retirement and social security law; and (2) immediately prior to such person's retirement as a member of such system, was a city employee, or was an employee of the board of education employed under terms prescribing a work week regularly consisting of twenty or more hours during the fiscal year; and (3) had at the time of retirement, at least five years of credited service as a member of such retirement or pension system, except that (A) such requirement of credited service shall not apply in cases of retirement for accident disability, (B) the requirement of credited service for vested retirement and service retirement shall be at least ten years for a person who was not an employee of the city or the board of education on or before the effective date of the local law that added this clause, and (C) notwithstanding the provisions of clause (B) of this subparagraph, the requirement of credited service for vested retirement and service retirement shall be at least fifteen years for a person who was not an employee of the city or the board of education on or before the effective date of the local law that added this clause, is receiving a retirement allowance from the New York city teachers' retirement system or the New York city board of education retirement system, and held a position represented by the recognized teacher organization for collective bargaining purposes on such person's last day of paid service. 

[iii. “]Dependent.[“] The term “dependent” means [T]the spouse of a city employee or city retiree or any child of a city employee or city retiree during the period of eligibility of such child for coverage under the insurance contract applicable to such employee or retiree; provided, however, that no spouse or child of any such employee or retiree shall be deemed a dependent after the death of such employee or retiree. 

Diminish. The term “diminish” means to cause any change in health care offered that could potentially make it harder for city retirees residing anywhere in the United States, including its territories and possessions, to access their health care than before such change was made. These changes include increasing the total costs for healthcare paid by each city retiree, including with respect to premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments.

[iv. “]Health insurance coverage.[“] The term “health insurance coverage” means [A] a program of hospital-surgical-medical benefits to be provided by health and hospitalization insurance contracts entered into between the city and companies providing such health and hospitalization insurance. 

§ 2. Section 12-126 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new subdivision e to read as follows:

e. The city shall not diminish the health insurance coverage provided to city retirees and their dependents or the contributions the city makes for such health insurance coverage below the level of such benefits or contributions made on behalf of such city retirees and their dependents by the city as of December 31, 2021. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to impair the ability of employee organizations to negotiate the terms and conditions of employment, including those concerning future retirement benefits, for their employee members.

§ 3. This local law takes effect immediately and is retroactive to and deemed to have been in full force and effect on and after December 31, 2021.

NYC Retirees Battle Back with New Bill to Protect Healthcare

Top Story

Aug 13

 

By Joe Maniscalco

New York City Council Member Chris Marte [D-1st District] reintroduced legislation on Thursday aimed at blocking ongoing efforts to chip away at the healthcare coverage municipal retirees earned after decades on the job—and this time, he said, the bill will pass. 

“I think there’s a lot of momentum on our side,” Marte told Work-Bites outside the gates of City Hall Aug. 13. “Whether it’s the recent [court] decisions, the [$53M] settlement, it really shows that this is a force to be reckoned with and we’re on the right side of history.”

In 2024, then Mayoral-candidate Zohran Mamdani told Work-Bites that Marte’s bill—then known as Intro. 1096— would not be needed if he was elected. But municipal retirees who have continued to press for legislation further codifying the healthcare package they had enjoyed up until the end of 2021, insist a new bill is needed. 

Last year, they successfully pushed Mayor Eric Adams to abandon a campaign—originally hatched between Mayor Bill de Blasio and the heads of the largest public sector unions in the city—to strip municipal retirees their tradition Medicare and Medigap benefits and herd them into a profit-driven Medicare Advantage plan.

The scheme was supposedly going to save the City of New York $600 million annually and cover long overdue raises for active city workers. 

Adams also imposed $15 copays on municipal retirees that many living on severely limited incomes could hardly afford.  Retirees fought them, too, ultimately convincing Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Lyle Frank to block the charges in 2023. 

Venerable New York City municipal retiree Evelyn Jones-Rich helps to rally supporters outside the gates of City Hall this week.

The Adams administration later responded and successfully managed to reinstate the copays. 

Just this month, however, municipal retirees won a $53 million settlement with the City of New York and EmblemHelath reimbursing them for the $15 copays they were forced to part with back in 2022. 

This week, Marte said his reintroduced bill will put a stop to any further efforts to diminish retiree healthcare. 

“Whether that’s limiting your network, whether that’s changing your provider to give you a worse system or increase your copays—that will not happen when we pass this bill,” he said on Thursday. 

Previous versions of the retiree bill, according to Marte, had to “side step” the legislative process and be introduced from the City Council floor because then-City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams opposed it. 

This time, he added, his team has been able to introduce the bill though the legislative process with the bill-drafting unit, “so [opponents] can no longer say that we did not look at this bill before it was introduced.”

Council Member Frank Morano [r] joins fellow Council Member Chris Marte [l] in calling for passage of newly-reintroduce legislation protecting the traditional Medicare benefits City retirees earned on the job.

“They can no longer say that our lawyers didn’t have an opportunity to look at every single word to make sure it was right or not. All those false narratives they’ve used in the past two years against us—they can no longer be used today,” he said.

Intro. 1096 largely failed to pass because District 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido, head of the largest public sector union in the city, also opposed it and actively worked to intimidate other City Council members against supporting it. 

“We are in the fight of our lives,” nonagenarian Evelyn Jones-Rich told Work-Bites on Thursday. “There are millions of us who believe in ourselves and the city we built—and we will prevail. We will fight to keep our traditional Medicare, we’re going to fight to keep our supplements, we’re going to fight to not have copays. We believe that we make this city and this nation—little people like us, ordinary people, ladies who have struggled behind the scenes. We have stood in the shadows for too long. Now we are standing up—we are speaking out.”

Marte’s reintroduced retiree bill also comes out of the gate with strong bipartisan support. In co-sponsoring the new legislation, City Council Member Frank Morano [R-51st District] has easily out-lefted the most progressive members in the legislative body and democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani himself. 

“The government talks constantly about rebuilding trust,” Morano said on Thursday. “Here’s a good place to start: Keep your word. The $53M victory that we’re [also] talking about today proves something else: You can fight City Hall—and sometimes City Hall loses. Retirees should’t have to hire lawyers and spend years in court every time somebody in government comes up with another clever way to reinterpret a promise. That’s why we need legislation.”

Mariann Pizzitola, retired FDNY EMS first-responder and head of the New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees, said the City of New York should never seek to achieve savings or balance the budget on the backs of active workers or retirees. 

“Here’s the deal,” she said, “these people worked for decades. They’ve been retired for decades. A promise was made to them. They kept their end of the deal and the city has to keep its promise. We’re going to hold them accountable to that.”

Mayor Mamdani, a close ally of Garrido, has so far ignored Pizzitola’s requests to meet and discuss retiree legislation.

Garrido, along with the other of the heads of the Municipal Labor Committee—UFT President Michael Mulgrew and Uniformed Sanitation Men’s Association President Harry Nespoli [retired]—have long insisted that legislation protecting retiree healthcare violates collective bargaining rights.

Marte, however, maintains that the newly-reintroduced retiree bill explicitly protects collective bargaining and that nothing in it limits the ability of employee organizations to “negotiate terms and conditions of employment, including future retirement benefits, on behalf of the active employees they represent.”

“We have heard the stories of retirees being frustrated, being scared, having anxiety every time they wake up, or every time they have to go to their doctor or provider—that is killing our people who have given so much for our city,” Marte said on Thursday.

 

$53 Million Settlement for NYC Retirees: August 5th, 10:30 am - Press Conference and Rally - WE WON

Mulgrew and his Unity flacks must be in mourning since he never met a co-pay he didn't like. 

Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026

Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of the Ed Notes blog.  

I'm in Manhattan and heading down to the presser and rally at City Hall. Don't expect any UFT officials to be there. But will Retired Teacher Chapter officers and exex bd members be there to celebrate a freeze on co-pays for the rest of this year? 

I will be taking photos and report back tomorrow with an analysis of the rift between most of the RTC leadership and Marianne, a leading cause of the current rift within the RTC chapter that just may hand back the chapter to Unity, which will be a disaster for the future of our healthcare. Mulgrew and crew is probably moaning over the fact co-pays are frozen until Jan. 1 2027. Due to my medical condition(s) - diabetes and cancer plus the usual assorted issues any 81 year old faces, I see many doctors. 

Just yesterday I left my house at 7AM to catch a ferry to 34th St (an hour and a half) and then a bus uptown to 74th St, another hour including a 15 minute walk to the Koch center, where I had blood taken (ca-ching) and a meeting with the endocrinologist nurse (more ka-ching? Next week I have 3 appointments in one day. And the co-pays come flying into my in box. 

I was told the other day that Marianne has over 10k UFT retirees in her network. My election analysis has shown that Marianne brought over 9k retiree votes to both the 2024 victory in the RTC election and in the 2025 UFT election. Those 9k votes are up for grab in next year's RTC battle between Unity and Retiree Advocate and Fix Retiree Benefits. There are some serious differences between RA and FRB, some over Marianne who some in RA don't consider kosher enough politically to support plus major resentment over her support of ABC in the election last year which brought them those 9k votes. 

There are also differences over the lack of pushback against the UFT leadership where FRB feel the RTC leadership (10 officers and 15 Exec Bd members ) has been weak in defending our healthcare, seemingly distracted by outside factors - very quick to support workers in other unions but I've seen nothing out there urging members to show up today. 

I will be taking attendance and some photos. 

 

NYC PUBLIC SERVICE RETIREES TO HOLD RALLY ON CITY HALL STEPS FOLLOWING $53 MILLION HEALTHCARE SETTLEMENT

WHO:

• Marianne Pizzitola, President, NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees
• Jacob Gardener, Walden Haran Williams LLP
• Steve  Cohen, Pollock Cohen LLP
• New York City public service retirees
• Supporters and advocates
  
  

WHAT:
Following the announcement of the $53 million class action settlement between the City of New York, EmblemHealth, and more than 250,000 retired City workers over unlawful GHI Senior Care co-pays, retirees will gather on the steps of City Hall to discuss what the settlement means—and why the fight to protect earned retiree healthcare benefits continues.

Speakers will address the significance of the settlement, the impact on retirees living on fixed incomes, and the organization's call for long-term protections for retiree healthcare. The Speaker's Office must permit legislation to properly protect retirees to be introduced. 

WHEN:
Wednesday, August 5, 2026
10:30 a.m. ET

WHERE:
Steps of New York City Hall
New York, NY

VISUALS:

• Marianne Pizzitola speaking on the steps of City Hall
• Retired New York City public servants gathering in support
• Interview opportunities with retirees directly impacted by the healthcare changes

MEDIA OPPORTUNITY:
Marianne Pizzitola and retired New York City public servants will be available for interviews immediately following the event.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Deborah Schonfeld
Communications Consultant

310-985-4902

dschonfeld@gmail.com

Marianne Pizzitola

President

NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees

631-793-9715

 

NYC Retirees Win Co-Pay Suit - NYC and EmblemHealth Settle Senior Care Co-Pay Class Action for $53Million

Monday, Aug. 3, 2026

Boy there's a lot on the plate to report and every day when I don't post, the list gets longer. This morning, NYC Retirees led by Marianne Pizzitola made a historic announcement. Another monumental win for NYC Retirees led by their president, Marianne. 

Wednesday, August 5 Rally and Press Conference  at City Hall:

 

There is some irony in that one of the sticking points in the (rare) negotiations between Fix Retiree Benefits and Retiree Advocate over the upcoming Retiree Chapter Election next spring is over an alliance with Marianne who has come under criticism from some ideologues over what may or may not be her personal politics, which frankly I don't give a rat's ass about since she is focused on one issue: protecting retiree benefits of all municipal workers.

Marianne appeared in NY1 last week and when asked what would be her number 1 wish, it was to end the co-pays. While she did win backpay, she also won a freeze on raising co-pays for this year. I know full well about co-pays as I have a few every week.

 

https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/the-rush-hour/2026/07/29/public-service-retirees-call-for-better-healthcare-protections  

 

Read more about what amounts to one of the largest class action settlements in NYC history.

NYC and EmblemHealth Settle Senior Care Co-Pay Class Action for $53Million One of the Largest Class Action Settlements in City History Marianne Pizzitola Aug 03, 2026

New York, NY, August 3, 2026 – In a major development, the City of New York and EmblemHealth agreed to pay $53 million to settle a class action lawsuit on behalf of more than 250,000 elderly and disabled retired City workers enrolled in EmblemHealth’s GHI Senior Care Plan. The suit was brought by the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees and a handful of retirees. The signed settlement papers were sent to New York County Supreme Court Justice Lyle E. Frank for the Court’s approval.

The settlement refunds co-pays that retirees were unlawfully charged for medical visits between January 1, 2022 through January 31, 2023. The $53 million represents 100 percent of the co-pays retirees had been charged. In addition to the monetary settlement, the City and EmblemHealth also agreed not to increase the existing $15 Senior Care co-pays through at least December 31, 2027.

The $53 million settlement amount is one of the largest class action settlements in New York City history. In addition, the lawsuit saved retirees an estimated $106 million through a temporary injunction, which halted the co-pays for two years.

This settlement is just the latest healthcare victory by the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, which has, to date, collectively saved retirees approximately $3.16 billion since 2022. The Organization stopped the City from forcing retirees to pay for Senior Care, which the City itself has valued at $600 million per year; prevented the City and EmblemHealth from charging retirees co-pays in 2023 and 2024, which (according to EmblemHealth’s records) was worth approximately $106 million; and pioneered this class action settlement that is returning $53 million to the pockets of retirees.

“This is a wonderful victory for retirees,” said Marianne Pizzitola, president of the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, one of the named plaintiffs. “The older people get, the more likely they are to need medical care, and co-pays are one of the worst, most regressive burdens making healthcare unaffordable. We hope Mayor Mamdani and City Council Speaker Menin recognize this and roll back co-pays.”

“Retired City workers have proven once again that they will fight relentlessly, and successfully, to protect their healthcare rights, which have been under constant attack for the past five years,” said Jacob Gardener of Walden Haran Williams LLP, one of the lead attorneys for the retirees.

“It is another step forward in ensuring affordable healthcare for our seniors,” said Steve Cohen of Pollock Cohen LLP, the other lead attorney for the retirees. “Now we have to get the City Council and the Mayor to eliminate co-pays for seniors entirely. They were promised and deserve free healthcare in retirement.”

The settlement papers can be found here.

 

Tuesday Musings: A Film on Medicare, Retired Teacher Chapter Exec Bd, Plus a Drawing Class

Boy I had a busy day on Tuesday, taking an 8:15 AM ferry to get to my drawing class at the Manhattan UFT, followed by an RTC Ex Bd meeting and then off to view "The Power to Heal" sponsored by NYC Retirees with Marianne Pizzitola at the Tribeca Viewing room with some city officials and some fellow retirees.

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

 

NOTE: Tomorrow is the ABC Big, Beautiful Mass Meeting, with Over 800 registered so far. ABC retirees will be doing a brief (very brief) presentation. A bunch of us attended the film yesterday.

 

I've been too busy to blog. I'm doing the BBG tour guide training which lasts until the end of March. Saturdays have been tied up and I actually have homework.  So I missed the massive No Kings rallies on Saturday which I hear had 400 people in Rockaway. I joined 40 people in Edgemere on Sunday to canvas for Mamdani. Luckily I was teamed with a young lady I know from the Rockaway Theatre Company who is an experiened DSA canvasser and led me through the process.

 

The RTC Ex bd meeting had a number of interesting elements but I am in a rush as I have to get to MSK for a vaccine shot for Meningitis which I need because I no longer have my spleen. So I will deal with the RTC situation, which I am not happy with, another time and will focus a bit on the film and discussion afterwards.

 

Listen, I have been involved in the fight over Medicare and the attempt to push us into Medicare Advantage, the movie and discussion afterwards made things clearer than every. I can't remember some of the people on the panel and Marianne was on target as usual but they all made so many great points. Medicare is social insurance while Medicare Advantage is corporate for profit insurance, which led me to think back to the Mulgrew arguments that they were the same. Was Mulgrew duplicitous or just plain stupid? You chose.

 

We saw only the sort version of the movie and Marianne will arrange a showing of the full version of The Power to Heal, the essence of which was that many hospitals, especially in the South, either banned or minimized care for Black people and it was the new Medicare program in 1966 that forced them to integrate in order to be eligible for the federal funds. 

I had never made the connection before.

 

It was pointed out in the discussion that Medicare is not an entitlement - we pay for it throughout our working and retirement lives. It is never free and then we have to over for the 20% not covered and while most people have to pay for that, NYC retirees were guaranteed free coverage, which Mulgrew and Co tried to take away.

 

Of course now we face the biggest threat to Medicare from the Trump administration, not that the Dems had no role in promoting the privatized MedAdv programs, which by the way are dropping people who might get older and sicker. Risk pools without younger and healthier people will leave Medicare in an untenable situation and healthcare in this nation will get worse and worser, a reason I know people who are seeking dual citizenship if they can. I have one Japanese friend who travel back to Japan every 3 months for treatments she cannot afford here.

 

It was pointed out that the badly managed MedAdv plans cost many lives through denials of service and nit-picking, often now being done by AI. Under Medicare, doctors make decisions while under MedAdv doctors are second guessed. And MedAdv plans cost the governement a lot more money, especially due to the 15% paperwork charges vs. 3% for Medicare.

We also talked about the NYC Health Act and flaws were pointed out. A retiree said that some younger teachers are yelling at her for fighting for Medicare instead of for the NY Health Act but it was pointed out that out of state retirees would not get the same coverage and since they make up a significant portion of retirees, their being cut out would raise prices.

 

There's a lot more to say about the film and the discussion which went so deep and I didn't get back to my apartment until after 8PM. Keep an eye out for Marianne's notice to post the full film and I hope the political people in the room get fully invested in the battle. 

 

From the website:

ABOUT THE FILM

POWER TO HEAL is an hour-long public television documentary that tells a poignant chapter in the historic struggle to secure equal and adequate access to healthcare for all Americans. Central to the story is the tale of how a new national program, Medicare, was used to mount a dramatic, coordinated effort that desegregated thousands of hospitals across the country in a matter of months.  Before Medicare, disparities in access to hospital care were dramatic. Less than half the nation's hospitals served black and white patients equally, and in the South, 1/3 of hospitals would not admit African-Americans even for emergencies.  Using the carrot of Medicare dollars, the federal government virtually ended the practice of racially segregating patients, doctors, medical staffs, blood supplies and linens. POWER TO HEAL illustrates how Movement leaders and grass-roots volunteers pressed and worked with the federal government to achieve justice and fairness for African-Americans.   Through the voices of the men and women who experienced disparities and fought against them, POWER TO HEAL will introduce a broad, prime-time national audience on PBS to a missing link in the Civil Rights Movement -- a struggle over healthcare from a half-century ago, that raises questions that resonate today: is healthcare a human right? Must the federal government intervene to ensure equality?

 

A Better Contract (ABC) to Hold Big, Beautiful Mass Meeting, Oct. 23, 7 PM: Over 700 registered so far

Capacity is limited at 1000, so claim your spot. 

 

Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/k1LDpxK-SMeYjbfGMx52Dw#/registration 

 

October 13, 2025

 

I haven't posted much about ABC since the election ended in June. While some expected to win despite having to compete with the 3-caucus ARISE coalition, they were also excited at the 32% result for a group no one had heard of a few months before while the long-time caucuses in ARISE could manage only 14%. These results seemed proof of concept that drove ABC -- that the legacy caucus model in the UFT has failed to capture the support of the rank and file. 

 

We can even apply the legacy model to the victorious Unity Caucus, 60 years in power and only gaining a 54% vote, their lowest total ever - in actual hard numbers, a hard minority of the total membership. 

 

An ABC-type group is the future - I'm not claiming that the current version of ABC is going to be that group but some version of it -- and the important point is that ABC is open to all UFT members, even those in caucuses.

 

I think ABC as formed at this point has potential but it must grow and expand its outreach. How to do that is still up in the air and open for discussion. If you don't want to be a formal caucus than what form does it take and how to ensure a level of democracy but also a method of making decisions and carrying them out?

Oy. My sense at this point is based on the people ABC has attracted so far -- creative, competent, dynamic - a willingness to think out of the box. But without some way of making decisions, some of that energy gets dissipated. What I have found interesting is the informal leadership -- the people who rise to the occasion when needed. I hate to formalize things --- because when you do, potential leaders can get stifled. 

 

ABC, unlike other groups in the UFT, consists overwhelmingly of actively working UFTers and they felt they needed a break after a brutal election season. (Retirees are a smaller portion of ABC than they are in ARISE). 

 

The firings of ABCers at the end of June and into this school year (The Friday Night Unity Purge/Massacre) and the Pissgate (Misogyny at the UFT Delegate Assembly) June DA created a lot of internal discussion, as did the recent healthcare changes. There is a retiree group within ABC and it is growing but the perception is that RA and NAC have a bigger group based on the fact that 140 retiree ran with them. But then again retirees in the UFT voted 3-1 for the ABC slate in the election. ABC retirees are caught betwixt and between, unhappy with Unity and unhappy with the current RA/NAC leadership of the Retiree Chapter, as Arthur expressed in his weekend post: 

• On Cutting Off Your Nose to Spite Your Face

I agree with much of what Arthur says, though not so much with his attempts to reach out - As a member of RA Organizers, I understand the mentality there and I don't see many signs of wanting to share power with others. I've given up trying. They are enjoying being in charge of RTC and while Unity initially saw them as a threat, I sense that the Unity hierarchy, while still wanting to take back the chapter in 2027 (they won a slim majority of retiree votes in the recent election), are not too upset or threatened. So far the biggest threat took place a year ago at the first RTC meeting under the control of RA when Bennett had Marianne as his guest, which freaked Unity out (UFT Retired Teacher Chapter Meeting Takeaway).

 

ABC came together as an election slate and questions remained as to its future. Not wanting to be like a formal caucus leads to questions of exactly what form would a group like ABC take. A difference between ABC and the legacy caucuses is a willingness to take the discussion out of the backroom and open up the debate outside voices with a mass meeting on Oct. 23. (I believe we dropped the ball after months of successful mass meetings by not holding them regularly during the election.)

 

I believe over 700 have already registered, so hop on board.

 

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/k1LDpxK-SMeYjbfGMx52Dw#/registration
 

 

 

Here are the Ed Notes posts on the election:
 

UFT Election 25 Dissection: ABC Broke New Ground, ...

ABC Celebrates End of School Year June 27 - Join i...

UFT Election Results: Unity’s Grip Weakens—A Bette...

UFT Election Fallout - Retiree Advocate Loses Two ...

Election Reaction - Statement from A Better Contract

 

UFT Election Results - 46% say NO to Unity (Slate ...

UFT Election 2025: ARISE - A Forensic Analysis - ...

UFT Election 2025: The Final Countdown - Come on D... 

I'm hungry and ornary - Educators of NYC/The Wire Expose on Flaws in New UFT Health Plan - happy break the fast

Mulgrew basically threw a shark into a baby pool.  What is the matter with him?... An Active Delegate

Speaking of sharks, I can't wait to get to that herring in cream sauce. I invited a non-Jewish friend over to observe how Jews eat dairy after a fast. Reading the piece below, my hunger only helps me get more pissed off - and not only at the Unity gang, who act like they have for 60 years - new faces, old places.

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025

Daniel Alicea has been doing the work that others should have been doing. I sat next to him at the DA on Monday and he kept muttering all meeting about the flaws, while surrounding Unity gang shushed us when I tried to get exactly what he was saying. And when I got home I realized that after hearing the Unity cheers and dancing in the aisles after RTC Chapter Leader Bennett Fischer voted YES without consulting his chapter or even the 300 delegates elected with him, I realized what damage that vote may cause. 

But I get it - a consistent mentality. on the part of a segment of the opposition over decades that wants to try to play nice with Unity -- reminds me of the current leadership of the Democratic Party always trying to play nice with the Republicans and not wanting to see them as enemies, just like to these oppo people Unity is not an enemy of democracy and the way they run the union, actually anti-union. But you know what? If another issue came up the same people will do the same thing. They never learn.

They want us to focus on Trump and ally with a union leadership that has been part and parcel of the weak Democratic Party leadership that has helped bring us Trump. Yes, Randi resigned recently and Mulgrew endorsed Mamdani but keep a close eye on them and see a union leadership that strives to save the city money on our backs has really changed.  

I admit to not doing that work that Daniel and so many others had been doing in the ABC chats since the Aug. 28 first healthcare committee meeting and for that they've been attacked by the Unity lites. But I am acting under the assumption not to trust the union leadership to present things in an honest way. So I was an automatic NO, especially considering the lies and misinformation coming from Mulgrew over MedAV - you know, it was just a different name from Medicare and you can't ask your docs if they belong because the big beautiful plan doesn't exist yet - until he tried to shove down our throats an even more big beautiful plan which is would still be favoring if we hadn't won the RTC election. 

Now I know some of our leaders are patting themselves on the back for our reso calling for a vote at the DA - which we knew is stacked by Unity - instead of the membership so we would have time to study the plan in depth ---- btw -- they would say we are under time constraints to start it Jan. 1 -- do you think these constraints are an accident?

 

Below Daniel finds the chinks in the redactions which Mulgrew told us was read by his lawyers -- all of whom tried to kill the lawsuits to protect us. 

 

Remember the lies about the stabilization fund, which it seems will be vacated in this plan..

 

Water under the bridge I guess, unless there is a law suit to stop  or delay it.

I wonder when we will ever learn.

 

See Marianne, who comes under severe attack by both the Unity gang AND some of our so-called allies, breakdown the MLC: https://youtu.be/pBKF2GTWYhg?si=NSPbjs3PpGlcCo59  

 

Norm

 

We've read the fine print. And we're right. The contract says: ”Emblem will utilize UMR systems and follow UMR protocols for the provision of UM services.” We unpack what it means for denials & claims

͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­

	Disclaimer The views expressed by our individual authors are their own and may not reflect the views of the EONYC community. Just as we may not all agree with the editorial views expressed as the collective Educators of NYC community. Behind the Gates: How UMR Takes Over Utilization Management In Our Health Plan — and Why the AI & 'Clean Claim' Clauses Should Sound Alarms We've read the fine print. And we're right. The contract says: ”Emblem will utilize UMR systems and follow UMR protocols for the provision of UM services.” We unpack what it means for denials & claims Educators of NYC Oct 2   READ IN APP   Meet United Medical Resources (UMR). They’re not a household name, but under the new NYCEPPO plan, UMR will become the central authority deciding what care you can and cannot get. Acting as the Third Party Administrator for UnitedHealthcare and Emblem, UMR will be the interface every member has to go through for nearly all preauthorizations, claims, and medical approvals. It’s important to know: