Retired Teacher Chapter Exec Bd meets gets sad news, Analysis of Texas Dem Primary - Surprise - Real Progressive Won, Is Iran winning?

The Kazansky/Brown race for TRS heating up as hundreds attend an ABC info zoom -- report coming soon. 

 

Respect Means Retirement Security... David Kazansky Mar 7

Monday, March 9, 2026

 

I attended the March 3rd (my birthday) Retiree Teacher Exec Bd meeting on Tuesday after rushing back from a weekend jaunt to attend The Philadelphia Flower Show, the nation's oldest and largest horticultural event, held annually since 1829. Most people I know think that I'm nuts and after attending the meeting I agree with them. 

 

There was an election taking place and I wanted to be there to stand up for the candidate I favored in a 4 way race. (She didn't win.) The RTC constitution gives the EB the right to replace any elected position, though when we try to replace the dozen delegates (out of the 300 we elected), the UFT says we can't -- you know, because they say we can't. We were told by a former Unity delegate that when they ran the chapter and had vacancies, Tom Murphy just replaced them. They make rules up as they go along.

 

The lack of aggressiveness by the RTC leadership only emboldens bullying by the UFT/Unity leadership. I think it goes beyond that and detect some fear by the ideologues in RA of adding new delegates who might not be pure enough ideologically --- but that's only my guess. One RTC Exec Bd member pointed out that adding a new batch of delegates would invigorate our contingent at the DA which has been shrinking to the point of irrelevancy, perhaps the major failure of the RA hierarchy.

 

There was an opening on the RTC Executive Board due to the resignation recently of Daniel Harkavy due to an illness - cancer that seemed to escalate quickly. We found out on Tuesday that he died on February 20, a real shock to many of us who had enormous respect for Daniel for his sense of humor, smarts, and judicious non-partisan advice. I wanted to touch base with him after he resigned and am kicking myself for failing to do so. Daniel taught chemistry at Brooklyn Tech for 26 years. 

 

At the RTC EB meeting last Tuesday, Arthur Goldstein, who got to know Daniel, paid an impassioned tribute to Daniel and followed that up with this post.

RIP Daniel: Daniel Harkavy passes:  Arthur Goldstein- Mar 06, 2026

I'm not sure how Daniel came to be part of the RTC EB - I didn't know him before. He tried to steer a neutral course during the UFT election follies last year, signing petitions for both ABC and ARISE, and attempted to run with both slates but was made to choose by ARISE. He ran with ABC because he felt ABC had the better chance to win but remained cordial with everyone. 

 

When ABC had a petition signing in Bayside, where Daniel lived, he showed up and met Arthur and was introduced to one of our officer candidates who is also a chemistry teacher who graduated from Brooklyn Tech a year before Daniel began teaching there. He was thrilled to meet her. 

 

For someone I barely knew, his passing was especially upsetting because when he posted he was in the hospital I intended to touch base with him as a fellow cancer patient who went through some tough days over the 6 months of chemo. To have been stricken with a deadly cancer at such a relatively young age - he was 63 but count the time leading up to it - is so sad and makes me feel relatively lucky at having reached 81 recently and still be fairly mobile and active. 

 

I barely knew him but will miss him.

 

Daniel was open and respected for openly saying that if he felt ARISE had the better chance he would have run with them. The ABC crew respected him for that view and we felt that if he would have been allowed to run on the ARISE too, he would have gotten 46% of the vote, the highest total of any non-Unity person in history. 

 

I advocated running hundreds of people on both slates and might have actually sneaked a few people in. At some point the people who made that decision for ARISE need to be held accountable. Actually, the entire leadership of ARISE.

 

As to the election for his replacement, as I said, my favored candidate who also ran with the ABC slate did not win and lost to someone who had no connection to the movement we built among retirees over the past 5 years. A very nice guy, by the way. But a message was sent by the New Action/Retiree Advocate dominated RTC EB and the result is not a positive development for a united front in the 2027 RTC chapter election. Details next time.

 

 =======

 

The Texas Primaries

I'm a political nerd and follow both mainstream and alt media.

 

On the broader political front,  I get some of the best political analysis at breaking points, an alt media outpost that includes the left and the right, with the great reporter Ryan Grim and Krystal Ball representing the left. But it's always good to see what the right is thinking, though this is not MAGA right. 

 

I've been getting about 10 messages a day from Talarico -- I want to send him some money, but then I will get 20 messages a day. 

 

Wednesday's discussion of the Talarico/Crockett primary was fascinating and for a deep dive I urge you to check it out: https://youtu.be/5ttTwSR60L0?si=ms2W31EGQwDyprjb 

 

Not knowing enough beforehand, I did not have a dog in the race, other than the sense that Talarico had a better chance to win than Crockett, whose performance-based political acts has never resonated with me. Some view her as squad-oriented but and someone said to me she was like AOC. Far from AOC or the squad, she is more cultural than economic left. And in fact it turns out according to the analysys below that Talarico made the better economic left case.

 

Mainstream media painted the race as the left (Crockett) vs the center (Talarico) and therefore a lesson for Dems to stay to the center. This analysis actually paints Talarico as a sort of left because he ran an anti-corporate Bernie type campaign, albeit with some religious twists while Crocket despite her performativeness actually avoided the wealthy vs the rest of us and was more of a Dem cultural

 

   

 

Republicans already spent more than $71 million to try to push Cornyn over the finish line, according to AdImpact, a media tracking firm. But all that money got him to only 42% in the primary against Paxton, who has been impeached, indicted, and rocked by multiple cheating scandals. 

• The New Yorker: In the Texas Primaries, a Good Night for James Talarico, and a Bad One for John Cornyn  

Cornyn, still the establishment conservative, raised roughly sixty-nine million dollars; Paxton just four million. In the final stages of the primary, the incumbent, still trailing in the polls, released a spot for the ages, which opened, “It’s voting time, so let’s cut through the bullshit. Crooked Ken Paxton cheated on his wife. She’s divorcing him on Biblical grounds.” Paxton’s camp deployed the candidate’s daughter in a last-minute response ad, and called Cornyn “a desperate shell of a man clinging to power.” But, on Tuesday night, neither candidate managed to get fifty per cent of the vote, which means they’ll face off again in a runoff, in May. In theory, Republican voters might have been ready to throw out the last vestiges of the pre-Trump party. But not for Ken Paxton. At least not yet.

Crockett’s challenge to Talarico had less to do with ideological difference than with style—a somewhat repetitive January debate between the two candidates kept returning not to policy but to the question of whether it was better to establish common ground with some conservatives in the hope of winning their votes (Talarico’s position) or simply to rally your side by making clear what you opposed (Crockett’s). Crockett seemed to see enemies everywhere, and closed her campaign lashing out at certain political consultants and reporters. The congresswoman’s team expelled Elaine Godfrey, who’d published a critical profile of the candidate in The Atlantic, from an event for being a “top-notch hater.” The resulting back-and-forth on social media, between the campaign and its liberal critics, consumed much of the race’s final days. 

Who's Winning the Iran War? A surprising view differs from mainstream media from the left and the right.

 

The left view - Ryan X Tim Dillon: https://youtu.be/3lTk2SOHeVM?si=TR1ZbwOmoACNLiI5

The right view from Saagar and Tucker on Iran winning - Saagar X Tucker: https://youtu.be/Dl78cDjOIRM?si=CTGDRVtSzXWTJYSJ

 

 

Cults: Unity Caucus Channels Republicans as UFT Delegate Assembly Echoes Trump State of the Union,TRS Election Adds Another Purged Unity Defector

Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026

Watching the Republicans leap up for joy at every Trump lie and bit of misinformation at the SOTU brought echoes of recent UFT Delegate Assemblies where we see a similar reaction from (fake) jocularity from the Unity Caucus cheering committee. The longest SOTU and most boring speech in history reminded me of some of Mulgrew's long-winded reports at the DA.

There was no better example than the Feb. DA where the main item was the endorsement for TRS of Unity candidate Tom Brown as one Unityite after another rose to give praise - and oh the cheers when the vote was taken to endorse him. Oppo people, like the Dems at the SOTU sat on their hands. There just weren't many of them and even for those who were there, there was no coordination. More and more oppo people are just not bothering to attend -- a boycott of sorts, like the Dems who stayed away from the SOTU. 

The only group that had a strategy - sort of - was ABC people, but I was lukewarm to not opposing Tom Brown on the grounds he was one of 3 Unity shills who would do whatever Mulgrew tells him to do. The argument for David Kazansky is that he would now be an independent voice - and yes, for 9 years he was a union leadership voice - publicly - but I suspect behind the scenes he was willing to ask questions about the fees we were paying, the role of private equity and investment strategy.

MORE on the whole has never felt the DA was an important venue. And the vaunted 300 Retiree Advocate delegates that replaced the Unity 300 in the June 2024 supposedly game-changing election which has not changed the game very much have been disappearing from the DA in droves, thus negating the impact of that election. MORE claims 100 DA. members but few show up, so the Unity staff and loyalist CLs dominate the room. Remember ARISE? No signs anywhere that they are alive since the embarassing 14% vote in the 2025 UFT election.

Even I, an over 50-year DA attendee, even when I wasn't a delegate, no longer see it worth it to hand out leaflets. I like to attend for social reasons to schmooze and  hang out with my pals.

The real changes in the UFT are happening underneath the covers and I am glad to be part of the various fragments of people connected to ABC. 

Mulgrew helps build the new opposition in the UFT

 

What the hell is happening at the UFT that 2 former pension reps are challenging the Unity candidate for TRS rep? 

 

Former UFT special rep Frank Panebianco is joining former 9-year Teacher Retirement System rep David Kazansky, pushed out of the job by Mulgrew two years ago and fired last June, in the race for TRS rep against Unity loyalist Tom Brown. Panebianco was among those staffers fired by Mulgrew. 

 

Is he a plant by Unity to divide the oppo vote? The guess is he is not but genuinely pissed off at the leadership. Is Unity cheering his candidacy against David? I'm thinking not as he is popular and  may well draw votes from Unity and turn this into a 3-person race. And of course David is popular in Untiy and will also draw votes. In a secret ballot, no matter the pressure from the leadership, there will be defections. Unity may punish district reps who don't turn out the vote -- we get a post-election report on the vote breakdown for every school. The key for Kazansky is to build a strong network of schools that will vote for him - right now there are 6 weeks to get 1000 signatures for each candidate. He has a shot at winning no matter what, but even if Brown wins the network built in the campaign can be used in the future. 

 

That two long-term Unity pension experts have challenged Unity candidate Tom Brown is indicative of the same kind of cracks we have been seeing in Uniy over the past few years. The massive retiree and para oppo wins in the 2024 chapter elections were clear indicators - the removal of Amy Arundell from Queens started a trend and her ability to bring some serious elements of Unity along with her in last year's union election has created a potential new oppo block in ABC outside the usual caucus suspects. 

 

Despite the firings by Mulgrew last June, while scaring some of Unity back into the fold, has still left some people seething. (One well-known school-based Unity recently declared privately "I'm done with them." Are they ready to be openly part of an oppo group like ABC? That may take some time and also depends on how capable ABC looks over the next few years. And don't forget that Unity 54% vote in the election. It takes some time for people who have been in a cult to wean themselves off. 

 

This look good for Unity - short term on the surface - but many of these people have actually learned some organizing skills, albeit in the rigid confines of Unity. But once freed, the creativity flows and excitement at the freedom grows. It is up to the legacy oppos to figure out how to join forces if they want to defeat Unity. There is a soft strucrure in place within the ABC coalition by the alliances built in last year's election and ties that bind continue to be built. 

 

Learn more about David at WeTrustDavid.org 

 

The Mulgrew reign of terror may work to keep staffers in fear and in line but the firing of well-liked and competent people also sends a message and degrades the structure from underneath. The firing of District 30 rep Ashley Rzonca has riled chapter leaders and rank and file in the district and is creating a cloud of resentment that will ultimately morph into open opposition. I never knew Ashley until she was fired last June and have come to see her abilities in various strategy sessions. 

 

Then there is Pissgate where a photo of Amy was placed in a men's room urinal at the Delegate Assembly and the culprit wasn't found despite months of investigation by an outside lawyer and despite cameras. 

 

There is a lot of residual fear and loathing of Mulgrew and his administration throughout the ranks. LeRoy Barr's retirement and the flippant way he announced it at the January DA that surprised Mulgrew won't help as he was able to keep many of the troops in line. Will LeRoy loyalists begin to jump ship too? He is still in charge of Unity Caucus so he will be a factor. Some say the simple solution for Unity is to replace Mulgrew and some see the Mike Sill rise as a solution. BTW- Mike was once a protege of Amy Arundell who was his boss. 

 

The woim toins.

 

Do you want to build your caucus or do you want to win an election? That was a question asked of leaders of the RA caucus and unfortunately it looks like caucus first. The same with NAC and MORE -- they will gladly take 14% of the vote forever as long as they can control their caucus. At a recent meeting one non-UFT person told me "it's all about control - having power in a small fishbowl." 

 

If the legacy caucuses wake up and join a movement like ABC, Unity would be in trouble.

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talk-out-of-school/id1490313171?i=1000751049681 

 

David Kazansky speaks about the responsibility of the TRS Trustees.

https://wbai.org/archive/program/episode/?id=63921

A substantive, no-spin conversation about retirement security for NYC educators and retirees. 

 

Former three-term TRS Trustee David Kazansky.was interviewed by Daniel Alicea on WBAI in part 1 of a 2 part interview on Sunday. 

 

• David’s storied career as an educator, unionist and trustee

• What really happens inside the TRS boardroom

• Private equity and pension transparency

• Fiduciary duty and divestment

• Tier 6 and what reform would actually take

• The upcoming TRS trustee election — and what’s at stake

Part 2 also drops here next week and will be aired the next time Daniel hosts Talk Out of School.

Let’s stay informed.

— Dan Alicea

---

Learn more about David at WeTrustDavid.org

---

 

 

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:

UFT Healthcare Vote at the DA: Lots of Reasons to Vote NO or Table Till We Get Further Info - Role of United Health's 32% Denial Rate

BREAKING - ADAMS HAS DROPPED OUT AS I HAVE PREDICTED - HE WAS JUST WAITING FOR THE OFFERS FROM BILLIONAIRES TO KEEP GOING UP! ADAMS VOTERS - SWITCH YOUR VOTES TO CURTIS - I'D LOVE TO SEE HIM FINISH AHEAD OF CUOMO!  

• According to the lead consultant pushing this plan, even inside the Downstate 13, the standards remain UHC’s standards. Emblem may process the paperwork, but the rules—the criteria, or standards, that decide whether your care is approved or denied—are UHC’s. This means the entire system, for every member, retiree, and family, is governed by UHC’s standards. That’s the Trojan horse in this plan.

YES VOTERS ON UFT HEALTHCARE  TOWING THE LINES

 

The 9 a.m. Shady Deal, Explained by Leah Lin: What every UFT member needs to know before the Delegate Assembly vote. --- The 4 Myths of Michael Mulgrew - and still counting

Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025

I notice that a batch of retiree delegates who are under 65 will be voting Yes because they think they will be protected if they move away from the metro area. Did they buy a broken used car from Mulgrew? And then there is the issue of AI determining denials. 

It is bullshit fear mongering from the leadership to claim turning this down will put an end to negotiations. Remember The Maine  - I mean the two rounds of Mulgrew's perfect and then more perfect Medicare Advantage - until they faded to awful.

Marianne on Friday night: https://www.youtube.com/live/ChY8_05d_80?si=MAH2fM2AQ9_J5LjT

My last piece had some info:

• A Better Contract on the Proposed UFT Healthcare Deal - UFT Members Need Transparency On Healthcare

EONYC has done more research. 

Why UFT Delegates Must Vote 'No' on the NYCEPPO Plan if UnitedHealthcare Standards Are Applied To All

Trust in this plan continues to be frayed as union leadership refuses to share the unredacted contract and related documents. Now, the leading consultant pushing the plan shares a shocking revelation

Educators of NYC

Sep 28, 2025

 

A Trojan Horse in Our Healthcare?

The newly proposed NYCEPPO healthcare plan is being sold to active UFT members and pre-Medicare retirees as a way to improve benefits and save money at the same time. Union leadership and the city’s negotiating committee are distributing FAQs to calm legitimate concerns about the role UnitedHealthcare (UHC) will have in this plan given its well-documented record of claim denials.

The UFT’s FAQ in particular craftily tells members not to worry:

• “EmblemHealth will do all prior authorizations in the Downstate 13 counties in New York State, which represents 90% of claims.”

• “UnitedHealthcare, which will process the remaining 10% of claims, will follow the exact same standards that EmblemHealth adheres to, ensuring that prior authorizations are handled uniformly nationwide.”

This framing makes it sound like most members are protected from UHC—and only a small fraction of claims (10%) will ever touch them.

But this is deeply misleading.

• Thousands of retirees and their families live outside the Downstate 13. For them, UnitedHealthcare will be their direct administrator and gatekeeper—not Emblem.

This is strange, even morbid, “double speak” because another selling point from the UFT leadership’s paid operatives is that retirees living out of state will have more options for doctors and providers. Yet, they seem to think UHC’s 32% denial rate is somehow not going to be a big deal for most of us since it’s only going to be experienced by the 10%, mostly retirees, who don’t live locally.

• Some active members and other city workers also live and work outside these counties—they too will fall under UHC administration.

• According to the lead consultant pushing this plan, even inside the Downstate 13, the standards remain UHC’s standards. Emblem may process the paperwork, but the rules—the criteria, or standards, that decide whether your care is approved or denied—are UHC’s.

This means the entire system, for every member, retiree, and family, is governed by UHC’s standards.

That’s the Trojan horse in this plan.

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The Shocking Revelation

Buried within this proposal is a devastating emerging reality: if UnitedHealthcare (UHC) standards for care, prior authorizations, and denials are applied across the board, every member—active or retired, teacher or paraprofessional, therapist or counselor—will be subject to one of the most notorious denial machines in the insurance industry.

Is this speculation? No!

It’s written plainly in the leaked transcript from September 10th MLC healthcare presentation meeting. There we read and hear testimony and a Q&A between MLC leaders, the paid “independent” lead healthcare consultant from Segal, Chris Calvert, and other union leaders.

In this meeting, the lead consultant informs those gathered that even in regions where EmblemHealth is technically the administrator, the standards being enforced will be UHC’s standards.

In other words: every city worker and retiree will live under UnitedHealthcare’s rules, no matter where they live.

Here is one of the exchanges where Calvert admits to the UHC standard being applied to all:

Here’s what’s being said:

• Alan Klinger, the MLC and UFT lawyer, who also is the MLC’s appointee to the joint tripartite committee with the City, interrupts Calvert seeking to clarify that in the downstate 13 region, prior authorizations (the approvals you need before certain care or procedures are covered) will go through Emblem. He goes on to say, that if a union local’s administrators have concerns, they go through Emblem, which manages this process locally.
  

• Chris Calvert responds by emphasizing that the standards being applied will be UnitedHealthcare’s standards—so no matter where a member lives, the rules are the same. But for downstate 13 specifically, the actual reviews and management of those prior authorizations will be carried out by Emblem, not directly by UnitedHealthcare.

In short:

• Standards = UnitedHealthcare rules (applied to everyone).

• Administration in downstate 13 = handled by Emblem (the local entity).

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UnitedHealthcare’s Track Record: Profits Over Patients

UnitedHealthcare is not a neutral player or some benevolent caretaker. It is the largest corporate health insurer in the United States and has a documented, checkered history of putting profits above people. It leads private insurers with a 32% denial rate. According to an American Medical Association survey, doctors have ranked UHC as the insurer with the most prior authorization hassles, with 72% of physicians giving UHC a “high” or “extremely high” burden rating.

• AI-Driven Denials: Investigations and lawsuits show UHC uses algorithms to prematurely cut off rehab, skilled nursing, and home care—even when doctors say patients need more time.

The same MLC meeting revealed that AI is very much part of this new agreement.

• Ongoing Litigation: Class actions accuse UHC of violating federal law by systemically denying medically necessary care. Testimony from insiders revealed denial quotas built into policy. It also is under multiple investigations for fraud and overbilling.

• A Pattern of Abuse: Reports nationwide show seniors denied cancer drugs, patients forced out of hospitals too soon, and families buried in appeals.

• Multiple Federal Investigations: UnitedHealth Group is currently facing both civil and criminal investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for fraud and overbilling.

UnitedHealthCare is not who we want controlling our care, nor setting the criteria.

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What This Means for Members and Retirees

If delegates approve this plan:

1. Doctors and patients lose authority. UHC’s criteria, not medical judgment, will determine treatment.

2. Retirees are exposed. Thousands living outside Downstate 13 will deal directly with UHC—and face its merciless denial machine without a buffer.

3. Everyone potentially faces the same denials. Inside Downstate 13, Emblem is only administering UHC’s rules. Members will still suffer the same rejections and delays.

4. Vulnerable populations are targeted. Retirees, post-surgical patients, lowest paid city workers and children with special needs will be most harmed by premature cut-offs and denials.

5. Members drown in bureaucracy and red tape. Appeals, phone calls, and paperwork, stress will replace care. Those without stamina or know-how will simply go without.

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Real Lives, Real Consequences

This isn’t abstract. Imagine:

• A retired teacher recovering from hip replacement is cut off from rehab after just a week, even though her doctor prescribes three. She either pays thousands out of pocket or risks lifelong mobility issues.

• A child of a UFT paraprofessional loses access to speech therapy because UHC’s standard says “progress plateaued.”

• A city worker battling cancer is forced to switch procedures mid-treatment because UHC refuses to cover the one that her doctor believes will work for her.
  

These are not “hypotheticals.” They are documented cases from UHC’s history. And they could be our reality if this plan is approved.

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The Bigger Issue: Trust and Transparency

Equally troubling is how this plan is being sold.

• Leadership knows UHC’s record.

• They know thousands of retirees live outside Downstate 13.

• They know even within Downstate 13, UHC’s standards will rule.

And yet, instead of being upfront, they’ve chosen to spin, minimize, and mislead. That erodes trust. And it betrays the union’s responsibility to protect its members’ and their families’ health.

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UFT Delegates’ Responsibility

Delegates are not voting on a simple healthcare plan change. They are voting on whether to hand the criteria of members’ care to UnitedHealthcare.

It’s one of the most consequential votes they will cast.

They are voting on whether retirees and families must fight an insurance giant for every day of rehab, every specialist visit, every procedure, every medication.

They are voting on whether to let leadership’s spin override the lived reality of denials, lawsuits, and suffering.

This is not about numbers on a spreadsheet or “cost savings”. It is about people’s lives.

It cannot be overstated: being under UHC’s standards is, indeed, A MAJOR CHANGE.

We did not have their standards dictating our city premium-free plan for the last several decades. This is not keeping things virtually “unchanged” while making improvements and saving money as the paid operatives for Michael Mulgrew’s Unity leadership caucus tell us.

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A Better Path Forward

Rejecting this plan does not mean rejecting cost savings or efficiency. It means demanding a plan that:

• Keeps doctors and patients—not insurers or city bureaucrats —at the center of decision-making.

• Provides transparency and honest communication with members.

• Protects retirees, especially those outside Downstate 13.

• Respects the union’s duty to safeguard both wages and health benefits.

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Bottom Line: Vote NO

The NYCEPPO plan is being presented as a step forward. But it is, in fact, a step backward—a Trojan horse that hands our care to UnitedHealthcare.

• UnitedHealthcare sets the standards for everyone.

• Retirees and active members outside Downstate 13 are fully exposed.

• Inside Downstate 13, Emblem, the local regional administrator, simply enforces UHC’s rules for care.

• The FAQ spin is a distraction, not a protection.

Delegates must see through the misleading promises and protect the membership.

For the teachers recovering from surgery. For the retirees fighting cancer. For the families raising children with special needs. For every member who depends on the union to safeguard their health.

• Vote NO on the NYCEPPO plan if UHC’s standards apply. Because our health is not negotiable.

• Vote NO unless UHC’s AI clauses are stripped out or heavily amended with strong protections.

• Vote NO because this all points to one unavoidable conclusion: this plan cannot be trusted — including, their refusal to show all of us the unredacted contracts, the many risks of a reckless self-funded gamble, and Mulgrew’s record of betrayal with his failed Medicare Advantage plan.

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  And so has Wanda Williams 

 

A risky City Hall health care change

By WANDA WILLIAMS

PUBLISHED: September 24, 2025 at 5:00 AM EDT

I’ve spent decades fighting for New York City’s municipal workers, and let me tell you something every New Yorker should know: the city can’t function without us.

Municipal workers are the cops, firefighters, and EMTs who respond in an emergency. They are the teachers who educate your kids and the social workers and health professionals who connect people to care. They’re the sanitation workers who keep streets clean, the crews who maintain our parks, and the staff who operate our public libraries.

They are New York’s most vital organ. And right now, City Hall is trying to gut our health care.

For decades, nearly 750,000 city employees, retirees, and their families have depended on the comprehensive health care plan New York City provides.

But the city wants to dramatically change the health care coverage we rely on and push everyone into a new “self-insured” plan with zero input from the people who will live with the consequences of these changes.

Officials claim this change will save $1 billion a year. But here’s the truth: you can’t cut that much money without cutting care. The math doesn’t add up.

City leaders promise workers won’t lose anything. They even claim there will be a broader network of providers, less out of pocket costs and improved benefits. Too good to be true? It is. Every retiree who lived through the recent fight over Medicare Advantage knows better. When the city tried to force retirees onto private plans, we saw the potential consequences: smaller doctor networks, higher copays, more prior authorization hurdles, and fewer hospitals willing to take the plan.

That’s not savings, that’s just cost shifting. And it means municipal workers and their families will pay more for less. They claim that the $1 billion in savings will come from cutting payment to hospitals. Many NYC hospitals can’t afford reduced reimbursement and those that can are dealing with dramatic cuts in federal funding. What happens when the hospitals don’t agree? Do they go out of network? Does the city increase out of pocket costs?

Even worse, by “self funding” the coverage the new plan strips away the protections of New York State law, which guarantee coverage standards, state oversight and enhanced consumer rights. Under the new plan, if something goes wrong, workers and retirees won’t have the same appeal rights or oversight that they have today.

To make matters worse, they have picked UnitedHealthcare, the poster child for excessive claim denials, delays in payments, and smaller networks, to take over. Among other atrocities, UnitedHealthcare is under criminal investigation by the federal government for Medicare fraud and overbilling. While it is being portrayed as an Emblem-United partnership, make no mistake, this is a United contract and their goal will be maximizing their profits.

This new plan will be bad for municipal workers, and the way the city is handling the transition has been even worse.

There was transparency about how the decision was made and no clear explanation of how the city expects to save a billion dollars without gutting benefits. Just a backroom deal and a press release.

This isn’t the first time City Hall has tried to balance its budget on the backs of workers. And it’s not the first time New Yorkers have said “no.”

In the 1970s, workers fought against dangerous hospital conditions. Recently, retirees successfully pushed back against the forced switch to Medicare Advantage. Time and time again, when the city has tried to chip away at health care, New Yorkers have stood up and stopped it.

Why? Because we know what’s at stake. Health care isn’t just a line in a budget. It’s life and death.

If the city wants to talk about health care savings, it needs to do so in the open and with public input. It needs comptroller oversight, input from the people whose lives will be affected, and above all else, it needs to stop pretending that slashing $1 billion won’t result in less access to health care.

Changing the health care plan for 750,000 people is no small undertaking. The city plans to implement this change in the next 4 months, a dangerously tight timeline.

The city may see numbers on a balance sheet. But I see people: the sanitation worker clearing snow at 3 a.m., the teacher staying late to help a student, the EMT racing to save a life. They have earned comprehensive health care.

The city needs to honor their commitment and maintain the plan that municipal employees rely on.

Williams is a former union leader and a board member of HandsOffNYCare.