UFT/Unity/AFT/NYSUT Bait and Switch Pro-Privatization Healthcare Duplicity, Playing Swap the Lobbyists Game

Oh, what a tangled web they weave,  

when first they practice to deceive! 

 

Always watch what UFT/AFT/NYSUT Leaders do, not what they say.

 

Ugh! I Mean UGH!!!!!!

 

• UFT political director (and former Cuomo aide) Cassie Prugh leaves for lobbying firm in December but UFT may retain her and her firm (rumor - @10k a month).
  
• Assistant UFT political director Angel Vasquez remains in place despite primarying (and losing) major UFT supporter Robert Jackson. 
• Mulgrew lists himself as a lobbyist along with Vasquez. Vasquez, as Prugh’s assistant, is tasked with lobbying on a city level. As he describes in his LinkedIn bio. Clearly he was responsible for the failed campaign to influence the City Council to amend 12-126. An attempt that hurts retirees and active workers as the code provides decades old safeguards protecting the healthcare of city workers. UFT Payments to lobbyists (Vasquez and Mulgrew?) are listed as 94K. Is this in addition to their UFT salaries?
  

I've been working on this story about UFT/NYSUT political directors that points to how our local, state, national union work in tandem with the corporate Democrats' aim to make sure healthcare remains under the control of private insurance. Remember how quickly Obama abandoned the public option in order to get the private insurance companies to support Obamacare because they are making a fortune? Fundamental neo-liberal concept that better profit making private than anything government. Reaganism from both parties. Only the Bernie left pushes back. 

Thanks to Daniel Alicea for doing the fundamental research. 

Daniel has provided some insights into explaining the reasoning behind the Mulgrew promotion of Medicare Advantage which is controlled by private profit making insurance over the publicly managed Medicare system. 

 

The key: the union is bonded at the hip to the corporate wing of the Dem party which is also pro-privatization which also promotes medicare advantage over Medicare. Biden even appointed a corp exec to run Medicare - the classic fox in the hen house. (see below for details). A gang of lobbyists do their thing very successfully.

Daniel's research into the history of our local, state, national teacher union positions on healthcare shows an evolution going from support for public option toward privately managed care with some careful managing of the language used.

In 2017, the unions flirted theatrically with Bernie Sander’s popular single payer Medicare For All plan supported by a supermajority of Americans. However, Daniel asserts that with the campaigns of Harris and Biden, the union machines like AFT and AFL-CIO fall in line with the privatized vision for private-public national healthcare system. 

 

There's a difference between single payer and medicare for all. Medicare for all Obama care style keeps the private insurers in the game. Single payer means the government pays all bills and also has the ability to control healthcare costs. 

Note this point whenever Mulgrew whines about healthcare costs going up:

In 1996 Pataki rescinded, decades-old practice of setting statewide hospital pricing.

Flashback: https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/21/nyregion/pataki-is-seeking-to-end-regulation-of-hospital-rates.html

While mulgrew railed at high health costs his solution was to lower cost to city but never to use lobbyists to put hospital price controls in place by repealing the Pataki '96 giveaway to the hospitals. It’s acceptance that prices must rise and we are the ones who must pay, not the insurance companies.

And have you noticed how since then hospitals have consolidated?

The AFT’s shift on Medicare Advantage and privatization of Medicare 

into a few too big to fail groups?

And the disappearance or deterioration of public hospital options?   

• Here's a link to a dossier of links and documents showing this shift among our teachers unions from a strong anti-privatization stance for decades until the 2019-20 shift to privatization through Medicare Advantage and ACOs. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TmGybt3FwmrVOAxRaL-gd5AD0H-lRs3tV9JjtciTuHU/edit
  

Yes they call for universal coverage but in the model of an Obamacare system extension which is better than nothing but fundamentally is a windfall for private insurers. They are careful in not calling for a single payer system like we have with traditional Medicare. So when Mulgrew tries to move us from single payer Medicare to multi-payer Medicare Advantage, he is affirming the corp Dem (ie. Biden/Shumer/Pelosi, etc) position on healthcare vs the Bernie Sanders single payer wing.

 

Some Key takeaways:

• UFT/AFT leaders "claim" they want universal healthcare while doing everything they can to undermine the possibilities on all levels.
• Ditto for their partners in the Democratic Party run by a center/right connected to private health insurance lobbyists.
  
• UFT hires lobby firm representing healthcare industry.
• Biden chooses member of same firm to run Medicare. 
• Both Dems and UFT try selling universal healthcare for all but must go through private insurance companies instead of single payer.
  

Ed Notes' recent report on the coming changes in the NY State United Teachers (NYSUT News: Going - Pres. Andy Pallotta, Coming - Melinda Person Who? Has Never Been a Teacher - Succession or Coup?) we mentioned that lobbyist Cassie Prugh had left the UFT in December to go work for a private firm, Manatt, Phelps, and Phillips, LLP, leaving her UFT position vacant. Or maybe not. (See below for Prugh's lobby listings.) Also note above and below the letter Mulgew sent to state ethics listing himself and Vasquez as lobbyists at 94K a year while at the same time we hear they may use Prugh, now employed by Manatt, etc. as a consultant. Money to burn. Our money.

 

Want an example of litigation won by Manatt in California where they defended the right of hospitals NOT to reveal fees? Remember, Prugh comes out of the Cuomo admin - check his record on hospitals (and nursing homes).

Manatt secured a landmark victory for its client Dignity Health, a California-based nonprofit hospital system, on October 13, when the California Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the hospital in Gray v. Dignity Health. The decision affirmed the dismissal of a putative systemwide class action lawsuit that claimed Dignity Health unlawfully failed to disclose emergency room fees. The decision also held that Dignity Health complies with all state and federal pricing disclosure laws, none of which imposes a duty to disclose emergency room fees. The Court of Appeal held that the disclosure duty the plaintiff wanted to impose was directly contrary to a host of federal and state laws that prohibit hospitals from discussing cost with patients in the emergency room prior to treating them, thus “disregard[ing] the long standing regulatory environment within which emergency departments operate, which emphasizes that no one in need of emergency care should be deterred from receiving it because of cost.” 

Do you think this victory for hospitals helped them keep prices high?

 

Now how about this one as we tie the Biden admin to Manatt:

 

 

Jeez - the lady running Medicare managed the same firm that Cassie Prugh is working for. A tangled web indeed. Recently we found that Medicare was going to let the private insurers get away with billions in defrauding Medicare.

Daniel's next career should be investigative reporter.

No legislative reports at Ex Bd meetings 

Ok, so we have the link between Prugh and Manatt and the UFT.  For years we enjoyed former UFT Leg rep Paul Egan's reports at Ex Bd meetings because we wanted the latest soccer scores from Manchester United. We no longer get regular reports since Prugh left. Ask who replaced her and you get vague answers, including the UFT will now hire her and her firm as consultants. Now add to this that Prugh's deputy has been Angel Vasquez who outraged people by forcing Robert Jackson, probably the most loyal UFT supporter, into a primary for State Senate. We should not be using our dues to pay Angel Vasquez to work for the UFT. He was the agent of the right wing Dem attempt to purge a progressive. 

 

Here are some of Daniel's tweets on the story:

@manatt

is a VERY big lobbying firm.

@UFT

just secured them as their lobbying firm in Jan. Significant for a few reasons. 1. Manatt is one of the most influential lobbyists for Medicare Advantage & ACOs. https://docs.house.gov/meetings/WM/WM00/20190612/109618/HHRG-116-WM00-Wstate-Brooks-LaSureC-20190612.pdf 

 

2.

@UFT

fmr political director

@cassieprugh

who just left, now UFT lobbyist in Albany. 

 

3. Fmr managing director for Manatt is

@BrooksLaSureCMS

appointed by Biden as director for CMS. She is on record in her belief that the path to national healthcare is through privatization.

 

Prugh and her assistant,

@angelvasq104

have lobbied with

@UFT

FOR admin code 12-126. The provision that protects city worker healthcare. Vasquez still with

@UFT

and on payroll. He ran against

@SenatorRJackson

in 2022. And is responsible for lobbying pols in NYC like

@CnDelarosa

 

To clarify, Prugh and Vasquez lobbied for the ELIMINATION of admin code 12-126.

A single payer option is off the table on state & nat’l level for the big Dem machine. Despite lip service. See Biden & Harris vision for private-public plans. We see this vision in 2019 when

@BrooksLaSureCMS

testified before Congress. It’s as if she targets NYHA https://docs.house.gov/meetings/WM/WM 

This privatization vision is reflected in our teacher unions when

@rweingarten

voted against including Medicare for All on DNC platform. And after decades of anti-privatization policy

@AFT

passes a resolution in 2020 during #lockdown that opens path to privatization.

This shift away from anti-privatization from teacher unions is made evident when

@aft

and

@nysut

rejected separate resolutions seeking to reaffirm our past rejection of privatization of Medicare. This is the AFT reso that was REJECTED in committee and not brought to a vote.

 And some source material:

https://twitter.com/educatorsofnyc/status/1625840781075308544?s=20https://twitter.com/educatorsofnyc/status/1625840781075308544?s=20

NYSUT News: Going - Pres. Andy Pallotta, Coming - Melinda Person Who? Has Never Been a Teacher - Succession or Coup?

Putin Cites Mulgrew/Randi Takeover of NYSUT as Inspiration for Crimean Invasion

I admire the Unity Caucus operation tremendously. I only wish I had such control....My next invasion will be Brighton Beach to protect the Russian speaking population in Brooklyn.... I am looking for a condo in Brooklyn as a base of operation but the real estate prices are crazy.... Vladimir Putin 

Ed Notes, March 4, 2014

Sunday - February 12, 2023  - Happy Birthday Abe

Ok, so Putin lied about his next invasion. The breaking news Friday night of a coming change in leadership at NYSUT brought up memories of the last change of leadership in 2014, one of only two times where there was a contested election. But lots more on 2014 later in this post.

UPDATE 7:30: Trusted source says Pallotta just retired. No drama. Also - no signs of early resistance to the move to Person.

Traditionally, the top levels of NYSUT have been occupied by former teachers and local union leaders, not by bureaucrats. Even Randi, who was a lawyer first when the top level oligarchs chose to make her the next president, did a quick teaching hit job to give her creds and meet UFT constitution requirements. NYSUT doesn't seem to have a similar requirement that officers had to teach.

 

Thus, we see a change coming with the announcement of candidacy for NYSUT President by Melinda Person, currently NYSUT Executive and Political Director - an appointed position, seemed sort of strange less than three months before NYSUT Delegates meet to elect its officers in late April. 

 

By all reports, Melinda Person is well-liked but it is interesting she shows no teaching background in her resume (see below), though she says she wanted to be a teacher. But all you have to do is look at her salary over the past 15 years (below) for a reason she did not teach. Even Randi seems to have had more teaching experience than her.

 

I was confused when I first heard of the announcement Friday night. 

 

She announces she is running while Andy Pallotta is still president? My first thought was she is running against him. But how could that be since she is running under the Unity line? This came across like she woke up in the morning and decided to run for NYSUT president but we know she was chosen by the hierarchy. 

 

I wondered. Who is Melinda Person and what is going on with Andy? Is he being forced out? Another coup in NYSUT?  (See 2014 story below). 

What forces in the UFT/NYSUT/AFT sphere are behind Person?

We got our answer shortly after with this twitter announcement by Andy Pallotta:

  

The order of announcement seemed strange. How mixed were his emotions? A change in leadership at that level involves some preparation. Some introduction around the state to the rank and file of someone no one except maybe the insiders know. Apparently Unity/NYSUT had a meeting the other day and the change was made. Did Andy decide to retire or was he pushed? Most probably, the former. (He must have noticed how much I've been enjoying my 20 years of retirement.) Usually, there are rumors in advance.

 

One thing we noted was that Person has been the NYSUT political director since October, 2014 and was assistant director of legislation for 6 years from 2008-2013 with a gap of a year, right in the middle of NYSUT turmoil over the 2014 election. She occupied the same position at the state level that Cassie Prugh, who recently left the UFT, had. Prugh replaced the popular (with soccer fans) Paul Egan after a fuzzy type scandal. She had been a somewhat shadowy and unpopular figure who came directly out of the Cuomo administration to the UFT. Some saw Prugh as the Cuomo plant in the UFT or vice versa. It is not clear who is replacing Prugh in the UFT. Sources say that she’ll still be working for the UFT on retainer. And who is taking Person's place as political director of NYSUT? Might as well let Cassie do both jobs for a double retainer - I'd love to what the retainer pays.

The UFT/NYSUT/AFT hierarchy is fundamentally run like a monarchy

UFT Contract Teach-Ins Raise Profile with Members and gets good ratings, Some Talk - strike prep (shhh) in schools, Report on Jan. 29 Pep Rally - and other News

Don't tell anyone, but s-t-r-i-k-e was mentioned at some chapters taking part in the UFT contract Teach-In. Taylor Law spies were monitoring and if you uttered the word you will get a two for one penalty. A NO vote on a contract doesn't mean a strike but why not scare the city and show the UFT membership is ready and willing if necessary?

Best union discussion I've heard forever...  comment on the pre-teach in PEP rally.

Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2022

Over a week has passed since the UFT contract Teach-in on Jan. 30 and the previous Sunday evening Jan. 29 fabulous and historic EONYC Prep rally chaired by Daniel Alicea. Daniel is doing some amazing things with his web site on The Wire by offering a wide range of people space to publish. Support EONYC. The slides are here.

• [Ed Notes promoted both events: UFT Contract Update Yin-Yang - Jan. 29 EONYC 7PM PEP Rally, UFT Rally Monday Outside Whitney Museum - Reality Bites].

Reports coming in are that the contract Teach-in was a success, as was the PEP rally the night before with about 90 people on the zoom and another 100 or so on the FB stream and included a panel from across the spectrum of the UFT. In a number of schools salaries and health care were big items. And there was some talk about strike. And some anti-Mulgrew sentiment. But there was interest and we give the UFT kudos for engaging.

Due to Mondays being a long PD day, some schools did the teach-in later in the week, as MS 53 (Daniel's school) did. The UFT did promos - and pre-training that 900 people attended and held a noon Jan. 30 press conference in front of the Whitney Museum which got some good press coverage - and also some criticism as to the optics of using a fancy spot instead of a gritty school - there are reports that 700 Queens school held an event. Kudos to Queens UFT Borough rep Amy Arundell for pushing this plan aggressively and enthusiastically.

The great Work-Bites reporter Bob Hennelly had UFT officials on WBAI:

Bob's guests are Vice President for the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) Janella Hinds, special education teacher Faiza Khalid, and UFT Borough Representative in Queens Amy Arundell on the UFT building rank and file solidarity at contract time.Listen here. (They go on at the 31:30 mark). Note- Janella Hinds of a Secretary Treasurer at MLC in addition to being VP high schools. Hennelly knows his stuff on healthcare.

In addition, UFT contract committees met in person during that week after school. It was a pretty busy week and Yes, Virginia, the oppo people have been supporting the leadership initiatives on the contract while maintaining the right to be critical.

James Eterno commented a few days before:

• UFT CONTRACT TEACH INS: CAN WE AT LEAST ALL HAVE THE SAME SET OF FACTS TO WORK FROM?

Nick Bacon had some advance advice for how the Teach-in should run:

UFT: Let’s do those contract teach-ins right today

Contract teach-ins start today. As I wrote last week, I’m in favor of the teach-ins, albeit with some modifications. I support them to the extent that they help members learn, think, and build some organizing infrastructure around our contract. I oppose them to the extent that the timing is odd (though better late than never) and the materials designed for them resemble propaganda to pre-organize members for a potentially undeserved ‘yes’ vote.  Luckily, at this point, we have some new materials. The good folks over at MORE published a much better version of the UFT’s official powerpoint. It looks to resemble the original powerpoint well enough that it could be switched out without any new planning. And, James Eterno over at ICE-UFT published an awesome article thoroughly analyzing the flaws with UFT leadership’s explanation on what we ‘do and don’t’ have power to bargain over. (Spoiler alert: we have way more power than union leadership would have us believe). I’d frankly print out that article and read it with your chapter. You might also take a look at some sample contract demands like New Action’s and share those with your chapter.

 I wonder if the leadership didn't open up a pandora's box by getting people involved while telling them about all the things they can't negotiate. James takes these apart one by one.

UFT Contract Update Yin-Yang - Jan. 29 EONYC 7PM PEP Rally, UFT Rally Monday Outside Whitney Museum - Reality Bites

The UFT Culminating January Contract Teach-in offensive takes place Monday with a rousing press conference outside the Whitney Museum at 11:30. (See press advisory below) with a preliminary pep rally sponsored by Educators of NYC, zooming tonight at 7. And you can still get on board:  UFT CONTRACT TEACH-IN PEP RALLY

SUNDAY, JANUARY 29TH @ 7 PM
A ZOOM ONLINE FORUM EVENT CLICK HERE TO RSVP

There has been debates in the alternate non-Unity Caucus universe over this UFT initiative and I have an entire blog post just about ready to go diving deeper into it. Some have been supportive as the UFT leadership finally doing some basic organizing around the contract. 

Others have been more skeptical, seeing the Teach-In as a show and tell event.

I'm somewhere in the middle, hearing from all sides. Unity crowd very excited, Oppos people not so much. But these are the activists on both sides. I offered the leadership some love last week: Fighting for a Fair Contract

Getting readings from the rank and file, the fact that so many people signed up for the UFT training is a sign of widespread interest.

And the interest in tonight's PEP rally has also been heavy with possibly 200 people expected, with an all-star panel of people representing all wings of United for Change - and as Nick Bacon has pointed out (Understanding the ‘Politics’ of the UFT’s Progressive Opposition), UFC is not monolithic, so expect the kind of debate you won't often hear at UFT events. UFT high level officials have been invited but as of this posting have not responded. But we may see a surprise stand-in presenting their side of things.

I'd like to see some history of previous contracts discussed: the 1995 voted down the first time, the major giveback 2005 contract, the 2014 and 2018 healthcare givebacks. Do you see a pattern here? I think there will be a discussion of whether a vote NO means a strike (which the leadership will try to tell people.).

The Agenda

UFT Contract Teach-In Jan. 30 - Showing leadership some love, Revisiting Jan. 9 Ex Bd and Jan. 18 DA

• Fighting for a Fair Contract: Contract Teach-In Pep Rally - Sun, 1/29 @ 7pm - An EONYC Zoom Forum Event - Click Here to RSVP

 

 A Key takeaway from recent UFT Ex Bd and DA:

• UFT trains members in prep of contract teach in blitz in schools: Our union is holding a teach-in on January 30th. Many in the opposition cheer the initiative - 

When Carl Cambria raised the idea to bring contract discussions to the schools at the Jan. 9 Ex Bd meeting, many of us in the opposition cheered, even the skeptics - like me. I liked working with Carl who chaired the UFT election committee last year, so let's give him some love for this imitative.

So I was proud to be part of the crew that discussed the issue and decided to show the leadership some support for a change by holding a pep rally for the next day's activities Sunday night, Jan. 29 where a range of issues related to the contract will be discussed. A great panel is being put together with lots of ideas for how to make the next day's teach-in more meaningful. Mike Schirtzer, an Ex Bd member who ran on the Unity slate in 2019 and 2022, is on board. There might even be input from some people in the leadership. Kumbaya!

• When the Union Wins, We Win! - UFT HS Ex Bd member Mike Schirtzer, our favorite UFT cheerleader

Monday, Jan. 23, 2023

Jan. is always an intense month with the highlight being my wife's birthday coming up in a few days. My deceased dad and her deceased mom and her young cousin all fell in the same week - some of the family is gathering at a steak restaurant/butcher in New Jersey this week where we go to the counter to pick out our own steaks. Luckily they don't have live cows to choose from. Jeez, time flies. Daylight is getting longer and I can see March around the corner - and my 78th birthday. 

I wanted to write about the Jan. 9 Exec Bd meeting (Who actually needs time to read a contract anyways? – Executive Board Meeting, 1-9-2023) where some significant events occurred and here we are with another Ex Bd meeting tonight. And I also haven't written about the Jan. 18 Del Assembly, (Mulgrew to Members: Prepare for Premiums – Analyzing the 1-18-2023 Delegate Assembly), which I missed due to a cold.There are too many threads to deal with which you can see if you clicked the links above, so let's focus on the contract teach-in. 

Nick has a related contract item at New Action:

DA Links, No CIty Council Vote on MulgrewCare on Jan. 19 - Mulgrew should take credit - I was just kidding all along, Deal With Aetna falls apart

NYC Council has no plan to pass bill that would let Mayor Adams charge retired city workers for health care: ‘It’s dead’ - Daily News

She cast doubt over the Jan. 26 deadline floated by the administration, though. “It’s not even clear that the deadline was ever [active],” she said before lamenting that the administration hasn’t yet provided the Council with a detailed contract for its preferred Advantage plan. “One of the questions at the hearing was, ‘Where’s the contract?’ ... We didn’t even have a contract to deliberate on as a body, so for me, that was a very important piece of information that we would need to go forward in any decision.”

What a failure of the UFT political machine which Mulgrew tried to activate to pressure the city council. Watch segments of the hearing on the VIDEO.

Add this hit:

• More Bad News for Mulgrewcare - An Injunction for Copayments for Senior Care

• Judge blocks NYC from charging retired city workers $15 co-pays in latest Medicare setback for Adams

Mulgrew, after pushing co-pays as part of the solution, actually tried to take credit for the ruling. James has the story with a response from Marianne:

• RETIREE LEADER MARIANNE PIZZITOLA DIRECTLY ADDRESSES MULGREW AFTER HIS LATEST EMAIL: YOU NEED A COME TO JESUS MOMENT

I have an idea for Mulgrew: Declare victory like he did when co-pays were ruled illegal.

 

Mock UFT Press release: Major victory for UFT as City Council Won't be bringing up and voting on a bill he advocated for

Michael Mulgrew praised The NYC City Council for not voting on the UFT promoted bill urging them to change the code despite his desperate efforts to get it changed. He announced he was just kidding all along and never wanted to have the city code changed so retirees who want to opt out of Mulgrew's fantastic Medicare Advantage Plan could pay $200 a month. "Do you think I'm dumb enough to alienate UFT retirees who are the backbone of Unity Caucus support?"

We heard from Marianne that the city council would not be taking the expected vote on changing the City Council Admin code and most likely will let it die. This is a big defeat for Mulgrew who tried to get UFTers to bombard the city council will pleas to change the bill. But would it shock me to see Mulgrew shrug and take credit as in the faux press release above?

 

 

 

There was a DA on Wednesday (Retiree Advocate was out there handing out leaflets) which I missed because I had some symptoms - I am negative so probably a mild cold. James and Nick have those stories

• LIVE BLOGGING FROM JANUARY 2023 DELEGATE ASSEMBLY (Unedited) - ICE Blog
  

• Mulgrew to Members: Prepare for Premiums – Analyzing the 1-18-2023 Delegate Assembly - Nick Bacon, UFT HS Ex Bd member, New Action – UFT

City Council Healthcare Hearing Update - Links to Video, Exposing UFT Leadership hypocrisy, And Much more

The City Council hearing on Monday went very well.  We filled the Council chamber with about 250 retirees, plus we had about 300 people outside chanting, "Let us in!"  Our government liaisons were able to get the retirees into 250 Broadway so they were warm and could hear the hearing.  As people left the chamber, retirees were permitted to come across the street to the chamber to testify.

We had retirees testifying until 9 pm!  We were heard.    We were also blessed to have Wendell Potter testify with us.  Wendell, is a nationally known whistleblower in the insurance industry.  Here is his newsletter about the hearing.  

The hearing lasted almost 12  hours long.    If you want to watch the full testimony of the day click here.  VIDEO.  ....NY

Monday, Jan. 16, 2022

 

I just checked out the VIDEO of the hearing - it's 12 hours of drama that would make a mint on Netfix. I got to go near the end at 9:54 -9:57 -  But also check out the woman before me - Laura I think her name is - called Mulgrew and crew out and out liars. Her husband has cancer and told her to say don't change the code - fight them. They're trying to privatize like you wouldn't believe and they are watching us - and that code is protecting us and if we let them do it here it opens everything up for them -- truly a wonderful speech. And UFT Ex Bd member Ibeth Mejia who came over from the UFT Exec Bd meeting with us speaks right after me - find other ways to save money. Mulgrew by zoom is around 4:30. Marianne panel follows them at 4:40 and goes on till 5:40 as she is questioned intensely and holds her own. Renowned critic of Medicare Adv Wendell Potter is also part of her panel. If you want a full picture, check out that segment. 

 

I got some pretty good responses to my 2 minutes, plus phone calls and emails from people I hadn't heard from in a while.

I've been trying to write this report of what happened last Monday at the NYC City Council Healthcare issue for a week but kept getting tangled up with the constant flow of information and the report grew and grew until it became totally unwieldy. So I'm starting over.

 

I reported the morning of Jan. 9 as I was watching the hearing from home and writing my testimony:  

• Monday MulgrewCare/RandiCare Update - City Council Hearings ARE ON -- Big crowd outside moved to overflow room - You can live stream.

I left off as I was about to leave to catch the ferry into the hearing and had just sent in my written testimony at around 12:30. I got there around 2:30 and had to go through various checkpoints - the first policeman told me the hearing was over and to go to 250 Broadway -- so I went there and was told they were about to bring down the people from the overflow room so I should go back. I went through 3 different police who all asked me what I was there for: I came to help save yours and my health insurance - and they all laughed and knew exactly what I was talking about and were supportive.

 

So I came in as Marianne was testifying and filled out a form to get on the speaker list. I was told I was at the end and around 5:15 I left to go to the UFT Ex Bd where I had a delicious meal of pork and potatoes --- oh, yeah, some other shit happened worth reporting. I have a few words to say about the Jan.11 UFT ex bd (the good, the bad, the ugly about Unity actions) but will do that in a separate post - you can catch up with James and Nick reports on Jan. 9 EB:

• ICEUFT Blog: MULGREWCARE FALLS FLAT AT CITY COUNCIL HEARING; NURSES STRIKE IN NYC; UNITY HELPS ELECT ICE-SOLIDARITY'S LULI RODRIGUEZ TO VACANT HS EXEC BD SEAT 

• New Action – UFT Who actually needs time to read a contract anyways? – Executive Board Meeting, 1-9-2023 -

As the Ex Bd was ending around 7:15 I received texts from Jonathan and my friend Shelly in San Diego telling me my name had been called, so I went back to the council and pretty much got to speak almost immediately. A bunch of us from Retiree Advocate left together. Some had been there since 8 AM.

James has a weekend update from Marianne who also appeared on Daniel and Leonie's WBAI program Sunday night with an email update:

• The latest email from the New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees:  They are advising us to be patient. The most important paragraph from the email: We have asked you all to NOT call City Council.  We are allowing them to absorb this week quietly, and we will advise you to our strategy next week.   Monday is a holiday, and we will be in meetings on Tuesday.  We will advise you of our next steps soon.   In the meantime, look back on all we accomplished together!   You wanted to be heard, and boy did they hear you!   Things are looking good...  just give us a few days..  Be hopeful!   WE ARE!  
  

• ICEUFT Blog: NYC RETIREE ORGANIZATION ADVISES PATIENCE FOR NOW; MARIANNE ON WBAI WITH DANIEL SUNDAY AT 7:00 PM -

 

Jonathan also has a few words: JD2718 A Healthcare Week - a pretty full healthcare week.

 

Stories kept breaking all week. We are prepping for a Jan, 19 rally if a vote comes up but that is still in flux.

A biggie on Jan. 12 was another loss for the city and Mulgrew with the judge ruling on co-payments:

• More Bad News for Mulgrewcare - An Injunction for Copayments for Senior Care

Even funnier was Mulgrew's attempts to take credit for the ruling after he was instrumental in inserting co-payments and bragging about doing so. Does Mulgrew have a memory issue where he forgets what he says ten minutes before? James has the funny take with Marianne's video mocking Mulgrew:

Even funnier than funnier was Mulgrew's own retirees trashing MedicareAdv and pleading in their testimony arguing they desparately want the option of not being forced in MedAdv by the actions of their own union leadership - arguing both for and against the UFT position. They testify at 6:30 point.

• Republicans, UFT/AFT Hate Medicare - but not always - Unity at City Council Hearings Beg to Keep Medicare as their caucus tries to take it away

 Arthur did a piece on the same issue destroying the leaderhip. 

• NYC Educator - UFT Leadership Wants to Preserve Choice (for Those Who Can Afford It) -

 MORE News and links:

Left/Right Coalition at Council:

Don't discount the significance of right wing Republicans and Democratic Socialists coming together, a story that might stimulate national interest: 

You know your for-profit, privatized Medicare Advantage health insurance plan really sucks when right-wing Republicans and left-wing Democrats actually unite to defeat its imposition on municipal retirees. 

DamnYankee @HowardNybx Jan 10

Medicare Advantage has been exposed as a vehicle to enrich for-profit insurance. You don't hear the truth on corporate MSM. You get the truth, unvarnished on Work-Bites https://www.work-bites.com/view-all/in-nyc-theyre-lining-up-left-amp-right-to-defeat-medicare-advantage

The 9AM press conference