Municipal Healthcare Retirees kept in dark by UFT Leaders over coming forced medicare advantage plans

The negotiations are taking place in virtual secret. This lack of transparency is happening with the full knowledge of the various union leaderships, including the UFT. Retirees of the Professional Staff Congress (PSC), just this week, their Delegate Assembly passed a resolution calling for a moratorium on these negotiations and for ”voices of municipal retirees to be heard”.

We're hearing from UFT retirees who haven't been in touch as a

horror film of sorts unfolds for all municipal retirees under Medicare (65 and above) which can lead to them losing access to their doctors and paying high fees. The important thing to understand is that our own union leaders have been engaging in secret negotiations and are about to spring it all on us. At the most recent retiree chapter meeting, our Retiree Advocate/UFT caucus that is challenging the retiree Unity Caucus in the upcoming retiree election, had the item put on the agenda and Mulgew was one of the guest speakers.

• How much of a rebound effect will there be in retiree support for UFT Leadership in upcoming chapter elections where Unity usually garners 80%+ support? Read about our RA slate:  https://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-united-front-retiree-advocateuft.html

Here are two reports from the UFT Retiree Chapter meeting, April 14, 2021:

Unity seems a little shaken that the MLC/Medicare negotiation is out of the bag. So, according to Mulgrew, anything the MLC negotiates will be the best thing ever, because anything he touches turns to gold. He is very smart! And according to Sorkin:

• Yes, a Medicare Advantage plan is on the table... but don't you worry, you silly people! This is not yesterday's old-fashioned, crappy Medicare Advantage plan (the kind we always told you scary stories about); this is today's shiny!, brand new!, awesome! Medicare Advantage plan! What are you, an old fogey? Get with the program. This is modern! This is a "White glove, concierge service!" 
• What's more, the plan is more of a PPO, rather than HMO plan. (You got that? The letters are different!)
• Part B & IRMAA reimbursements are not on the table. Who told you that? That's a pernicious rumor. Pinky swear.

Do you feel reassured yet?

No I don't feel reassured. The other retiree added:

Mulgrew also said: Two years ago, we decided to be active consumers. We want access to the same or better health care! But now, because of the RFP, I can't talk too much. (What the f is a RFP? He used these initials a few times but never said what it stands for. Or did I miss something?)

If we do anything, you'll be in a better place! We will make it better. I guarantee. We will fight for you...Blah blah,, that's as far as I can go with the RFP....

Then Jeff Sorkin continued to "address some rumors that are out there".

Report above describes the main points he made. I especially chocked when he spoke of the Access to lifelong concierge services- assistance, guidance to manage chronic conditions. But it's not a Gatekeeper...

Some additional points I heard him say:

"You will be able to retain your current doctors". and "You'll have access to all doctors that take Medicare"

Can't this be contradictory??

"Nothing is finalized" Right. But it will be without any input from membership.

[Tom) Murphy ended with options, choices, enhancements. looking forward. The history of the UFT with the MLC is to enhance benefits, save money.

"Guarantee to keep your benefits or enhance them:

Now I know we're all reassured!

And an old friend commented:

Leave it to the municipal unions to agree back in 2018 to cut medical expenses for the city by $2 billion or so dollars by the end of the contract in 2021 and it looks like they are planning on turning us into a medicare advantage plan as opposed to regular medicare . This is a disaster for retirees - once it becomes an advantage plan you must see doctors in their network - kind of like the old HIP and every procedure will be looked. Dr. Mark doesn't take med advantage plans nor do lots of others because they pay doctors less then medicare does. I assume you know about Mike's (Schirtzer's - Retiree Advocate) resolution for the DA. They will sell it to the members as a benefit just like the ads on radio and TV do - lower premiums, eyeglass and dental coverage, etc. Of course what they won't say is that there will no longer be Part B reimbursement checks each year to cover medicare and also no more IRMAA for those paying a higher medicare premium because they earn over the threshold. It's really all about IRMAA - for recent single retirees who have retired with a pension of 80,000 or so and social security of 20,000 and TDA annual RMD's of lets say 40,000 they pay about $1800 for regular medicare and another $1800 for IRMAA so they would lose $3600 in rebates a year.

This is what RA sent out to members:

Retiree Advocate/UFT is sounding the alarm to all retirees and in-service members of a pending change to our health care. The City and MLC (Municipal Labor Committee) are in negotiations to give the administration of our health coverage over to a private insurance company. Two companies , Aetna and Emblem Health, are among the finalists. This would transfer the 250,000 municipal retires from our current traditional Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan (a privatized Medicare). NYC has called for more savings not for retirees but for itself.

Retiree Advocate/UFT called on Tom Murphy to place the issue before the Retired Teachers Chapter meeting last month. He did but we received a superficial explanation. Last week Retiree Advocate was fortunate to have Mike Schirtzer, a UFT Executive Board member, put a Retiree Advocate initiated resolution to the April 14 UFT Delegate Assembly. The resolution, one of many, was placed well into the agenda thus ensuring that  President Mulgrew  did not get to it, thereby delaying action on this vital issue.

 

This article from The City is setting off alarms among retirees with some calling for a rally or even a die in at MMC headquarters. I was thinking of a rally with our walkers, like The Producers. There are ineresting and alarming details in this article

https://www.thecity.nyc/2021/4/21/22396708/retired-nyc-workers-medicare-advantage?utm_campaign=mailchimp&utm_source=daily&utm_medium=newsletter

Retired City Workers Recoil at Coming Cost-Saving Medicare Shift

Impending move to privately managed health plans could save taxpayers as much as $600 million annually — at a high cost to retirees, who may have to pay more for less care and fewer doctor choices, some warn.

By Sam Mellins, New York Focus Apr 21, 2021, 9:00pm EDT  

Nearly 250,000 retired New York City employees and their spouses could have their health insurance changed to “Medicare Advantage” plans managed by private insurers as soon as July 1, New York Focus has learned.

Retirees, who are pushing to delay the switch, say they are worried that a switch away from their current Medicare plan could lead to dramatically higher out-of-pocket costs and a smaller network of providers.

“It’s a little frightening,” said Jane Roeder, a retired city administrator. “The word on the street is that these Advantage plans are fine as long as you don’t get sick, as long as you don’t need the chemotherapy that my friend is having right now, or radiation treatment, or infusion treatment, or skilled nursing.”

The proposed switchover follows a June 2018 agreement between the Municipal Labor Committee, a group that represents retired New York City employees, and the city Office of Labor Relations.

Under that pact, both sides agreed to reduce health care costs for retirees by $600 million a year relative to 2018 forecasts, starting in 2021. Switching to Medicare Advantage, also known as Medicare Part C, was one of eight possibilities proposed at the time.

Under Medicare Advantage, the city projects it would save that sum by paying a fee to a private insurance company to manage a Medicare plan. Documents reviewed by New York Focus indicate a deal is being negotiated between the city and private insurance companies seeking to administer the coverage.

The city currently reimburses retirees the cost of their premiums for Medicare Part B, which covers outpatient care, and also pays for a supplemental “Medigap” plan to insure for services not covered by traditional Medicare.

Premiums for Medicare Advantage are often lower than in traditional Medicare, but involve trade-offs that could affect retirees’ health and finances: a smaller network, and higher out-of-pocket costs, said Naomi Zewde, a professor of public health at CUNY who is a Roosevelt Institute fellow.

“The city is going to save money by making seniors pay more for their health care,” Zewde said. “These are people who worked an entire career under the promise that they would have good health care later on.”

Fewer Physicians

City retirees currently have access to the vast majority of physicians in New York. Medicare Advantage plans generally have fewer options: A 2017 national study from the Kaiser Foundation found that on average, Medicare Advantage plans offered access to just 40% of physicians in Queens.

Contract-related documents made public by the city Office of Labor relations suggest an increase of as much as $6,000 annually in potential out-of-pocket costs per retiree could be in store. Such costs are currently capped at $1,053 per year, according to Len Rodberg, a retired CUNY professor and health policy expert who would be affected by the potential change.

The documents show annual out of pocket costs could reach upwards of $7,000 for an individual — approaching the maximum allowed by Medicare under law.

“Basic city workers in the $30,000 to $50,000 [salary] range, their Social Security payments are smaller, their pension is smaller; they’re going to get hit badly by this,” Rodberg said.

Some budget watchdogs have highlighted retiree health care savings as necessary to bring $2.2 billion in annual city benefits spending under control.

“Health care savings are important. They’re essential to getting the city on solid fiscal footing, due to the rate at which these costs grow,” said Ana Champeny, director of city studies at the fiscally conservative Citizens Budget Commission. “It’s important to come to a consensus about how to control the costs, and how to possibly reduce the retiree health costs too.”

But retiree advocates say the deal in the works is too high a price for members to pay.

“Somehow you’re going to save $600 million, and the 200,000 Medicare retiree recipients are going to somehow get no worse and maybe even better service?” said Stuart Eber, president of the Council of Municipal Retiree Organizations.

‘People Don’t Know’

The city Office of Labor Relations received eight proposals for Medicare Advantage plans, now winnowed down to two finalists: Aetna and Empire BlueCross BlueShield, multiple retirees said they’ve been informed by their unions.

Cost-cutting employers have been gravitating toward Medicare Advantage, created in 1997 under then-President Bill Clinton. As of 2018, 39% of New York State’s Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans.

“Employers have been gravitating towards Medicare Advantage plans to save money on their retiree health obligations,” said Tricia Neuman, executive director of the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Program on Medicare Policy. “New York is not alone.”

Neuman notes that Medicare Advantage plans rely on a list of in-network doctors. “They’re likely to be more limited in their provider network than traditional Medicare coupled with a Medigap policy,” Neuman said.

Some union officials have attempted to obtain information on their future access to services such as lab tests and rehab facilities, to little success.

“We haven’t gotten specific answers to those questions, and because we’re not privy to the negotiations, we don’t know that they’re not an issue,” said Neal Frumkin, a retiree leader with DC 37, the city’s largest public employee union.

‘Fewer Services’

Achieving the $600 million savings could involve requiring pre-approval from insurers for certain procedures. “That would mean fewer services that would be covered by the plan, potentially,” Neuman said.

More than half of Medicare Advantage participants are enrolled in plans that require prior authorization for ambulance rides, mental health services, inpatient hospital stays and other services, according to a Kaiser analysis.

CUNY retirees are mobilizing against the Medicare Advantage shift, at least until more details are known. At the end of the April 5 meeting, over 93% of attendees voted to request a moratorium, saying that retirees “have not been provided adequate and timely information” about the details of the proposed change.

None of the unions represented among the Municipal Labor Committee’s officers responded to requests for comment, nor did the city Office of Labor Relations. They include the United Federation of Teachers, the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association, DC 37, the City Employees Union and the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators.

Frumkin said that DC37 president and Municipal Labor Committee co-chair Henry Garrido voiced his support for the proposed change at the union’s March executive board meeting.

“Garrido’s position is that it’s a must do because that savings is necessary to stabilize the health benefits for the entire city of New York; the city has to be able to afford to do what they’re doing,” Frumkin said.

“The argument that Garrido makes is that the city fiscally is in a dangerous place, therefore we are trying to come up with savings to enable them to get over this financial problem that they have.”

 

UFT Mayoral Endorsement: Sunday 7 PM Educators of NYC Zooms in on Endorsement Process; Monday, special Ex Bd and DA

I wouldn't endorse any candidate who is for continuing mayoral control. But none of them want to give up that vast power over so much of the budget so I don't think it will every go away. Also the educational/industrial complex has a lot of money riding on continuing mayoral control which is a lynchpin of ed deform and undermining public schools. Like, given the performance of de Blasio, is there more or less support for public schools? Case closed.

Daniel Alicea of Educators of NYC has invited all caucuses to a zoom meeting tonight at 7PM to hold an open discussion regarding the process used in the UFT for the mayoral endorsement follies. Only room for 100 so sign up fast.

One of the ideas being floated is why endorse at all? MORE Caucus and friends is obviously backing Diane Morales, complained about why she was not included in final four but Yang was. A petition is being circulated calling for her to be interviewed Monday at the DA. I wonder if the UFT HAD picked Morales if we would be hearing complaints about process. 

But anyway, we know the process sucks no matter what because fundamentally, Mulgrew or his designee makes the choice and then the UFT figures out a process to ensure his choice gets the nomination. Most people think it will be Stringer and Wiley in some order since some top UFT officials are clearly backing Wiley.

• UFT Mayoral Election Update: Wiley/Strin...

We reported on the failure to endorse at the DA the other day -  

• UFT Leadership Shaken, Not Stirred: Electronic anonymous voting threat, Endorsement Chaos, Unity defections, is mayoral endorsement in trouble?

• UFT Delegates REJECT Endorsements, including Johnson for Comptroller, by 55% - Is there a crack in Unity

 In the meantime, the leadership has attempted to counter the critiques of the endorsement process with this:

 

Educators of NYC posted About this event

There's been a lot of discussion in the media and in all corners about our UFT political endorsement process. Everyone has their opinions on the process and who we should or shouldn't endorse. How can the process be improved? Should we even be in the business of endorsing politicians?

This Sunday, April 18th, at 7 PM, let's talk about it.

Join the discussion with our panelists of UFT leaders, chapter leaders, delegates, rank and file members and allies from all over the city, and our many diverse caucuses.

We will share our lineup of special guest panelists, shortly.

RSVP today. Space is limited to the first 100 participants. We will also live stream the event on Facebook Live as a watch party.

A Zoom link will be sent on Sunday to those who RSVPed.

---

This event is organized by Educators of NYC. We are a community of concerned and professional NYC public school educators.

Reimagine our schools with us.

Equity,democracy,accountability,responsiveness,unionism, and professionalism & pedagogy

---

Also James posted at ICE/UFT blog:

INDEPENDENT UFT MAYORAL FORUM SUNDAY AT 7:00 PM

There is a special Delegate Assembly on Monday afternoon to endorse a UFT candidate for mayor. Everyone guesses the UFT will endorse Scott Stringer with some believing Maya Wiley has a chance to be second. Is this the right decision? Is the UFT top-down endorsement process fair?

If you are looking for a real discussion on the mayor's race and the Union's involvement, you will most likely be out of luck at the DA as it will more than likely be tightly controlled by Mulgrew. I predict a very long Michael Mulgrew filibuster where he will tout his chosen  candidate(s) as greater than FDR and JFK combined and then the hand picked Unity Delegates will be called on to agree with everything that Mulgrew says.  A dissident just might get to speak for 2 minutes but don't expect more than a token opportunity for someone to voice opposition to the Mulgrew's chosen candidate(s).

For a complete discussion of the UFT's political endorsement process, join Daniel Alicea's Educators of NYC on Sunday evening on Zoom. Daniel is bringing together representatives of a number of groups within the UFT, including ICEUFT for this forum. My wife Camille will be representing our caucus. I will certainly be on the Zoom.

https://www.mobilize.us/theeducatorsofnyc/event/384450/?fbclid=IwAR2DQ56Mc1PMk0mNwDgb-uwHcVT1MzuaNcHht7HBcuo0WpQt-pw8o_3lr4Q

And here's the petition from the Morales supporters

Petition circulated by Morales supporters in UFT

Sign on if so inclined!

Calling for Morales to be debated at the special Delegate Assembly (happening Monday after school!) and a transparent democratic process for endorsements:

https://www.change.org/p/uft-executive-board-petition-to-consider-dianne-morales-and-democratic-endorsement-process/psf/promote_or_share

 

UFT Leadership Shaken, Not Stirred: Electronic anonymous voting threat, Endorsement Chaos, Unity defections, is mayoral endorsement in trouble?

Analysis from a retired teacher:

I think that anger over the current UFT mayoral endorsement forums was a contributing factor to the rejection of Unity's endorsement reso at yesterday's DA.

First you had Unity Guy Pecararro throw a wrench into the works by feeling compelled to speak against the reso (ironically because of an anti-democratic, arbitrary Unity rule about amending resos, or unbundling endorsements, or something).

Then, the other speaker was also against the reso, and both he and Pecarraro were well spoken and clear. That presented a very negative overall picture before the vote. 

Add to that, that there is an institutional memory of similar DA objections to Unity endorsements in the past, often made very eloquently by Jonathan Halabi.

Then there is the burn factor: The fact that the UFT's mayoral endorsements are the kiss of death. (By the way, do you remember that Bill Thompson's education advisor, and probable choice for Chancellor was Meryl Tisch? Yes, Meryl fucking Tisch! And UFT endorsed him!)

Then there is the pandemic era anonymous digital voting that lets Unity members have some cover to vote their conscience.

And the cherry on top was the mayoral forum charade where Yang - because of "viability" - was invited at the expense of other more progressive, more pro-labor candidates; as though all the forums (crappy as they were) leading up to the "Final 4-um" meant nothing. All that mattered was public polling. That pissed off more people than Mulgrew realized.

Add it all up and you've got an endorsement smackdown and a very shaken Unity leadership..... Comment on ICE/UFT Listserve

 

 Friday, April 16: 

I wish I had written the above.

The UFT world was shocked when 55% of the delegates at Wednesday's DA rejected the laundry list of endorsements, a protest over process and some of the candidates. Can the leadership safely wade into the waters and guarantee a successful vote for their choice for mayoral endorsement? Clearly, the only way you get 55% against them is with some Unity Caucus defections.

See my post the other day for more background: (UFT Delegates REJECT Endorsements, including Johnson for Comptroller, by 55% - Is there a crack in Unity?

I included these points from a Politico report:

Union members tell us the endorsement process this year has been less than ideal — much of the traditional screening process has been via Zoom, and Dianne Morales, an unapologetic leftist and the only former teacher running for mayor, was not included in the union’s final four picks.

Union President Michael Mulgrew defended the process as thorough and inclusive.

So there is a lot of unhappiness with the leadership, from all quarters. 

MORE Caucus headline:

UFT Delegates Buck Leadership on Key Endorsements

Frustrated with package deal endorsement resolutions, rank and file reps reject leadership resolution in a historic vote as the union continues to consider a mayoral pick

The MORE press release expresses concerns over the UFT picking Yang or Adams. Everyone else seems to know that the choice will be Stringer and Wiley. MORE does complain about its real choice - Diane Morales, the designated leftist in this campaign and the only former teacher. I'm certainly considering her as one of my two choices, despite my nagging feelings over her taking a job with Joel Klein at some point. MORE (see below) disparages the UFT mayoral sweepstakes, but if they had picked Morales, who sat for an hour interview with MORE (maybe the final kiss of death for her with the UFT leaders - in addition to their being allergic to any leftists) but if they had picked Morales, there would be cheers.

While the significant rejection was over the Comptroller, does the outcome threaten the upcoming mayoral endorsement? Anonymous electronic voting is a threat to their control.

I imagine Mulgew might want to get the DA back to in person meetings ASAP - maybe with three feet apart.

I was wondering why they didn't just do it on Wednesday because time is running short and the May DA is too late. Maybe they were nervous about this outcome, though reports coming in indicate the leadership was taken by surprise. The assumption is that there will be an emergency DA next week to maximize the exposure, with the "winning" candidates - or losing if you consider the UFT record - being on the zoom to accept the nomination.

When they hold their emergency DA this week can they be sure of the outcome? They must be in touch with China for emergency software to monitor who votes and how.

See my comments on the mayoral endorsements with UFT officials running a fund raiser for Wiley --  UFT Mayoral Election Update: Wiley/Stringer vs Yang/Adams With a Twis.

I'll close with a pre-DA missive from MORE about the mayoral endorsement:

What Does a UFT Unity Endorsement Mean Anyway? Unfortunately, Not Much.

They slam the Unity leadership over the process which left out Diane Morales, clearly the MORE choice though from what I remember from my years there, we always decided to not get involved in an endorsement for office. Maybe that policy has changed with the influx of DSA Democratic Socialists who have had such an impact challenging the Democratic Party at the grassroots level. I imagine DSA would be for Morales, though most don't expect them to put their resources into the mayoral election, especially since Morales has no chance of winning.

UFT Delegates REJECT Endorsements, including Johnson for Comptroller, by 55% - Is there a crack in Unity?

I have been involved in UFT Delegate Assemblies since 1994. I never recall the Delegates rejecting a leadership recommended endorsement until today... James Eterno at ICE/UFT blog:

LIVE BLOGGING FROM THE APRIL DA (Delegates Vote Down UFT Leadership Recommended Endorsements for Comptroller and Other Positions)

The factions represent various constituencies within the union: The Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE-UFT) is a social justice caucus that advocates for racial justice. New Action focuses on social justice as well as economic working conditions and benefits. UFT Solidarity focuses on issues that affect members’ working conditions.--- Politico

Hmmm, I'm getting a kick over the description of the different caucuses. The reporter should have talked to ICE/UFT too since that blog gets quite a lot of traffic.

And I bet certain UFT officials have egg on their faces.

It is important to note that voting at these remote meetings is anonymous so Unity Caucus member votes can't be tracked. Knowing the size of the Unity block, which can include up to 300 retirees, there is not doubt that a number of Unity people had to vote NO. I bet Mulgrew can't wait to get these people back in person, 3 feet apart.

It is also important to note that one of the points of objection was about the process - lumping all the candidates together - and that Unity retiree and often pain in the butt Dave Pecoraro who tried to get the endorsements separated but a motion is out of order at remote meetings so he spoke against the motion and also the endorsement of Corey Johnson and in favor of David Weprin. Pecoraro is a delegate because he runs on the UFT retiree slate as one of The Three Hundred - and if you read my last post, Retiree Advocate is challenging that Unity slate in the chapter elections. I wonder if Unity will keep Dave on the slate for fucking up their endorsement process. Here is James' report from the DA.

Special Orders of Business

Brooklyn borough rep Elizabeth Perez spoke in favor UFT endorsement for various candidates for city offices. Corey Johnson for Comptroller and others. A speaker endorsed Alvin Bragg for Manhattan DA. David Pecoraro (Unity Caucus retiree) tried to amend to separate the Comptroller from the others but Mulgrew said amendments are not permitted. David then spoke out against the Johnson endorsement because David Weprin is giving up his assembly seat and he is well qualified and he actually wants the position. He added we need a fiscal expert and Johnson is not one. Another Delegate spoke against saying doing multiple candidates at one time is wrong. 

55% No and 45% Yes.

The 5 candidate endorsements the Delegates voted against were:

-Corey Johnson: Comptroller

-Alvin Bragg: Manhattan DA

-JoAnne Simon: Brooklyn Borough President

-Selvina Brooks-Powers: City Council D31

-Dweinie Esther Paul Dorsainvil: Judge Brooklyn

None of the above were endorsed today - the leadership oligarchy may find a way to bring them back for individual endorsement in what I assume will be some emergency DA for a mayoral endorsement because the next DA in May will be pretty late. I mean how much effort to do these one by one, which we always used to do? Some people are getting pretty lazy in how they are running this union.

I assumed the favorite in the Comptroller race was the too liberal for the UFT Brad Lander but Corey threw a monkey wrench into that and I hope he loses. This may help that happen, though an actual UFT endorsement often helps the opposition.

Arthur includes this in his DA report 

Political endorsements--Elizabeth Perez--Great honor and pleasure to present this reso. Political teams worked diligently to select best candidates. Can't say enough of hard work political teams have put in. Asking this body to join me in endorsing these people. 

Carmen Romero--Would like to endorse Alvin Bragg for Manhattan DA. Got overwhelming support of UFT for accountability and transparency. 

Mulgrew--Thank you. Not just about him.

David Pecoraro--Wants to divide Comptroller endorsement from remainer.

Mulgrew--Can't do that.

Pecoraro--Then speaking against resolution. Cannot support speaker Johnson. Favors David Weprin.

Thomas McDonough--Also speaking against motion. Endorsing seven at a time is rushing things,. Should vote individually.  Disagree with several endorsements.

55% no. Fails.

I'm going to do a separate report on the mayoral endorsement process but here are two Politico pieces worth checking out. First,

THE CITY’S TEACHERS UNION is leaning toward Scott Stringer as its preferred mayoral candidate, multiple union members have said, but rank-and-file teachers already dissatisfied with the union’s politics have criticized the endorsement process as opaque and unreflective of their values. The union’s finalists — Stringer, Maya Wiley, Eric Adams and Andrew Yang — recently participated in its final town hall after a series of candidate screenings held behind closed doors. The United Federation of Teachers’ 3,200-member union-wide Delegate Assembly — chapter leaders and delegates — votes on the candidates. And their final decision could come this week. But some members tell POLITICO the system for endorsing in the nearly 200,000-person union, governed by president Michael Mulgrew, does not capture the genuine sentiment of members. POLITICO’s Madina Touré

For the second piece Madina Toure spoke to opposition people for her article and they all slammed the process as undemocratic. But with former Cuomo operative Cassie Prugh running the UFT political machine why expect democracy?

Here is one highlight from Madina's report:

political factions within the union have bucked under Mulgrew — though the well-known president won his own re-election in 2019 with 38,591 votes, or 86 percent of the votes cast.--- 

Jeez. Only 86% just two years ago. I bet it ain't 86% today but who's to say the opposition won't screw it up again in next year's election, though with unhappiness with Mulgrew growing throughout the union maybe Randi will kick him upstairs --- how about NYSUT - maybe Mulgew should start looking for an apartment in Albany - except Unity doesn't have a deep bench to replace him. Here's the entire Politico article.

As teachers union readies endorsement, members complain about process

By MADINA TOURÉ

04/14/2021 05:00 AM EDT

The city’s teachers union is leaning toward Scott Stringer as its preferred mayoral candidate, multiple union members have said, but rank-and-file teachers already dissatisfied with the union’s politics have criticized the endorsement process as opaque and unreflective of their values.

The union’s finalists — Stringer, Maya Wiley, Eric Adams and Andrew Yang — recently participated in its final town hall after a series of candidate screenings held behind closed doors. The United Federation of Teachers’ 3,200-member union-wide Delegate Assembly — chapter leaders and delegates — votes on the candidates. And their final decision could come this week.

But some members tell POLITICO the system for endorsing in the nearly 200,000-person union, governed by president Michael Mulgrew, does not capture the genuine sentiment of members.

“[It] just seems that it’s been a series of backroom deals and backroom occurrences without much membership input ‘cause a lot of times honestly under Mulgrew, a lot of things have been secretive, and it’s the faction that gets the information and spreads it out, and once the race is spreading like wildfire, then we get a communication from the union,” said Ramdat Singh, a teacher at Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy in the Bronx.

The union’s pick for mayor will be its most significant political endorsement since 2013 when it backed Bill Thompson, who ended up getting trounced in the Democratic primary. Mulgrew has enjoyed a much better relationship with Mayor Bill de Blasio than former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, though they’ve had a handful of public disputes — most notably during the last year as the Covid-19 pandemic threw the city’s education system into chaos.

And political factions within the union have bucked under Mulgrew — though the well-known president won his own re-election in 2019 with 38,591 votes, or 86 percent of the votes cast.

The factions represent various constituencies within the union: The Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE-UFT) is a social justice caucus that advocates for racial justice. New Action focuses on social justice as well as economic working conditions and benefits. UFT Solidarity focuses on issues that affect members’ working conditions.

Lydia Howrilka, a founding member of UFT Solidarity, said the process “was very closed off.”

"Any mayor that has promised teachers anything has often gone back on their promises,” she said. “We've seen it with Bill de Blasio in particular, and the candidate that the rank and file would support is the candidate that would eliminate mayoral control of schools.”

Mulgrew defended the effort saying it was thorough and transparent, adding 10,000 people participated in the process before the final forum and pointed to “hundreds if not thousands” of new volunteers working in the union. He said some amount of dissatisfaction was more or less standard in a union of the UFT's size and diversity.

“Every single endorsement has come from a committee of volunteers who did the questioning and vetting process on their own and nobody has changed their recommendations,” he said. “Every one of their recommendations has come through. I don't know what else to do. How about no matter what we do, there's gonna be a problem."

Among the criteria for the union nod were a candidate’s fundraising, polling, voter engagement, endorsements, the candidates allies, policy and campaign proposals on education and labor, their Covid-19 response, equity issues, homelessness, job loss and affordable housing.

The union said the process entails members submitting comments before, during and after the town halls to the political action teams in each borough and filling out post-town hall surveys. More than 10,000 UFT members participated in the first four town halls held between February and April and the screeners asking candidates questions were UFT volunteers.

For the Delegate Assembly vote, the union creates a list of all of its delegates who use their phones to vote, which are tallied by a third party vendor.

Most members told POLITICO Stringer will emerge as the victor, but some said Wiley has a shot— both are candidates with union-friendly campaigns.

Michael Shulman, chair of New Action — the union’s oldest opposition caucus — said he would support Stringer or Wiley. His litmus test, he said, is the relationship of the various candidates to charter schools and vouchers.

“I think pretty much I would say they would eliminate Yang, and I think Eric Adams seems close to the charter movement, so I think there'd be a real problem there,” Shulman said.

Mulgrew wouldn’t confirm who the union was leaning toward.

"If we're looking at policy, knowledge on educational policy or policy for the city labor relations, economic policies and the big issues that we always bring up, I'm assuming you can figure out who…,” Mulgrew said, not finishing the sentence.

Critics within the union have raised concerns over the decision to include Yang in the final four — who does not seem likely to win the nod based on criticisms of the union’s role in school re-openings and his pro-charter statements — and the decision to not include Dianne Morales, who is among the most progressive candidates in the race and a former teacher.

“[Mulgrew] did say that Andrew Yang, he’s just another Bloomberg and that was last Wednesday… it’s sad because it tells you this guy is talking out of his mouth,” said Dermott Myrie, a UFT chapter leader and part of the MORE-UFT caucus. “There’s a disconnect between leadership and whoever is on these political teams.”

He added he doesn’t know why Morales “was discriminated against by the UFT and excluded,” Myrie said. “This is straight up marginalization… [a] Latinx woman of Afro descent is ignored, and this is not new.”

[Ed Note: No surprise here that Myrie focuses on Morales' identity instead of her fairly progressive policies - though I would still want to know more about her time working for Joel Klein. As for why the UFT didn't include Morales, we know that too left is not right for the UFT leadership and hasn't been for, oh, 60 years.]

Mulgrew said electability and fundraising had to be considered in the union’s choice. Someone who hits all the right notes but can’t win would be a bad move for a union who hasn’t picked a winning candidate since former mayor David Dinkins in 1989.

He admitted the inclusion of Yang and Adams in the final four was, in part at least, to give the union a chance to grill the candidates on their stances.

“I think it's important for people to hear us saying to him, 'You said this and you are wrong.' Now how do you respond to that?” he said.”

But plenty of members said the union’s process was thorough and inclusive, given the dynamics of the race and the challenges of the pandemic

Shulman said the process was “done fairly well” given a “very complicated and mixed race,” calling the Zoom meetings “terrible.”

[Ed Note: It's nice she gave Shulman some serious attention - I've been working with him on the reinvigorated Retiree Advocate.]

“You don't have that [interaction], what do you really have by the way of a democratic process?” he said. “So that's my frustration with it… I'm not necessarily faulting the union leadership for this. I think that's just the way it is."

Ife Damon, an English teacher at Curtis High School on Staten Island, argued the process has been inclusive.

“I personally appreciated the approach because it allowed me to find out about them all in one place,” Damon said.

 Ed Note: I smell Unity shill.

The United Front: Retiree Advocate/UFT brings friends and former opponents together for Retiree Chapter election

Retiree Advocate slate includes many UFT Presidential candidates vs Unity going back to the 1970s. Gloria Brandman leads slate as chapter leader candidate against Unity Caucus.

RETIREE ADVOCATE HELPS LEAD IN FIGHT AGAINST MLC FORCING MEDICARE RETIREES INTO MEDICARE ADVANTAGE# ---  Eterno at ICE/UFT

United Front: (Broad Definition): alliance of groups against common foes.

Wednesday, April 14, 2021: Submitted by Norm Scott 

Recently, a group of UFT retirees, active for decades in the union as working teachers and current retirees, often in opposition to the ruling Unity Caucus, met in a backyard in Bay Ridge to sign petitions for the Retiree Advocate/UFT slate opposing Unity Caucus in the upcoming UFT retiree chapter election (70,000 ballots go out in May). It was the first time they had not met on Zoom in over a year. It was a lovely spring day and so good to see everyone in person.

Retiree Advocate began decades ago as an offshoot of New Action Caucus after some of their key people retired and wanted to remain active in the UFT without being subsumed by the retiree chapter controlled by Unity Caucus which dominates retiree functions. About ten years ago some retirees from ICE began to work with the RA and that led to the group becoming unattached to any one caucus and welcoming to all. A group of about ten make up an informal organizing committee of RA and have reached out far and wide to help organize for the chapter election. Over 125 retirees have signed up to run.

Over the decades those of us on the current RA organizing committee had fought together and  had fought against each other. (Until the past 5 years I had avoided talking to some of them for decades.) That we were all together in one space and working well together over the past few years is remarkable - a lesson to never burn bridges.

The RA slate has come together from different histories and caucuses: New Action/UFT, ICE/UFT, former members of MORE/UFT, Solidarity Caucus and a current member of MORE Caucus. This election is truly a united front.

UFT history has shown that splintering the opposition only makes Unity Caucus stronger, while united fronts have been able to create at least some challenge to the total control of Unity. 

A test question: Compare and contrast the outcomes of the general 2016 and 2019 UFT elections.

2016 saw a united front of MORE and New Action - vs Unity - two caucus choices on the ballot* and they garnered almost 11,000 votes, winning the 7 high school Ex Bd seats - the first time non-Unity endorsed candidates won those eats since 2004. 

*Solidarity did not have the required number of candidates to get on the ballot and ran as independents with the presidential candidate getting 1300 votes.

In 2019, MORE fractured the alliance with New Action and refused to work with a third caucus, Solidarity, thus leading to a ballot with three caucuses opposing Unity. The results were a disaster with vote totals for the opposition dropping drastically (MORE finished third and got less votes than Solidarity).

If I were a rank and file voter and saw 3 opposition caucuses vs Unity I would say "WTF. You want us to vote for one of you when you can't manage to even work together in an election?"

I think back to my involvement with UFT elections back to the 1970s and have always felt the only reason to run in a UFT election was in a united front - one group opposing Unity - otherwise there was no point in running.** Thus we saw united fronts from the late 70s through the 2004 election when New Action decided to run with Unity and the ICE/UFT Caucus was formed and worked with another caucus, TJC, new to elections to challenge them and won the high schools.

In fact, the creation of the UFT itself emerged from a united front between the Teachers Guild and the High School Teachers Association in the late 60s. Eventually, that United Front led to a merger into one organization, the UFT.

New Action itself emerged from over 15 years of United Fronts for elections in the UFT when two caucuses, TAC and New Directions, around since the 70s, merged in 1995. 

ICE had come out of independents working together in the early oughts. ICE worked in a united front for elections with the TJC Caucus for years.

MORE/UFT emerged out of an alliance between TJC - which dissolved and ICE which did not and continues today as a sort of non-caucus caucus..

So the Retiree Advocate organizing committee has been extremely excited to put together a wide-ranging group that includes many historical figures in UFT opposition history, with almost every UFT presidential candidate who ran against Unity since the late 1970s: Michael Shulman (New Action), Marc Pessin (New Directions, PAC), Marilyn Beckford, (ICE), Kit Wainer(TJC/MORE), James Eterno (ICE). 

Plus other UFT activists from the distant past like Bruce Markens (Manhattan HS District Rep 1990-2000), Lois Weiner, my first mentor Lew Friedman, my latter day mentor Angel Gonzalez, an old 70s pal and major activist Matt Gulden, Jose Alfaro, the legendary Ellen Fox, my closest compadres for almost 50 years, Vera Pavone and Ira Goldfine -  and so many more.

We have chosen Gloria Brandman to be the RA standard bearer as chapter leader vs Unity's Tom Murphy. I've worked closely with Gloria for 15 years in ICE, GEM, MORE and now Retiree Advocate and Gloria as often the glue that keeps everyone working together. (When MORE lost her they lost a GEM.)

The UFT RTC chapter is structured with 10 Officers and a 15 member Ex Bd. Also on the ballot are 300 delegate assembly candidates, all are elected in an undemocratic winner take all system which has given Unity Caucus control over every elected position since the inception of the UFT and has helped them keep a tight grip on the UFT Delegate Assembly.

I wrote a previous blog about the election: All- Star Cast Joins Retiree Advocate/UFT Slate to Challenge Unity Caucus in Chapter Election - 70,000 eligible to vote

In addition to the medical issue James posted at ICE blog: UNITY RETIRED TEACHERS CHAPTER WON'T AGREE TO SUPPORT ANY OPPOSITION REPRESENTATION AT DELEGATE ASSEMBLY

Here is a list of some key RA candidates.

RTC Officers

Chapter Chair Gloria Brandman

Vice Chair           Douglas Haynes

Vice Chair           Prudence Hill

Vice Chair           Lisa North

Vice Chair           Michael Shulman

Secretary            Gregory DiStefano

Asst. Sec’y          Norman Scott

Corres. Sec’y     Bennett Fischer

Treasurer          Robert Greenberg

Asst. Treas         Ellen Fox

RTC Exec Bd

Jose Alfaro, Angelo D’Angelo, Patricia Dobosz, James Eterno, Claudia Giordano,

Angel Gonzalez, Bruce Markens, Gustavo Medina, Paul Millstein, Vera Pavone, Robert Provenza, Dacio Quintana, Roque Ristorucci, Anita Romm, Thomas Siracuse

All together we have about 130 candidates running. The rest  are running for RTC Delegate Assembly position of which there are 300 with winner take all - which would give Unity all of them, thus disenfranchising  the 20-25% of retirees expected to vote for Retiree Advocate.

For the recored, we asked for a minimum of 5 delegates out of the 300 to at least give the minority view a voice at the DA. We were turned down.

**At a MORE meeting where I argued this point a long time activist disputed me and pointed to the 5 caucuses that ran in the Chicago 2010 election where CORE defeated the incumbent - leaving out a few caveats: That the ruling caucus had split in two and more importantly, Chicago has run-offs if you don't get a najority of votes and CORE finished second in round 1 with 32% of the vote but the other caucuses backed them in round 2. When I attempted to correct comparing apples to oranges I was ruled out of order because I had already spoken - I just gave up when it was clear people didn't want to know the truth.

#The medical issues have arisen over the past few weeks and James and I will monitor them carefully.

UPDATED: UFT Mayoral Election Update: Wiley/Stringer vs Yang/Adams With a Twist

Monday, APRIL 5, 2021 - 

Friday night I posted an early version of this story about the UFT final four mayoral forum this Wednesday, April 7. I reposted earlier today and then even more info came in - so this is a 4th rewrite.

 ---- Norm Scott

UFT Media Advisory: UFT Invites "Final Four" Candidates to Forum, Sets Stage for Endorsement in Democratic Mayoral Primary:  Four candidates for the June Democratic primary -- Eric Adams, Scott Stringer, Maya Wiley and Andrew Yang -- have been invited to take part in the final mayoral forum sponsored by the United Federation of Teachers... The forum, chaired by UFT President Michael Mulgrew, will be held on Wednesday, April 7, at 4 p.m. at UFT headquarters at 52 Broadway.  Mulgrew and the candidates are expected to appear in person (socially distanced), along with a small audience of UFT members.  All others, including the press, will be able to watch online. --- UFT Media

There are a lot of knots in recent events surrounding the UFT process for endorsing a candidate for mayor, something they haven't gotten right since Dinkins 30 years ago. Bloomberg called a UFT endorsement the kiss of death. Maybe they should sit this one out.

And what exactly is the process for endorsing candidates? Three guys and gals in a room? I mean how exactly was the final four chosen? 

Watch the name Cassie Prugh, UFT's high level political operative who comes straight from the Cuomo administration. She fits perfectly with the Machiavellian operation at Unity Caucus. What did she know and when did she know it when she worked for Cuomo?  She's a major player in UFT political decisions.

 

 

 

The REAL final four - forget basketball - will be April 7

Did Yang have to make a three point shot at the buzzer to make the final four?

 

Mulgrew announced the candidates who made the cut last Friday - Given the UFT history of failure in these endorsements these candidates might not be celebrating.

People were shocked at the inclusion of Yang, who had attacked the UFT and blamed the union for keeping schools closed, clearly wrongheaded and mistaken since it has been the rank and file resistance that would never have opened schools in the first place and has been critical of the leadership for even considering to work with de Blasio to open schools partially.

Mulgrew had recently referred to Yang as "Bloomberg Reincarnated."  But he's under consideration? But in Arthur's notes Mulgrew said: To not have Yang would be crazy because he's frontrunner in every poll. Would be irresponsible not to have him answer. Not just about policy, but viability.

No less an eminence than Diane Ravitch, upon hearing the news asked:  

Why is Andrew Yang in the final four when he supports public  money for religious schools and more charters?

I would ask the same question, though our own glorious national leader also supports public money for religious schools. [Outrage at Randi Grows -- Schumer and a Teachers’ Union Leader Secure Billions for Private Schools, NYT]

And of course Adams is also pro-charter - so two out of the four finalists seem willing to turn more of our public schools over to anti-union charters. A giant WTF.

My first thought was that the UFT can't really endorse Yang - maybe Adams - but they are the front runners so the UFT plays the "who can possibly win" game even of they would screw the membership. 

Rank choice voting gives the UFT a few options.

All- Star Cast Joins Retiree Advocate/UFT Slate to Challenge Unity Caucus in Chapter Election - 70,000 eligible to vote

For months I've worked with Retiree Advocate to help put together a slate and a program to challenge Unity in the upcoming chapter elections. Unity Caucus elects 300 delegates to the Delegate Assembly out of the retiree chapter that help them flood the Delegate Assembly.

Winner Take All

Since we usually get 20% of the vote, in a democratic system we would get about one fifth of the delegates -- roughly 60 -- but in the winner take all autocracy Unity get them all and the thousands who vote for us get no voice at the DA. 

 

We asked for a measly 5 delegates just so there would be some representation of those thousands of retirees who will vote for us. We got none. Truly, as I often say, Putin is jealous of Unity.

Gathering together

This election cycle for the first time we decided to gather retirees who had been active in the UFT as a sort of celebration of the work many have or had done over the years. We have an all-star cast, including every single presidential candidate that ran against Unity (except one) since the late 70s.

 

UFT Retirees are invited to join us (you must still be a union member)

We have a few more days left and I thought that if there any retirees left reading this blog I'd invite you to join us. Email me with name, address, phone, file # or last four of social and email if interested to normsco@gmail.com or see below.

Retiree Advocate/UFT is running in the UFT Retired Teachers Chapter Election (Ballots go out in mid-May).

                                  

Petitions must be submitted by April 5th

                                                                                   

We hope to get as many retirees as we can. Unity Caucus occupies the DA with 300 elected members. The more people we run,  the better able we are to challenge them!  We are asking you to run with us as a Delegate to the UFT Delegate Assembly. The logistics for participation are not complicated; we will take care of getting all necessary signatures on the nominating forms.  All we need you to do is agree to run on the Retiree Advocate/UFT slate.

Why run with us?

Retiree Advocate/UFT is committed to improving our benefits, supporting our working members, fighting for social justice, and increasing rank and file democracy in our union.See our platform below

What happens if we win? Chances are slim since we’ve received about 18 -20% of the vote in the past. But by running as full a slate as possible, we will be sending a message to UFT/Unity leadership - we do not accept the status quo and changes are necessary moving forward.

Seriously consider participating in this election.  We need the following information:    YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE, EMAIL, and LAST FOUR DIGITS OF YOUR SOCIAL SEC. NO.

Email the info to us at:    retireeadvocate@gmail.com,

Thanks for your consideration! We hope to hear back from you by April 5th.

Retiree Advocate/UFT Election Committee

Annals of the UFT - On Democracy in the Current and Past UFT Delegate Assembly - Norm Scott

More than 2,000 elected school reps joined the January meeting by phone, a 40-percent increase over participation last spring that undoubtedly reflects a craving for information in circumstances that remain so fluid. However, the UFT delegate assembly was meant to be more than an information session. .... --- Solidarity Caucus Letter of complaint in letter to The Chief, posted on ICE Blog:

--------SOLIDARITY LETTER ON UFT LACK OF DEMOCRACY PRINTED IN CHIEF

March 31, 2021 -- 

My next to last pre-pandemic day in the city before heading back to Rockaway was March 11, 2020 when I attended the last in person UFT Delegate Assembly. Outside the meeting a chapter leader of one of the largest schools in the city told me his school had more cases than the DOE or UFT was admitting to and his complaints to the union were landing on deaf ears and he was thinking of going to the press. (I think he did and those articles put pressure on the DOE and UFT). Earlier that day my wife and I had attended almost empty classes for retirees at 52 Broadway that were cancelled for the rest of the year, it was clear things were going bad. The night before, March 10, we went to a crowded Broadway play - Broadway shut down 3 days later. Schools were shut shortly after though teachers were required to come in the next week without children for "training." Over 70 ended up dying. And the Delegate Assembly has only met remotely since then.

OK, that's some background but the intention here is to open a discussion on democracy at the UFT Delegate Assembly, currently and in the near and distant past. John Lawhead, one of the authors of the Solidarity letter, has been running a UFT history study group which has been fascinating and I've gotten a good handle on how a very democratic institution was turned into what it is today. Look for follow-up posts.

What is the Delegate Assembly?

It consists of the elected chapter leaders and delegates from the schools and functional chapters, where there is a 60-1 ratio, meaning a school with 300 UFT non-functional/classroom chapter members, gets 5 delegates. Large functional chapters get a load, like retirees with 70,000 members, get 300 members of the DA. 

 

Retiree Advocate running a slate vs Unity in chapter election

I'm working with Retiree Advocate to run a slate against Unity in the upcoming chapter election - if you are a retiree and want to run let me know - we won't win and Unity will claim winner take all despite us getting around 20% of the vote - which in a democratic institution would give us 60 delegates - we actually asked Unity for a measly 5 seats to at least represent that 20% and they said NO.

How many delegates?

Do the math and you can see there are probably over 4000 people who can attend a DA but in person the room only holds a max of 850, with a few breakout rooms.

But the reality is that there are often less than 600 in person - for from a quorum which makes meetings technically illegal, but who's counting? And Unity caucus people naturally dominate the crowd, especially when you add in retirees even if only 100 attend.

A key feature of the DAs, especially since Randi Weingarten took over have been long filibuster president reports that often take up to an hour and eat up time.

So by its very nature, DAs are undemocratic in practice. The pandemic has changed things and the union has had to adapt. 

The current situation is that many more people are attending the DA - I think I saw some 2000 at the January DA. Imagine zoom meetings with thousands and electronic voting which they have no way of controlling.

How do you do democracy in that environment? Most importantly, the number of eyes on the DA is itself more democratic and that has made the union leadership very nervous, even though they can easily shut people they don't want to hear from out. But I think the transparency is a bigger threat to them and I bet they are dying to get back to normal smaller DAs. But they have figured out a way to restrict democracy even further.