Monday, June 20, 2022

RETIREE GROUP SAYS THE CITY MISLED THE JUDGE IN MEDICARE PRIVATIZATION CASE

It looks like the city stooped to misleading a judge on retiree healthcare. Ace NY Post reporter Sue Edelman along with Richard Calder obtained a smoking gun and published it on Saturday.

City lawyers lied to a state judge in a “shameful” bid to cheat them out of health insurance benefits, according to a retired group of firefighters, cops, teachers and other public servants.

The lawyers have argued in court filings and before a Manhattan Supreme Court judge that NYC retirees must accept a new, privately administered plan or pay $191.57 monthly to maintain current coverage.

However, The Post obtained a Feb 16, 2016 letter from Stephen Louis, a top city Law Department attorney, to then-Labor Commissioner Robert Linn which appears to confirm the city is required by law to pay for all retiree health plans up to a price cap.

“They misled the court,” fumed Marianne Pizzitola, who heads the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, when shown the letter, calling it “shameful.”

Louis wrote that the Administrative Code requires the city to pay for any plan “up to the full cost of the health care package offered” by NYC. 

Assistant Corporation Counsel William Fraenkel told Judge Lyle Frank on Feb. 28 that making every plan premium-free would “run contrary” to the law.

The city lost the case but is appealing. Of course, the city denies that they misled the judge but look at the language of the letter that is published in its entirety in the Post. Here is the key part:

Similarly, the Council committee report explaining local law 120 singled out payment for the "entire cost"  of a "health insurance plan" but did not prescribe the components of any plan.

The important words are "any plan" as I read the letter. It is kind of obvious that it means more than one plan. Look up the definitions of the word "any" if you want to. These two definitions from Webster seem to fit appropriately:

a: unmeasured or unlimited in amount, number, or extent 

any quantity you desire

b: appreciably large or extended

could not endure it any length of time

We can even go to the thesaurus for synonyms:

Synonyms & Antonyms of any

being one of a group

any person who comes in the store today is eligible for the discount

Synonyms for any

each, every

The dictionary pretty much shows that the city is supposed to pay for multiple plans, not just one. That is also what it calls for in the UFT Contract in Article 3G1 which has this title:

Choice of  Health Plans

Then, look at the contractual language:

The Board agrees to arrange for, and make available to each day school teacher, a choice of health and hosptial insurance coverage from among designated plans and the Board agrees to pay the full cost of such coverage.

State law covers public school teacher retirees too.

While there is no guarantee that retirees in the state have the same coverage as active employees, the state Legislature prohibits school districts and BOCES from unilaterally diminishing retiree health insurance coverage unless a similar reduction is negotiated for active employees.

You see why the city wants to diminish active employee health benefits, not only retirees. We have been trying to ring the alarm bell that inferior Mulgrewcare is coming to all of us unless all of us collectively say no.

Michael Mulgrew, the rest of the Unity UFT leadership who just go along, the Municipal Labor Committee, and many of the establishment Democratic and Republican politicians are not our friends on healthcare. The pressure has to come from rank and file city employees that there needs to be a line drawn in the sand on healthcare. We will not accept more cuts to benefits or increased costs to employees or retirees.

Maryann Pizzitola is working on behalf of municipal retirees across many job titles. Go to the website to learn more about the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees. 

22 comments:

  1. Wait!

    But you pay dues...

    Don't worry.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The sad thing is that it is just a matter of time before the city forces this change on us. Hell, it could happen as early as next year.

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  3. @11:16 - If you don’t pay dues, they you should not be commenting on this pro-union blog. You are the problem, not someone who will work with us to make a better union. We need more fighters, not quitters, like you. Quitters weaken our union, and when I say ‘our”, I don’t mean you, obviously, since you quit.

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    Replies
    1. The numbers opting out are less than 1%. The guy who urges everyone to opt out almost certainly has not done so himself. This blog is lousy with tough talking wimps.

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    2. lol. And 200% membership got you what? And what has changed with all this fight? Been waiting for 25 years for this change.

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    3. Sorry, meant 100% membership.

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  4. Major problem is that so many politicians—both Democratic and Republican—have their pockets stuffed with insurance corporation/industry contributions. Rising and out of control healthcare costs continue to mount as politician promises are a sham.

    And Mulgrew with a 70% vote re-election win—feels empowered to simply go along with the rest of the MLC if the city should win on appeal—despite the fact that all of sudden he had so many misgivings on the Medicare Advantage Plus—and he pulled his support despite that the fact he was prepping and shoving this plan down the throats of retirees for 16 months. Mulgrew kept calling the plan the best healthcare coverage on the planet—better and cheaper than the current one. Comments like that—did not fool other smaller retiree unions—such as the CUNY union—that continue the fight the city in court. And as a March, 2022–over 25% of all city retirees and that number was growing as retirees were willing to an extra $191 monthly individual premium to opt out of Medicare Advantage Plus. So active members, don’t fall for any of Mulgrew’s crap when it comes to changes to your healthcare.

    Just get the feeling that after the MLC renegotiates with the city— any city worker hired after December 31, 2023–will have only one healthcare option-Medicare Advantage -for their entire working career and eventual retirement—and don’t be surprised if that plan is eventually watered down too in the coming years.

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  5. Why are you shocked? The UFT supported the below...

    He keeps telling you he doesn't give a damn that you can't afford gas, all you have to do is start to believe him.

    Biden: "My mother had an expression: out of everything lousy, something good will happen. We have a chance to make a fundamental turn toward renewable energy, electric vehicles, and across the board."

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  6. This is where james, after telling us that the UFT abandoned and screwed retirees, tells us that we are lucky to have a union and it could be worse.

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  7. So much for being essential workers in the government'seyes.

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  8. UFT is out to reduce the health costs for NY city by reducing the medical benefits for active and retired employees.

    They are hurting the members and doing the bidding of the NY City department of finance. They are lying to you about their goals.

    The UFT under Mulgrew is a fraud.

    Keep paying dues for fraudulent representation.

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  9. Lets talk about accountability. NY city should be censured and fined.
    The lawyer for the city should be disbarred and not allowed to practice law.

    Why are teaching the only profession that has to held to standards of "accountability"?

    There are many bad apples in the NY city government. There are many unprofessional lawyers working for NY city. NY city is criminally mismanaged by corrupt politicians and a failed legal system, period.

    The entire US legal system is a complete mess. Expect Donald Trump to not be held accountable and expect Donald Trump to run for president again.

    What are the toxic consequences of our failed legal system?

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  10. Like Councilman Robert Holden said “It’s stealing taxpayers’ dollars, and it’s stealing childrens’ education.” when this Principal threatens any teacher with a negative rating. This Principal has been featured in Crime Watch Daily for changing grades why has SCI not done anything to remove her. We pay a lot of money for SCI so why aren't they not removing this Principal asap. As a parent I do not want to pay a salary of a Principal that does not care if a student is present or not in the classroom learning.

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    Replies
    1. Absolutely 947 am. This is an example in real time of what systemic inequality looks like.

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  11. UFT is like insurance we do not want it but we need it. Except this union is politically hacked and has a great facade of selling bullshit.

    @4:48 sneaking in a TRump comment lol, triggered much? The person held accountable will be Nancy Pelosi.

    Cnn president stopping anchors from calling the election the big lie, farthest from truth.

    https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jun/16/cnn-orders-anchors-stop-using-big-lie-describe-tru/

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  12. Same could be said about Biden 458. 10% for the big guy.

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  13. Keep the pressure on Mulgrew and his lackey Murphy. Keep the pressure on Big Pimpin’ Mayor Adams and they can’t screw us.

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  14. Refusing to admit that the schools are criminally mismanaged won't make the problem go away.

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  15. @9:47 Criminal mismanagement by principal and DOE. Principal and OSI
    operatives should be brought up on criminal charges. We do not have a functional school system in NY city and we certainly to not have a functional legal system in the United States. Very sad state of affairs. Our legal system has been compromised by our oligarchs and kleptocrats. Our school system is a dysfunctional hot mess.

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  16. Systemic inequality perpetuated by NYC democrats and a black mayor and a black chancellor and many black and brown school administrators. So we’ll be voting only for white republicans now? Your arguments are illogical and laughable. The only thing systemic is a lack of proper parenting and a lack of fathers in communities where kids can’t read.

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  17. @waitingforsupport - as usual, you are right on target, while others spew old, lame and tired, low-level thinking.

    Fighting Systemic racism in K-12 education (excerpted)

    "Money matters in education, with multiple studies showing that increasing funding improves outcomes while cuts hurt them.

    'Black, Indigenous, and other non-Black students of color attend schools that are statistically more likely to be under-resourced, outdated, and in many cases hazardous to their health. Last month, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report that estimated more than half of the nation’s public school districts needed to update or entirely replace multiple systems, such as HVAC or plumbing, in their school buildings—and many of these districts are concentrated in high-poverty areas. If left unaddressed, these infrastructure problems could pose significant air quality issues, contribute to exacerbating asthma and chronic absenteeism in students, and negatively affect students’ academic performance. Notably, higher-poverty districts have less local revenue than low-poverty districts to fund the capital construction costs of addressing these kinds of repairs."

    "Rather than enhanced police and security theater, Black students need more voices calling for equitable resources in schools. Allies must support equitable and diverse schools that improve access to opportunities for BIPOC students and students from low-income families"

    https://www.americanprogress.org/article/fighting-systemic-racism-k-12-education-helping-allies-move-keyboard-school-board/

    ReplyDelete

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