A simple way to understand the UFT Healthcare Conflict

True Story

In the Spring of 2021 a story leaked

• – New York City and its municipal unions, including the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) had reached an agreement to switch retirees from regular Medicare to Medicare Advantage.
• Retirees in the UFT reacted. Many of them indicated they would “opt-out” – an option that looked like it would be available at that time.
• Mulgrew and Unity responded that this Medicare Advantage program was different from others; that retiree health benefits would be just as good, even better.
• The retiree vote against Mulgrew doubled in the Spring 2021 Retired Teachers Chapter elections.
• An organization for retirees from all the municipal unions formed (NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees), and worked through the courts to stop the plan. Many UFT retirees donated (and continue to donate to the NYC Organization.
• There was also an imposition of copays on retirees, which the City and the MLC (including UFT) supported. The NYC Organization was able to stop that in court.
• Today all is on hold. Retirees are still in traditional Medicare. The City (with MLC support?) is still appealing. Retirees keep what they have, at least as long as this standoff continues.

So, is this crazy retirees who hate the UFT and are trying to impede progress? And the UFT leadership (Mulgrew, Murphy, Unity Caucus) are just out to protect retirees?

Or are retirees fighting like hell to protect their health care, because it’s literally their well-being that’s at stake? And Unity/Mulgrew are, in contrast, interested in protecting patronage jobs and in honoring semi-secret agreements with the NYC Office of Labor Relations?

See – we don’t have to go into details about prior authorizations, co-pays, networks, the Stabilization Fund, etc, etc. There’s the Administrative Code, backroom negotiations, contract appendices. You can read about all of them. But you don’t have to to figure out the big picture. The picture is pretty clear.

That story was about retirees

Now Mulgrew and Unity are getting ready to make changes to in-service health care. That’s the health care for current teachers and paras and secretaries and counselors and other school personnel. Mulgrew and Unity are getting ready to change health care for all of you.

Think about what they tried to do to retiree health care. What do you think they are trying to do to you?

Are you going to thank them?

Or are you going to organize to stop them?