"Being an elected official comes with a responsibility that includes not being bought by special interests. But the special interests some politicians are controlled by are our own former unions. Unions had a responsibility to protect retirees like Margaret, who spent 40 years in the Department of Education. Instead, they tried to privatize her vested Medicare benefits and imposed predatory medical costs on Margaret, whose husband has cancer and needs treatment three times a week."
"They call it behavioral economics. The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and DC37 made union deals to finance contracts that retirees do not benefit from because they are no longer in the union. In English, NYC unions sold off retiree benefits and imposed costs on them to finances raises for current workers leaving retirees like Margaret in an affordability crisis requiring a food pantry to survive. What's worse is these same leaders lied to politicos, telling them they represent current retirees."
Demonstrators protested the mayor's plan to shift public-sector retirees to Medicare Advantage on March 9, 2023. Retirees like Margaret, a 40-year Department of Education employee, faced privatized Medicare benefits and predatory medical costs while supporting a spouse undergoing frequent cancer treatment. The UFT and DC37 negotiated deals that financed raises for current workers by reallocating retiree-funded benefits, leaving retirees unable to afford care and reliant on food pantries. Legal assurances that the city would pay the full cost of health coverage were undermined. A former union delegate has worked to preserve promised Medicare and city-paid supplements for retirees.
Read at www.amny.com
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