As Mayor Eric Adams was still feeling the shock of a federal indictment and wave of resignations in his inner circle, New York City municipal retirees took advantage of the moment and demanded that he drop his court appeals defending the privatization of retiree health benefits.
Several courts have now ruled against a plan by the city and Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) to move city retirees away from a traditional Medicare plan and into a privately administered Medicare Advantage plan that could force retirees into higher costs and reduced care. The PSC is a member of the MLC, and had voted with a small minority of affiliated unions against the proposed Medicare Advantage contract, administered by Aetna. PSC leadership had argued that the details of the plan were far too opaque to win approval and there were other ways for the city to contain health-care spending.
“No matter how many times retirees win in court, this mayor consistently appeals every court case that he’s lost,” said Marianne Pizzitola, president of the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, during a rally with retirees in City Hall Park on September 30.
Retirees marching near City Hall. (Credit: Paul Frangipane)
Clarion reported in August that an appeals court had upheld a lower court decision blocking the implementation of the plan, a huge victory for the PSC and city retirees. At the same time, the United Federation of Teachers, one of the most important unions affiliated with the MLC, withdrew its support for the privately administered plan.
Now the case is expected to go before the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals. There is still a chance that the high court could rule in favor of the Adams administration. That is why union activists are demanding that City Hall accept that the plan is widely unpopular, and that it drop its legal pursuit of the plan’s implementation.
PROTECT RETIREES
In addition to urging the mayor to drop the legal challenge, Pizzitola told The Chief that Adams should take other steps to protect retirees. “Adams should also publicly state his support for a City Council resolution that would guarantee the retirees’ current benefits, as well as for state legislation, introduced in January, that would prohibit public-sector employers from ‘diminishing health insurance benefits provided to retirees and their dependents,’” the paper said. “The state bill would also preserve the public entities’ contributions toward the benefits.”
Activists were doubtful that the mayor’s legal troubles would encourage him to pick his battles and drop the pursuit of a privately managed plan, which would save the city money on the back of city retirees. They did, however, say it was important to rally for the issue. As Stu Eber, president of the Council of Municipal Retiree Organizations, said, rallies like this “keep up the fighting spirit.”
Published: October 29, 2024
