NYC Labor Day Parade Tomorrow | Proposed Emblem GHI Replacement

The NYC Office of Labor Relations announced an agreement on August 28 with Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) representatives on a replacement of the current comprehensive health benefits plan (CBP). The current CBP, provided by Emblem Health (GHI) and Anthem, enrolls roughly ¾ of the city’s active employees and pre-65 retirees and their dependents – including many PSC members. As I wrote on June 5, Emblem Health (GHI) and United Healthcare collaborated on the proposal that prevailed in the negotiated acquisition process. The member unions of the MLC must vote to approve any new plan before it can be implemented. If approved, the City seeks to implement the new plan, called the New York City Employees PPO plan, starting January 1, 2026.

The MLC has provided a four-page chart comparing elements of the NYCE PPO plan with the current plan. It is available here for your review. Details about the financial arrangements between the City and Emblem/United are limited so far. The PSC has some critical questions that still need to be answered regarding how the new plan will save the city money and other matters.

PSC representatives are in the process of examining the proposed plan, including the contract with Emblem and United Healthcare, and will share a fuller assessment as soon as possible. An opportunity for PSC members to discuss the proposed plan and ask any questions will be scheduled on Zoom and announced shortly. Elected representatives to the PSC Delegate Assembly will discuss and vote on it before the MLC vote takes place.

Click here to read the details we know at this point.

Register here for the Zoom link.

The PSC’s two most influential national affiliates, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), are launching a national campaign—one that defends higher education both in the streets and at the ballot box, and one that paves a pathway to opportunity for all students. On this Zoom webinar, you’ll hear from AFT President Randi Weingarten and AAUP President Todd Wolfson, who will discuss how academic workers can use our collective power to protect our members’ vital work, defend the future of higher education and ensure that every student has the chance to thrive. Together, the AFT and the AAUP are the largest and most powerful force for higher education workers in the United States, and the PSC is one of their largest higher education locals. Log on to learn more about this campaign and about how PSC members like you can be part of this important movement.

PSC members are campaigning to elect Zohran Mamdani and other CUNY champions across New York, and we support taxes on corporations and the ultra-wealthy to build an excellent university system and strong public services. Sign up here to get on our PSC volunteer list for phone banks, canvassing, voter registration, events in Albany and NYC, and more!

You can also register here for a Zohran for Mayor phone bank next Wednesday, September 10th from 6-8 PM. These phone banks are being organized by the NYC Central Labor Council and will be held at the PSC Office (25 Broadway, 15th floor).

The first Fall semester meeting of the Sexuality and Gender Justice Working Group will be held on Zoom next Friday, September 12 at 12:00 PM. Register here for the Zoom meeting link. Join us to discuss plans to organize with the union to make a preferred name option available to staff and faculty within CUNY as well as coalition work around access to trans and reproductive healthcare. Fill out this webform to join the working group’s email list and click here to download a solidarity poster for your office/workspace.

Unions and community groups will rally and march through lower Manhattan the evening of Thursday, September 25th to protest ICE’s persecution of immigrants 29 Federal Plaza and in our communities, reject any deployment of federal troops or law enforcement personnel to our city, and demand that City and State lawmakers pass legislation to protect immigrants and oppose collaboration with federal government’s program of mass deportation. Final details of the event including the site of the initial rally and the march route TBD. Fill out this PSC webform to save the date and let us know you’ll be there.

PSC members who have gone through a union training are going to federal courthouses Thursday and Friday mornings at 7:30 AM sharp in Thomas Paine Park, at the northern end of Foley Square. Since the end of June, members have attended more than 360 times in support of immigrant New Yorkers targeted by ICE and DHS for detention and deportations. We do not confront or interfere with law enforcement, but by bearing witness and distributing valuable information, we are able to support those who attend routine hearings and show opposition to the atrocities occurring in U.S. courtrooms. If you’ve participated in the PSC’s court support training, you are welcome to join any Thursday or Friday morning.

Members who have not participated in the online courthouse support training can register here for a Zoom training Monday, September 8 at 6:30PM.

The PSC has partnered with Worx Printing, a worker-owned union print co-operative, to establish a web store! All items are manufactured on demand, US-made and union-printed, and sold at cost. Your items will be shipped directly to your home! Click here to visit the PSC Swag Shop.