Asking Mulgrew Nicely Does Not Work

(And other observations)

I’m on the RTC Executive Board, and as such, I just got a letter asking, among other things, that we contact Michael Mulgrew asking him to support 1008. If YOU want to support it, click here. But on this astral plane, the only things Michael Mulgrew responds to are extreme or threatening circumstances like (a.) lost elections, or (b.) extreme pressure that may lead to lost elections.

I don’t think writing him will do the trick. He’ll see it as begging. Still, we very much need Intro 1008 passed in the City Council. As Julie Menin appears to already be running against Mamdani for Mayor, maybe she’ll break down and help.

This will not only prevent the Unity Caucus from making further health care cuts, but also eliminate their odious Mulgrew tax, the supposed $15.00 co-pay. (I visited a Mt. Sinai doctor a few weeks ago and was billed $28.23—$15 for the doctor and $13.23 for the hospital in which I never set foot.)

I’ve been interacting with Mulgrew for a number of years, mostly from afar, and it’s clear what he responds to. He was absolutely pro-Medicare Advantage. He openly ridiculed anyone who dared disagree. Then, after an unprecedented and monumental loss in the Retired Teacher Chapter (RTC), he suddenly opposed Medicare Advantage.

In the last round of contract negotiations, Michael Mulgrew had 450 million dollars with which he could have granted paraprofessionals a pensionable, repeated raise, equal to or surpassing the non-pensionable, one-time 10K, in four installments, promised in the so-called respect check (now being challenged in court by Mayor Mamdani). In negotiations, Mulgrew chose to do nothing for paras.

Shortly thereafter, a small group of paraprofessionals started a slate called Fix Para Pay, and defeated Unity three to one. Fortunately for Unity, they were a small slate, so Unity retained most positions by default. But Mulgrew and his cult saw the writing on the wall, deemed cushy gigs imperiled, and determined paras needed “respect.”

More recently, a group of 183 paraprofessionals who retired under disability faced the halving of their pensions. Due to the advocacy of Fix Para Pay, Fix Retiree Benefits, and the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, they were granted a reprieve. UFT Unity originally told paras nothing could be done.

Because we exposed this in multiple press outlets, Mulgrew had to act. This is positive, but he’s not doing a great job. The paras had until August 19th to stop the cuts to their checks this month. Mulgrew, the only one with all their emails, didn’t bother notifying them until 9:15 PM on the 18th, after having received numerous requests from Marianne Pizzitola.

RTC/ Retiree Advocate (RA) leadership has made multiple goofs in dealing with Mulgrew. (As Vice Chair, I was consulted on none of them.) On Day One, they surrendered the official, 6,000 member UFT Retiree Facebook group to a Unity member. After two full years, the new group has fewer than 3,000, and the Unity member is still out there doing Whatever.

We made two resolutions to the Delegate Assembly, and both backfired. First, we got an agreement UFT opposes Medicare Advantage. It’s toothless as Mulgrew lobbies against our efforts to prevent him from bringing it back. This resolution further enabled a phony-baloney health committee that rubber stamps Whatever Mulgrew Wants so he can shirk official responsibility.

Also, we resolved to oppose pension reamortization “at this time” last year. THIS year, it came up again, and our resolution no longer meant anything whatsoever. I instantly saw that, and could have easily warned them.

Regardless, we’re in dire need of a new approach to Michael Mulgrew and his Unity patronage cult. That’s why Fix Retiree Benefits was formed.

The letter I mentioned came from a few RTC members. It made several asks. Let’s cross out point two, which I just covered.

1. Let’s push for a united slate against Unity next year.

2. Let’s ask RTC members to reach out to Mulgrew.

3. Let’s ask City Council members to support 1008.

As its goals align with mine, I signed on. I have a few reservations, though. Firstly, here’s what the letter does NOT ask—that we align with Marianne Pizzitola and NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees. That’s an egregious omission, and there’s simply no way to accomplish our goals (let alone win the election) without working hand in hand.

I don’t buy Unity’s crap about “union interference.” If the folks who collect our dues won’t rep us, we need help. It behooves us to make and keep as many friends as we can. The letter was addressed to the RTC Executive Board, and I’m not sure that is the proper venue for ask number one. I could be wrong. (It wouldn’t be the first time.) I addressed point two already, so let’s get to one:

I’ve wanted a united retiree opposition slate since the day after the last UFT election. I saw the numbers. RA had aligned with ARISE, without bothering to consult the 300 of us who ran with them. RA got 17,000 votes from retirees two years ago. Last year, retirees gave them three thousand votes, newly-formed ABC 9,000 votes, and Unity got 13,000 votes, up from ten, narrowly edging us both.

The writing on the wall was clear. A united slate against Unity would do better than a divided one—and RA had lost almost all its support. I know folks in RA who would very much like to see us come together. They may not precisely align with those who seem to lead their caucus.

The day after election results came in, I contacted two members of RA I considered to be leaders. I texted one, who never bothered to respond. I called another, saying we needed to build bridges. In lieu of a response, this person told me, at length, just how trite that expression was.

A year later, RA met with us—once in April, and once in May. We had a proposal. Both times they told us they were not empowered to make any agreements and had no proposal of their own. They canceled the next meeting, and have not gotten back to us since. I’ve heard vague stories about their voting, and various dates by which there’d be responses. They’ve come and gone. I’m not holding my breath.

As for the third point, I absolutely support 1008, and I’ll work to get it passed. Directly after we passed our first resolution to support 1096 (now 1008), I asked the RA-dominated Exec. Board to start an online petition campaign. They voted to table it and instead, did nothing.

Later, I asked that we file an amicus brief to support the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees in the Bentkowski suit. This suit eventually gave Eric Adams permission to dump us back into Medicare Advantage. RA’s Jonathan Halabi, who openly opposed 1096, immediately said absolutely not. They promised to place it before the UFT Executive Board, which would have certainly offered no support. They ended up, once again, doing nothing. Would our voices have helped? We’ll never know.

In fact, the only action the RTC Exec. Board took on 1096 was to write a letter to council members. I know because I wrote the original draft. It said we needed protection not only from the city, but also from our union leaders. RA did not agree we needed protection from our union leaders, and struck that clause. This notwithstanding, our union leaders initiated the whole Medicare Advantage mess.

I understand there are people in RA who don’t like hearing this, or take it as a personal attack. They may do as they wish. Still, election results demonstrated conclusively there was a strong move toward an opposition that would, you know, oppose.

Regardless, I don’t vote down RA ideas out of personal pettiness. If they want to hold votes on foreign affairs, where our influence is slight at best, or have a Labor Solidarity Committee, for example, I won’t stand in their way. (I wish, though, that committee would bring big numbers to 1008 demonstrations. To me, that seems fundamental.)

I am cordial to Unity members (though they don’t always reciprocate). If I know them, I say hello. There are some I genuinely like. That doesn’t mean I won’t fight them tooth and nail on issues that concern us. If RA wants to join us in that effort, and battle to write 1008 into law, I welcome them to the fray.

As for asking City Council to pass 1008, I’m all in. Again, here’s a post that will tell you exactly how to do it. Fix Retiree Benefits will continue to show up and fight, and I’ll proudly join them. We’ll continue to align with our most powerful and effective allies, Marianne Pizzitola and the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees.

We will run in the next RTC election one way or another, and we’d love it if you could join us. Being a UFT delegate requires only a few hours once a month. It’s one meeting, it gives you a vote on official UFT policy, and you may attend in person or remotely. (Of course, if you’d like to be more active, we welcome that as well.)

It’s on us to fix this mess, and be of good cheer—we can and will do it.