Help James Eterno

And then, let's help ourselves.

I’ve contributed to the health fund of former teacher, UFT chapter leader, and UFT Executive Board member James Eterno. James has been a UFT activist for a long time, long before I became one, and was a great help to me when I began the impossible job of chapter leader at the most overcrowded school in the city.

Please consider contributing as well. You can do so right here. However you may feel about union politics, this is an extraordinary circumstance, and could happen to any of us. There but for the grace of God go you, I, our families, and everyone we know.

And of course, this points to a larger issue. Our health insurance is inadequate. Our insurance may be better than that of many Americans, but it’s still not good enough. No one should have to worry about going broke because of a medical emergency. Yet as far as I can tell, catastrophic medical emergency is the number one cause of bankruptcy in these United States.

I carry NYSUT’s catastrophic medical emergency insurance. On reflection, I’m not sure why. It covers limited 24 hour care, and offers limited compensation, certainly not enough to cover needs in the NYC area. I’m sure it would not sufficiently protect me or my family in a case such as that James is going through. It pays limited days at a limited amount. If anyone knows better, or has opinions on that, please comment.

Meanwhile, James’ case, I’m afraid, is not at all unique. I know two members in my school building who’ve faced medical disasters with their children. One needed a super-specialist, and there were none available in GHI’s network. This was a while back, and I don’t know exactly where that member is in paying off the doctor. Another had a similar issue, and worked every coverage, every per-session gig, taught every summer, and did everything, for years and years, to catch up. I don’t envy her.

My father was not a teacher, but as a young man, he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He held insurance to cover him in case he needed 24/7 care. But when he finally did, it covered only a fraction of the cost. His wife had to hold onto his policy at this point, but canceled her own. Meanwhile, she had to scramble to try to divest him of his assets and get him into Medicaid, the only program I know of that actually covers this. He passed during this process, but should never have had to go through it at all. My brother in law’s grandmother in Canada got 24/7 care, and paid not one cent.

Anecdotes are only that and nothing more. Still, none of us holds a crystal ball. None of us can predict this won’t happen to us, or members of our family. That said, it is beyond disgraceful that our union leadership is pursuing cheaper health care for in-service members. When I say that, I don’t mean cheaper for members. I mean cheaper for Mayor Eric Adams. As far as I can tell, UFT leadership represents him rather than us.

No one wants inferior health care. Neither James nor my Dad would face these issues if we would only pass the New York Health Act. Our UFT leadership opposes it even though there’ve been UFT DA resolutions to support it in the past. Though NYHA sponsors have reached out to try and address leadership’s objections, leadership has not responded. I believe they oppose it because it will weaken their patronage mill, the source of their power and success.

The NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees has been fighting union leadership, which negotiated a corporate Advantage plan to replace the standard Medicare we’ve been expecting for all our careers. They’ve been successful so far, and you should consider donating to them. After all, they’re providing the advocacy we pay our leadership for.

It’s time for in-service members to put together an organization to fight the replacement of GHI with something cheaper. Leadership will say it will be as good and better, but they said the same about various iterations of Medicare Advantage. If that interests you, consider getting involved with United for Change, a big tent org for those who’ve had it with UFT Unity and their ongoing battle to save money for Eric Adams (instead of US).

Again, help James. But after you do that, consider what you can do to improve our own health coverage, to support our union, and perhaps our larger community.