Savages!

Unity will say or do anything.

Unity has its own way of doing things. It hasn’t changed since I started closely following them way back in 2005. Only they can make decisions, and they’re never wrong. They hold enormous communication power. They’ve not seen fit to share any of it with RTC. That’s just what they did with the OT/PT chapter.

They’ve been a lot less successful with us, but they’re still tethered to that same old playbook. We need to reject it out of hand. They’re unencumbered by scruples, and as they have no actual argument, they default to cutting us out, elected or not. Their fundamental message is we know all, and anyone who disagrees needs to sit down and shut up.

I really admire Bennett Fischer’s take on RTC meetings. He allows everyone to speak their mind. By doing so, he’s quietly exposed Unity’s lack of coherent argument. It’s plainly a new world, after watching Tom Murphy run meetings with no motions, no votes, and sometimes not even questions.

We would all sit there as Tom pretended that Unity was doing the best thing by cutting our health care. Tom would grow petulant if people spoke up or asked questions that contradicted Unity’s narrative. He would get upset when people called out. He wrote a whole piece about civility.

Basically, Tom Murphy reinforced the Unity line, to wit, “Sit down and shut up.”

It’s harder for them to do that now. In fact, they are now the ones calling out at meetings. You see, when they do it, it’s no longer “uncivil.” What hasn’t changed, though, is their voices still don’t represent the RTC. They’re mired in technicalities, and twisting logic into pretzel shapes as they scrape the bottom of the barrel for something, anything, that will rationalize the nonsense they dish out.

Of course, we’ve made mistakes too, treating Unity with kid gloves. RTC had a very small committee, of which I was not part, drop the ball on the Facebook page. Unity’s Susan Pulice ran the official page with over six thousand members. I was at a meeting in which we were told it would be turned over to us. Unity broke that promise, and left it with Pulice on the flimsiest of premises. Instead, the committee negotiated a new page to build from scratch. As they further determined I’m not allowed to post my writing there, I haven’t bothered to join.

Speaking of writing, early this school year I was asked to write a piece about all the lawsuits we were facing and what their implications might be. I submitted it, and it went nowhere. It wasn’t easy keeping that piece to 500 words, which I was told the limit was, but I managed. If you’d like to know where we stand, come to our meeting on January 5th. I’ll have an update.

A lot of this has to do with the fact that Bennett Fischer, as chapter leader of RTC, has to run all email past Unity. Though we voted them out, they still control official media. Why should they, after having been bounced out of office by a sizable margin, have veto power over our chapter’s message? It’s absurd and anti-democratic.

Unity’s Florida rep Lynne Winderbaum has an email list of 8,000, I’m told. She sends things out to the entire chapter with no hindrance whatsoever from Unity bosses. That’s the double standard that just keeps on giving.

Unity might contend official union voice is neutral. That’s absurd. There are regular columns by the bosses that support the Unity POV, like Murphy’s musings on civility. There are fawning articles on how Unity, or Mulgrew, did this or that. Why shouldn’t our health care battle be right up there?

And jeez, Unity literally built a frigging wall just so employees wouldn’t catch cooties from RTC.

Unity’s new pet talking point is the New York Health Act. NYHA has been kicking around for 30 years and has gone nowhere. It’s not going anyplace any time soon either. Unity would like to nail RTC leadership for daring even to mention it. Here’s former UFT VP Leo Casey:

It’s borderline preposterous to see Leo talk of what we made clear. As far as I know, he played no part whatsoever in our protests or demands (let alone voting out Unity).

Still, there is some truth here. For example, out of state retirees are not covered by NYHA. Supposedly, they are covered by whatever their employers have provided. Senator Rivera freely admitted that there were things he could not yet promise. These holes in the act are unacceptable, but knowing about them is important

Lynne Winderbaum has indeed been vocal in criticizing NYHA. It’s an odd position, since the UFT Delegate Assembly has endorsed NYHA not once, but twice. However, Mulgrew unilaterally reversed that position, so Winderbaum’s free to trash it as much as she pleases. And, of course, rather than blame Unity for endorsing it, Leo blames RTC for allowing it to be discussed.

Perhaps trashing NYHA when RTC discusses it is Winderbaum’s way of thanking Bennett for allowing her to address us last month. True, we’re not certain doctors in Florida would take it. That’s a valid point. Yet when Winderbaum was aggressively peddling Medicare Advantage for Mulgrew, the fact that doctors in Florida, New York, and elsewhere wouldn’t take it did not deter her at all. Nor did I see Leo Casey raise a whisper of objection, ever.

Basically, if Unity supports it, it’s fine and ought not to be questioned. But Bennett Fischer and RTC ought not to even discuss NYHA.

The biggest flaw in Leo’s logic is the implication that we’ve settled anything at all. A resolution is a statement of intent. It’s a statement of union policy (for Mulgrew to ignore as he sees fit). It is not, however, a reversal of what Unity has actually done. Though Leo and Winderbaum would like you to forget, their caucus initiated the Medicare Advantage sellout. Unity never, ever admits wrongdoing.

Being Unity means never having to say you’re sorry.

In fact, we have no assurance we will retain traditional Medicare. The Bentkowski case, currently pending in the NY State Court of Appeals, will dump every one of us into Aetna MA if they mayor wins. There is an amicus brief by MLC supporting this move, and Unity is part of MLC.

Leo and Winderbaum can speak until they’re blue in the face, but the fact is Unity still refuses to acknowledge what was plainly established in NY State Supreme Court—that it could cause irreparable harm to retirees. Some doctors don’t take Medicare Advantage, and Aetna admitted in court it would deny doctor-recommended procedures. For goodness sake, that’s how they make money (now that they no longer sell slave insurance).

Unity, because they still maintain the MA plan we rejected is the bestest thing ever, refuses to support our court cases. They refuse to donate to NYC Retirees (which I just did—join me).

Here is what we can count on Unity to do—we can count on them to support whatever they’re told to support. We can count on them to not lift a finger to help as we are forced to battle in court. We can count on them obstructing things that would actually ensure our success—like the resolution I brought to support and pass Intro 1096-2024 in the City Council.

If Leo Casey, Lynne Winderbaum and all their Unity BFFs want to help us, they’ll insist that UFT bosses support our efforts to legislate this both at city and state levels. They’ll make sure Unity finds a lawyer who actually knows how to file an amicus brief in Bentkowski, rather than just sending letters that are rejected.

They can jump up and down crying about the New York Health Act. Maybe that will make people forget it’s their fault we’re in this position. Maybe it will make people forget that as far as helping us, all they offer is lip service. But the fact is, as far as our ongoing battle is concerned, Unity isn’t helping UFT, or any NYC Retirees at all.

As Norm Scott says, “Watch what they do, not what they say.”