When We Fight, We Win

Embattled paraprofessionals win a reprieve from TRS.

It appears that TRS, finally, has been humiliated into taking action. Recently, they told a group of paraprofessionals who retired on disability that they were not only cutting their pensions, but they also wanted a big chunk of it back. Now though, it appears paraprofessionals who seek to not pay them back, claiming hardship, will have their requests honored (Check graphic below post, if that’s you). Furthermore, they’re delaying the pension cuts for those who ask, at least until February 2027.

This is a good start.

This will give us time to lobby for a fix. Make no mistake—we pushed for this to happen even as UFT leadership was perfectly willing to do nothing whatsoever. This change came quickly. But we don’t stand down, and we don’t give up. Every day UFT Big Shots sat by and did nothing, they looked worse.

Of course, we knew that. Patience is a virtue. Being a teacher is a great way to learn it. If you’re in front of 34 unpredictable teenagers five times a day, you either learn not to repeat your mistakes, or make a lateral move to that minimum wage Kinko’s gig. Being chapter leader of a large school is good practice as well. I’m sure patience comes to us all in different ways.

Of course, not everyone needs patience. I’m thinking of multiple leaders who display it not at all, including one who casually insults members from the podium at the UFT Delegate Assembly. It would be a good thing to rid ourselves of such leaders.

Alas, good things generally don’t come easily. That’s why we’re still out on the streets battling for 1008 (nee 1096). I, for one, am hopeful the third time’s a charm. I won’t give up regardless. I’m more patient than many. I started working for NYC Schools in 1984, and hung in until 2023. My dad told me I’d never get rich, but I’d have a great retirement.

Mostly, he was right. I’m enjoying my retirement and doing things I love, like writing this column. I’m pursuing my musical career, such as it is. Generally it costs me more than I earn doing it. That’s fine though. (There’s a meme somewhere about the musician who loads his $5000 guitar, his $2000 amp, and his $5000 PA system into his $500 car to drives 100 miles and get paid 50 bucks. That’s not quite me, but I know the feeling.)

Lucrative or not, It’s important to keep yourself busy when you retire. Maybe you collect stamps. Maybe you’re building your dream car. Maybe you travel. Whatever it is you do, it’s entirely possible you spend money on it. What would you do if your money were suddenly pulled from you? This could be catastrophic. I’ve seen multiple retirees fade away (and not all that gradually either.)

A passion can really keep you going. Pulling the rug out from these retired paras is potentially catastrophic. No one who devoted their life to NYC deserves that. For the last few weeks, along with some friends of mine, I’ve been focused on helping. Marianne Pizzitola, Daniel Alicea, Marie Para and I met with a group of affected paras on Zoom and, hearing their stories, we were horrified.

Here was a group of people who’d agreed to retire based on what they were told by not only TRS, but also UFT reps, including UFT Assistant Treasurer/ Trustee Tom Brown, and former RCT Chapter Leader Tom Murphy. All of a sudden, they were being told, “Oopzie. We made a mistake. We’re cutting off half your pension, and by the way, we’d like you to return half of what you made over the last three years.”

I considered retirement very carefully. I was acutely aware of how much my pension would be, and it was a big factor in my decision. I imagine it’s the same for others. It’s a nightmare to imagine that someone would just contact me, say I’m sorry, and cut my income in half.

Yet these paraprofessionals were living that very nightmare. Worse, when they called UFT, they were told there was nothing they could do. They were very, very sorry, they told the paras, as though that made one whit of difference.

Sometimes things look hopeless.

But there’s always a way forward.

We, NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, Fix Retiree Benefits, and Fix Para Pay, got to work. We contacted Michael Mulgrew and his Minions. We contacted AFT President Randi Weingarten. We also reached out to multiple members of the press. Reporters found this story as outrageous as we did. It’s been covered in multiple outlets, and I was interviewed just the other day for an upcoming piece.

This story isn’t going away, and neither are we. I have no doubt whatsoever that Mulgrew and Unity will take full credit for this and not mention us at all. That’s their MO. We’re supposed to believe that 52 Broadway is Mount Olympus and Mulgrew is King of the Gods.

Of course we can’t. We understand that we are the union, and that it’s on us to work to improve and change it. That’s far from the message we get from Unity. They’d be perfectly content if sat around watching Netflix and relied on their Very Smart People. They’d be glad if we’d stop nagging them about reading contracts before we approve them. They’re not quite as confident as the may appear.

You may or may not need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows, but Micheal Mulgrew moves right along with it. One day, he was saying anyone who opposed Medicare Advantage spouted fairy tales, was a conspiracy theorist, and an enemy of the union.

After losing the RTC, he sang a new song. Instantly, without taking back any of his puerile insults to members, he too opposed Medicare Advantage. He and his minions declared the battle was over, but he still sent lobbyists, on our dime, to make sure we couldn’t make it a regulation. Sadly, I still can’t and don’t trust him.

Mulgrew had money to give paras a substantive raise, but figured the hell with it and did nothing. For some reason, after losing an election to Fix Para Pay, by a factor of three to one, he suddenly determined that paras needed respect. Said respect entailed a yearly, non-pensionable check for ten thousand dollars. It devolved into a one-time only payment in four installments (and thus far paras have yet to see one red cent).

Let’s see how he responds to Intro 1008. My understanding is it’s been reworded so as to avoid the conflicts of interests Mulgrew and his mouthpiece claim to fret over—collective bargaining and the Taylor Law. Can they get behind it now, or will Mulgrew continue to covet the option of selling out retirees in order to procure more sub-inflationary contracts?

Time will tell. But we’re not going away, and we never give up.