NYC municipal retirees say ‘no’
to privatized Medicare insurance
BY DEAN MOSES
Retired NYC municipal union employees
are wrestling with a change
they say could negatively affect
their quality of life.
Hundreds of retired city employees converged
in the shadow of National Museum
of the American Indian amidst a recordbreaking
heatwave on June 30 to decry a
mass shift to their health care plans. The
Municipal Labor Committee is set to alter
the Medicare plans of 250,000 individuals
to a for-profi t plan: Medicare Advantage.
The scores of union members were
joined by family, friends, and other supporters
as they brandished picket signs
and banners demanding a moratorium on
any change to the city’s existing Medicare
plan and the ability to remain in their current
Medicare Health Plan without raised
costs or loss of benefi ts. If switched over
to this for-profi t plan, the primarily elderly
protesters say it will signifi cantly increase
out-of-pocket costs, making those who suffer
from several ailments or are severely ill
pay skyrocketing prices. Additionally, those
in attendance feared that the switch could
reduce their network of providers.
Retired NYC municipal union employees marched through Lower
Manhattan on June 30.
“I’m here because I’m mad! We want our
Medicare! Not privatization,” announced
Julie, a DC 37 retiree who, along with the
demonstrators in attendance, are fuming
with the Municipal Labor Committee for
attempting to transition to a privatized
plan. Retirees like Julie shared that they
labored all of their adult lives so that they
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
could retire with peace of mind, something
they say this transition would strip them of.
In June 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio made a
health savings agreement covering the fi scal
period from 2019 to 2021, which was set to
save $600,000 in health care costs for New
York City employees by having a private insurance
company manage the Medicare plan.
“We are going to stop the sellout of
our traditional Medicare Plan to private
health insurance! For a quarter of a million
municipal retirees, and for hundreds
of thousands of future retirees, many of
whom are here today, it is a matter of life
and death and for big insurance it’s just
the biggest lollipop in the candy store. It
will be $600 million in healthcare savings
for the city, and $600,000 in healthcare
cuts for us. Our union leadership must not
let the city wiggle out of its responsibility
to administer our traditional Medicare
benefi ts,” said Bennett Fischer, a retired
UFT member, calling Medicare Advantage
a privatization scheme.
After speakers fi red-up the large crowd,
the group marched along Broadway, stopping
at the Offi ce of Labor Relations,
Zuccotti Park, Professional Staff Congress,
UFT Educational Foundation, and culminated
at City Hall Park.
As they marched, retired workers began
to chant, “UFT you got the power, don’t sell
us out another hour.”
“We need to pause the current Medicare
sellout. We need a moratorium on the
MLC’s negotiation,” Fischer said, adding
that the pause will allow for retirees to
come up with an alternative plan that keeps
healthcare in the public sphere.
Schneps Media reached out to Offi ce of
Labor Relations for comment and is waiting
for a response.
BOE releases updated results for local races
BY ZACH GEWELB
The city’s Board of Elections (BOE)
on Tuesday night, July 6, released
updated results from its preliminary
ranked-choice voting (RCV) calculations
for the Manhattan borough president race
and local City Council contests.
Results had been expected to be released
earlier, but following tabulation errors in
the mayoral race, the BOE elected to hold
off on revealing results for the local races.
According to the newly released results
for the borough president race, Mark
Levine currently holds the top spot with
53.7 percent of the vote (99,643 votes)
following seven rounds of RCV counting.
Brad Hoylman sits in second place with
46.3 percent of the vote.
Results are not yet offi cial — the BOE
expects to have certifi ed results by July 12.
In addition to the borough president
race, the BOE released preliminary results
for all of the City Council races in
Manhattan.
See the unoffi cial results below.
City Council District 1
Christopher Marte currently holds the
top spot among Democratic candidates,
having received 60.5 percent of the votes
(10,698 votes) following eight rounds of
RCV counting. Jenny L. Low fi nished in
second with 39.5 percent of the vote. Other
candidates include Susan Damplo, Sean C.
Hayes, Tiffany Johnson-Winbush, Susan
Lee, Gigi Li and Maud Maron.
City Council District 2
Incumbent Carlina Rivera received 72.4
percent of the vote (15,310 votes) with Erin
FILE PHOTO
Hussein trailing behind at 26.8 percent ,
according to Tuesday night’s results from
the city’s Board of Elections.Since there are
only two candidates in the race, a rankedchoice
voting count was not triggered.
City Council District 3
Erik D. Bottcher currently holds the
top spot among Democratic candidates,
having received 71.5 percent of the votes
(16,793 votes) following seven rounds of
RCV counting. Leslie Boghosian Murphy
fi nished in second with 28.5 percent of the
vote. Other candidates include Phelan D.
Fitzpatrick; Marni Halasa; Aleta A. LaFargue;
and Arthur Z. Schwartz.
City Council District 5
Julie Menin currently holds the top spot
among Democratic candidates after securing
56 percent of the vote (12,010 votes)
following six rounds of RCV counting.
Tricia M. Shimamura fi nished second with
44 percent of the vote. Other candidates include
Billy Freeland, Rebecca N. Lamorte,
Kim Moscaritolo, Christopher A. Sosa and
Marco A. Tamayo.
City Council District 6
Gale Brewer currently holds the top
spot among Democratic candidates after
receiving 54.9 percent of the vote (21,363
votes). Other Democratic candidates in the
race include Maria Danzilo (14.8 percent
of the vote); David Gold (4.7 percent); Sara
Lind (13.1 percent); Jeffrey Omura (9.9
percent); and Zachary Tov Weiner (2.4
percent). Because Brewer secured more
than 50 percent of the vote, a rankedchoice
voting recount was not triggered
in this race.
4 July 8, 2021 Schneps Media