The NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees is assisting yet another Retiree Organization defending their right to their Medicare Benefits, which were earned and promised to them during their employment. TWU100R is a new retiree organization founded much like ours, and consists of active and retired union workers who do not wish to be forced onto inferior alternatives to Medicare. We stand in solidarity with them, and wish them success in their battle to protect Medicare and their promised health benefits.
In solidarity,
Marianne Pizzitola
President
NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees
Activists and Retirees Unite to Preserve Medicare Access: Lawsuit Filed in NYS Supreme Court against MTA & TWU Local 100 to Demand Access to Promised Medicare Benefits
Complaint asserts 7 causes of action ; Preliminary Injunction motion asks Court to Stop the MTA and TWU Local 100 from stripping Retirees from their long standing Medicare Insurance.
Brooklyn, New York– On behalf of TWU 100R, retired workers of TWU Local 100 of the MTA, Kenneth Nelson Page filed an action and request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the MTA and TWU Local 100 challenging their plan to force tens of thousands of elderly and disabled retirees off their existing Traditional Medicare and supplement, and onto an inferior type of insurance known as “Medicare Advantage.”
Unlike Medicare – a Federal Public Health Benefit that has protected American Taxpayers for 57 years – the Aetna Medicare Advantage Plan is a private, for-profit plan that is accepted by a limited network of providers, it doesn’t cover a vast array of medical services unless Aetna deems them “medically necessary,” and this causes delays and denials of necessary medical care, and it also exposes retirees to crippling healthcare costs as most of them are on a fixed income.
In a significant move, a diverse group of activists and retirees have joined forces to file the TRO in the New York State Supreme Court, Manhattan. This legal action marks a pivotal step in their determined effort to preserve Traditional Medicare for Retirees, and the promises made to them by the MTA and their former Union, TWU Local 100. TWU 100R consists of retirees who used to move 8 million passengers a day for a living. They ensured the riding public got to and from home, work, and school safely every day, assisted in times of trouble: when stuck on a train in the tunnel, during blackouts, robberies, and during the Covid Pandemic. They often worked in dangerous and unsafe conditions which affected their health in ways that didn’t show up until after retirement, including 9/11 exposures.
Background: The coalition, comprising of individuals from TWU Local 100 as well has come together over shared concerns about the erosion of traditional Medicare and being forced into a Medicare advantage plan, diminishing their current level of benefits. This situation is like what Mayor Adams has attempted to force on NYC Retirees, but being Quasi State workers, they were not protected by the court successes of the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees. They had to file their own litigation.
Details of the Injunction: The litigation filed in the NYS Supreme Court seeks to halt actions that the coalition believes are detrimental to the health and longevity of retirees and their families. Specific details of the case, including the parties involved, are outlined in the legal documents submitted to the court.
Contact Information: For more information, particularly if you are an affected retiree of the aforementioned unions and want to get involved:
Lloyd Archer
President
TWU100R
929-247-7175
Kenneth Nelson Page
Attorney
917-655-6695
Evangeline A. Byars
Labor Leader
Women Uplifting Women: A Sisterhood of Working Women & TWU Local 100 Active Member
917.932.5482
Banner Image: Stethocope. Image Credit – Markus Frieauff
Marianne Pizzitola NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees
On August 13th, 2021, a group of retirees from many different city agencies got together to form an organization to fight the impending changes to our healthcare. Two and half hours later, five people volunteered to form the Board and one became an advisor to the Board. In the next few weeks, we grew to five officers, four Trustees, five Advisors, started our Facebook group, filed for NYS incorporation, opened our PayPal fundraising account and were approved by the State to conduct business. Six weeks later we met our initial fundraising goal to pay the attorney's retainer and had filed our article 78 petition. Our Facebook page has over 18,000 members and we have an email list of almost 10,000 and both continue to grow. This is a major accomplishment! But we need to grow larger. We need to reach 250,000 retirees!