NYS Supreme Court Justice Shahabuddeen A. Ally Grants RETIREES Requested Temporary Restraining Order Against MTA & TWU Local 100
Judge Grants TRO and Schedules Hearing for January 23, 2024 11am
From Evangeline A. Byars, Labor Leader, Women Uplifting Women: A Sisterhood of Working Women
From Marianne Pizzitola, President of the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees:
“Union Retirees around the country are finding themselves in situations [where they’re] being forced to defend their healthcare and Traditional Medicare with supplemental benefits. Literally grassroots fundraising to save their lives.
“They earned and paid for these benefits during their years of service, whether they were in municipal or private sector service. Healthcare is a human right not a political fight.
“The richest country in the world should not make senior citizens and the disabled fight for their healthcare. It also should not be shoving them off traditional Medicare and onto inferior privatized Medicare DisAdvantage, breaking their promises to workers and preventing access to needed care. Unions need to learn Medicare DisAdvantage is Not Medicare, and they should not take benefits away from their union retirees, as they are diminishing those who built their union and their own futures.”
Manhattan, New York – The Retirees of TWU100R are elated tonight that a Judge heard their concerns about being forced off their Supplement and Traditional Medicare plan. Working their entire lives for the MTA and as members of TWU Local 100, the largest Transit Union in the Country, these retirees earned and paid for their benefits and were promised Medicare benefits upon retirement. They sustain injuries and health conditions in the course of their work, many even suffer illnesses from 9/11 exposures. They rely on access to doctors and hospitals around the country to survive.
“We worked our entire lives for Traditional Medicare, not a ‘for-profit alternative’” said Lloyd Archer, President of TWU100R. “ We deserve it and we are going to fight as hard as we can for it!”
“The MTA and TWU Local 100 taking away Retirees’ access to traditional Medicare and installing a barrier to access to care is cruel. While no retiree would ever deny that active workers should be given raises for their work, it should never be done on the backs of retirees. Our Organization will continue to help Retirees around the Country facing this same injustice!” said Marianne Pizzitola, President of the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees.
The Judge ordered the Status Quo and set the hearing to Show Cause at I.A.S. Part 16, Room 419, Tuesday, January 23th at 11 am, 111 Centre Street, Manhattan.
Banner Image: Gavel. Image Credit – Wesley Tingey
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!