UFT Unity Conceals Credit for the Work of Marianne Pizzitola

It must be great to sit around 52 Broadway, make more money than any working teacher, and never have to set foot into another crumbling building or classroom. No more constant crises for you. No freezing or sweltering trailers. No more attending to the needs of 34 (or more) teenagers at the same time. Go out to lunch, or have it brought in, and actually have time to eat. Heck, you can even visit the bathroom whenever you like!

Below, you’ll see the text of an email I received the other day. It’s signed by Geof Sorkin, head of the UFT Welfare Fund. It’s likely written by some non-unionized staffer, as UFT Big Shots can be Too Important to do their own writing. Regardless, what’s important here is not what it says, but rather what it does not say.

There was a class action suit demanding refunds of the co-pays the Municipal Labor Committee charged Medicare-eligible retirees (before Unity and MLC changed the rules so as to take our money), and the suit was successful.

The class action suit in question was initiated and supported by the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees. They’re led by Marianne Pizzitola, and neither she nor the organization was mentioned in the email. I’ve just donated to them, and if you are inclined and able to, you may do so here.

By failing to mention who brought the lawsuit, uninformed recipients are likely as not to assume Unity is battling on their behalf. This is deliberate.

If you’re a regular reader, you know well that Marianne’s group is the sole reason we aren’t all in an inferior Medicare Advantage plan. You’ll know it was her group that went to court and blocked Mulgrew’s scheme to charge us an extra $190 a month each, to start, to retain the coverage we’d been promised free since we began working.

Furthermore, we know it was UFT Unity leadership that imposed the co-pays in the first place. While accomplishing this, they were doing many Very Important Things. That’s why they couldn’t be bothered checking the contract with GHI, which did not allow for co-pays. Thankfully, Marianne’s group, along with their lawyers, deemed it worth their time.

Does it disturb you as much as it does me to know that our ostensible leaders cannot be bothered with due diligence? I was a teacher for a long time, and if I’d been that careless, I’d surely have been up on charges—for incompetence and/ or dereliction of duty. I can only suppose such things do not apply to self-appointed King Mulgrew and his patronage cult.

Note also that Sorkin mentions the fact that co-pays can go up at the end of 2027. He further claims it’s UFT’s position that they should not go up at any time. Well, he says that now. UFT Unity opposed Medicare Advantage right up to the point when they decided to dump us into it.

While regularly claiming we pay no premiums, our prescription premiums were raised by a factor of 50% over a two year period. They’ve doubled SHIP costs. And more to the point, it was Mulgrew and Unity who imposed the co-pays in the first place. And just in case that’s not enough, UFT Welfare Fund, unlike many others, fails to cover prescription premiums for retirees.

Mulgrew also told us the co-pays were intended to be temporary. We now know that to be untrue. Were they temporary, Sorkin would have boasted about it.

Were co-pays put in place to make the crappy advantage plan, which had a cap on them, look better? Perhaps. Michael Mulgrew appears to believe retirees should give back health care whenever in-service members get a raise, even if said raise fails to keep up with cost of living.

Perhaps that’s another thing he learned from his Very Smart People. Perhaps they told him that retirees should be made to pay so that in-service members could get raises. After all, that’s been his practice.

I have my own practices. One is paying attention to what goes on around me. For example, I’ve watched Unity lie with impunity, about Medicare Advantage, about co-pays, about 1096, and the para bill, among other things. I’ve seen them demand we endorse contracts we aren’t allowed to see. I’ve further observed this—co-pays go nowhere but up. Mulgrew is a huge believer in raising them to discourage us from seeking care, treating us as though we’re Pavlov’s dogs.

So no, I don’t believe Unity will keep prices down, or protect us in any way, shape or form. Have you ever seen prices go down? Where exactly does that occur?

Let’s face it—Unity has no issue clawing back more and more of our pensions, while doing nothing whatsoever to improve our income. Then they muster the temerity to claim Intro 1096 (being reintroduced soon!), which would protect us from their shenanigans, violates the Taylor Law.

On a related topic, after months of saying and doing nothing, UFT Secretary Mike Sill has arisen from his Unity-imposed slumber and noticed the almost 200 paraprofessionals whose pensions are being halved.

“We are currently exploring a legal challenge as well as changes through the legislature. TRS made the error and it went unchecked for 20 years,” Michael Sill, the UFT secretary, said in a statement. “Our paraprofessionals are the victims here and should not be the ones to pay for the agency’s error.”

I wonder whether that has anything to do with Fix Para Pay, Fix Retiree Benefits, and NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees hammering the issue, contacting the press, and making sure this doesn’t get swept under the rug. You can also thank Pizzitola for this. She’s been key in organizing and reaching out.

Sill is not alone. Both Randi Weingarten and Michael Mulgrew have issued messages promising to help. I hope they can do so. Mulgrew says it may take a long time, and that’s sorely disappointing.

Personally, I’ve been communicating with several affected paras. I’ve also spoken with multiple reporters, and was quoted in the Chief the other day. (Apologies, but I’m unable to remove the paywall.)

Arthur Goldstein, the vice chair of the retired teacher’s chapter inthe UFT, said the AFT and UFT need to step in and force TRS to stop the clawback and push for a change to state law.

“This is horrible, it’s unconscionable, it’s an outrage,” he said.“How could you do that to someone on a fixed income? If they could do it to them, they could do it to me. They could do it to anyone.”

There will be more to come in the press. And the law, when amended, needs to be done retroactively. It’s not enough to simply stop TRS from clawing back 50% of three years pension, which would be a hardship for most anyone. They also need to keep receiving the pensions they were promised.

I know of one para facing loss of his home. I know of another who, recently divorced, chose not to go after her husband’s pension, believing she had her own. There are real consequences for TRS blunders. You cannot just say, “Oopzie,” and dump them on senior citizens depending on fixed incomes.

Finally, If you haven’t yet seen it, here’s the text of Sorkin’s letter. Note how he presents it—as though it somehow happened of its own volition. Nowhere does he state who brought the action, nor does he bother admitting it was most definitely not the United Federation of Teachers.

Be of good cheer. We will not give up.

Dear Arthur,

A recent class action settlement with the city and EmblemHealth will give Medicare-eligible retirees in GHI Senior Care a reimbursement for copays they paid between January 2022 and February 2023.

What happened?

A claim was brought alleging that from January 2022 to February 2023, EmblemHealth did not have proper state authorization to charge copays. A recent settlement of this claim requires that the city reimburse retirees in GHI Senior Care for copays they made during that time.

What is in the settlement?

The settlement includes the following provisions:

• Retirees may receive up to 40% of paid copays (up to $100) without providing receipts, provided Emblem can verify they actually saw a doctor on those dates. Reimbursement beyond that requires receipts for the copayments.

• Senior Care copays will not be increased through Dec. 31, 2027.

The UFT’s position is that copays should not increase at any time. We will oppose any increase to retiree copays and will remain firm in that position regardless of this settlement.

How can you get reimbursed?

The city will be using a third-party administrator to ensure that reimbursements are distributed correctly. We will be in touch with EmblemHealth, the Municipal Labor Committee and the city to provide you with information on how that process will work and what documentation you will need for reimbursement. We will contact you with that information once we have it.

What about other copays?

Any copays that were paid outside of the January 2022 to February 2023 timeframe are not covered by this settlement and are not subject to reimbursement from the city. However, if you are a member of the UFT’s Supplemental Health Insurance Program (SHIP), you can receive up to $105 annually in copay reimbursements. The UFT started the SHIP copay reimbursement plan in January 2025 to help our retirees with copayments. You can learn about the many benefits of SHIP enrollment on our website.

We will keep you updated on this situation as it continues so that you have the information you need to be reimbursed.

Sincerely,

Geof Sorkin
UFT Welfare Fund Executive Director