New York City, May 31—Almost 1,000 retired city workers from former blue-collar workers to clerical, teachers, professors, librarians, nurses, social workers, EMTs, firefighters and more packed the sidewalk outside of City Hall in the continuing struggle against forcing 250,000 retirees into a privatized for profit medicare coverage known as Medicare Advantage. Chants like “healthcare is a human right, fight fight fight” reflected the understanding that health insurance companies are not in business to provide healthcare; they are in business to make profits! Progressive Labor Party says that only in a communist society will healthcare be provided to all based on need rather than on ability to pay. Only then will hospitals, prescription drugs and medical care be free of the profit system.
The retiree health coverage struggle has been going on for over two years. The city bosses led by former KKKop Mayor Adams would like us to give up and accept a September change in our benefits. A gang of high paid labor misleaders called the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC), who act on behalf of the city bosses, cut this deal in secret meetings where retirees have no say. Many of the MLC leaders earn hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, many times more than the workers their unions are supposed to represent. These bought and paid for “leaders” will never give up their cushy union positions to fight for workers.
The Medicare Advantage plan shifts costs to retired workers. New copays for retirees may add up to $1,500 per person per year for healthcare costs. This affects lower income retirees (mainly Black and Latin and women) the most, making it a racist and sexist plan. It will force many retirees to choose between needed medical care and high cost medicine or the costs of housing, food etc.
Although the tactics of filing court cases, asking local city council politicians for support and threatening to vote out Mayor Adams builds faith in the system, getting our hands dirty doing the work of the mass movement allows PL’ers involved in the struggle to raise communist ideas with our friends in a number of union retiree groups and build ties with current workers who we call retirees in training.
