‘Sometimes I get a little mad’

I hail the temporary restraining order from Judge Lyle Frank preventing the city from forcing 250,000 city retirees off Medicare and into a private Medicare Advantage plan. He stated "retirees have shown that promises were made by the City to then-New York City employees and retirees." One hopes that this ruling becomes permanent and all the retirees and their supporters who care about basic decency will be able to sing Sam Cooke: "Ain't that news, man, ain't that good news."

Mayor Eric Adams' spokesman Jonah Allon called  this ruling "misguided." Perhaps we should address Adams with John Lennon: "Your mouthpiece squawks as he spreads your lies." But candidate Adams called this plan "bait and switch." Now Adams is singing Lou Christie — "Two faces have I."

The president of the New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees, Marianne Pizzitola, was quoted in The Chief as saying of the alleged $600 million in savings city officials say will be derived from the proposed switch: "There's no guarantee that's going to happen" (“Bill would keep retirees' Medicare intact,” June 30). As The Chief reported, the Biden Administration is looking to trim these payments to cut fraud and other abuses. 

City Councilman Charles Barron has introduced legislation that would keep retirees' Medicare intact. The unions got revenge by backing Barron's opponent, Chris Banks, who beat Barron in the recent primary. Some claim to oppose Barron because of his "defund the police" stance. But Banks' position on that issue is similar. It's Barron's principled position against the Medicare Advantage scam that is the issue here.

Now imagine if union members did not sheepishly follow questionable leaders and instead worked to remove them. Imagine if union leaders fought the efforts of politicians to screw workers instead of colluding with them. Perhaps workers and retirees should be singing to these so-called leaders the words of Robert Nesta Marley: "Go down back-biter."

Richard Warren