LISTEN TO HARRIET: When a $15 Co-Pay Means Choosing Between Food and Rent

Harriet Burdock spent her career serving New Yorkers at the New York Public Library’s Central Research Facility.

She retired in 2001.

Today, her pension doesn’t cover her rent.

That fact alone makes balancing a monthly budget extraordinarily difficult. Then add the $15 medical co-pays.

Harriet needs to see doctors frequently. One $15 charge may not sound like much. But when appointments accumulate, so do the co-pays.

For someone whose pension already doesn’t cover her rent, those dollars matter.

For Harriet, it can mean choosing between EATING and paying the RENT.

She eats cereal far more often than she would like because it is what she can afford. Cooking regular meals costs more. Going out to a restaurant is simply beyond her budget.

Harriet doesn’t want to go hungry.

She doesn’t want to lose her home.

And after a career spent serving the people of New York City, she shouldn’t have to fear either.

This is why we keep asking people to listen to NYC retirees.

Behind every policy decision, every negotiation and every dollar on a spreadsheet is a real person trying to make ends meet.

Listen to Harriet.

No retiree should have to choose between food, housing and healthcare.

Bill 1008 MUST be passed.

#ListenToHarriet #NYCRetirees #PassBill1008 #RetireeHealthcare #zohranMamdani Zohran Mamdani

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mariannepizzitola.substack.com

This morning, Evelyn “Evi” Jones Rich made an important point: she is retired. She is not a union member. The collective bargaining process does not represent her.

But what happens when decisions made by others threaten the healthcare retirees were promised?

The retirees stand up for themselves.

NYC public service retirees organized. They spoke out. They challenged decisions in court. They fought to preserve their access to Traditional Medicare.

They stood alone.

Think about that.

After careers spent educating our children, fighting our fires, protecting our streets, caring for our communities and keeping New York City running, retirees found themselves having to fight once again - this time for the healthcare they believed they had already earned.

They should never have been put in that position.

Listen to Evi.

Listen to the retirees who stood up when no one else would.

Retirees stood alone to protect Traditional Medicare. Now New York City needs to listen to them.

#ListenToEvi #NYCRetirees #TraditionalMedicare #RetireeHealthcare

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mariannepizzitola.substack.com

LISTEN TO DAN: “A Promise Made Is a Promise That Should Be Kept.”

Dan Stromer is 100 years old.

He is a retired New York City firefighter who left the job in 1979.

For 47 years, Dan has been retired - and for 47 years, he hasn’t been a member of a union.

That’s an important part of his story.

The fight over healthcare for NYC public service retirees is sometimes discussed as though today’s retirees are simply an extension of today’s unions.

Dan’s story reminds us who is actually affected.

These are people who spent decades serving New York City and retired believing that the promises made to them would be honored.

Dan puts it far more simply:

“A promise made is a promise that should be kept.”

At 100 years old, Dan shouldn’t have to fight to make that principle understood.

He kept his commitment to New York City.

Now New York City needs to keep its commitment to him.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mariannepizzitola.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mariannepizzitola.substack.com

After our station fundraiser, we speak with Marcia about her latest book, Attic Wife. And then with Joe Maniscalco covering the weeks labor news.

https://marciabiederman.com/attic-wife-in-the-media/

Read Joe’s articles at WORK-BITES and catch up on the latest labor news!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mariannepizzitola.substack.com

Her Book is available on Amazon and local NYC book stores. https://www.amazon.com/Lifeguard-Love-Story-Janet-Fash/dp/1668206617

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mariannepizzitola.substack.com

Doctors go through a lot of trouble fighting Medicare Advantage denials from Prior Authorization. Hear some of what this patient advocate has to deal with! And this weeks labor news with Work-Bites!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mariannepizzitola.substack.com

With Labor Organizers, authors, publishers, Timothy Sheard of Hardball Press and Phil Cohen and Joe Maniscalco or Work-Bites

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mariannepizzitola.substack.com

A recent Court decision about the City withholding documents from a FOIL request on what it knew about the toxic air and when! Join us!

Links for today:

www.work-bites.com

9/11 Health Watch

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mariannepizzitola.substack.com

Teamsters Mobilize! Fight For Your Union Rights!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mariannepizzitola.substack.com