The head of New York City's powerful teachers union, United Federation of Teachers (UFT) President Michael Mulgrew, has withdrawn support for Mayor Eric Adams' effort to shift 250,000 retirees onto a Medicare Advantage plan. This reversal, announced in a surprise Sunday news drop, comes after Mulgrew's slate of allies were defeated in recent union elections. The controversial plan, which aimed to generate cost savings for the city by moving retirees from traditional Medicare coverage to an Aetna-run Medicare Advantage plan, faced staunch opposition from other municipal union leaders. Mulgrew's change-of-heart is seen as a significant blow to the Adams administration's healthcare reform efforts.
UFT pulls vital support for Adams administration’s controversial Medicare Advantage plan The powerful teachers union's president had a change-of-heart following his caucus losing the UFT’s retiree chapter in recent elections. https://t.co/KBMzEUt10v
“The about-face Sunday comes on the heels of staunch opposition to Mulgrew — and city union leaders representing other municipal workers — agreeing to shift retirees from their traditional Medicare coverage to Aetna-run Medicare Advantage to generate cost savings for NYC.” https://t.co/T6D3w1d4yA
United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew has withdrawn support for controversial changes to health care plans for thousands of city retirees in a stunning reversal after his slate of allies got trounced in union elections. Via @ccampy https://t.co/BVzVor24Ko
Reversing course, NYC teachers union president Mike Mulgrew now opposes changes to Medicare coverage https://t.co/b5xmWQRUAr https://t.co/GCec9iEk7m
In a surprise Sunday news drop, UFT President Michael Mulgrew came out against the city's controversial Medicare Advantage plan. For @CityAndStateNY, veteran labor reporter @stucknation interviews Mulgrew and explains why it matters: https://t.co/Z0dTEKjifZ
The head of New York City’s powerful teachers union is withdrawing support for Mayor Eric Adams’ effort to shift 250,000 retirees onto a Medicare Advantage plan. https://t.co/0KEvdDplaL