Page 8 - Retiree News Winter 2018

AFSCME, other
groups submit briefs
for Janus case
AFSCME recently submitted its brief on the merits of the corporate-backed U.S. Supreme Court case, Janus v. AFSCME
Council 31.
More than 35 amicus, or “friend of the court” briefs, have also been submitted on behalf of AFSCME Council 31 from legal experts, economists, public employers, elected leaders, civil rights groups and religious leaders. The authors of these brief range across the political spectrum.
The court will hear oral arguments in Janus in late February.
If facts, law and precedent matter, the court should rule in favor of working people in the Janus case,
just as they did in the 1977 Abood v. Detroit Board of Education decision, when they found the state and local governments’ system of ordering their labor relations to be constitutional.
Janus, like Abood, examines whether public employees should be required to pay an agency, or ‘fair share,’ fee to help cover the costs of negotiating contracts and worker representation.
While the case stems from an Illinois state employee who objected to paying the fair share fee because of his opposition to unions, this case is truly backed by well-funded sources who want to block our freedom to join together in union.
Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 is an attack on the freedoms of working people by corporate interests and the wealthy who have been rigging the rules to get ahead.
“This case is nothing more than the latest and most egregious in a long line of attacks by billionaire CEOs and corporate interests who don’t believe that working people should have the same freedoms they do,” AFSCME International President Lee Saunders said. “Working people have the facts, and 40 years of sound law are on our side. If the case is decided based on
its legal merits, the freedom of working people to join together in strong unions will prevail and the Abood precedent should stand.”
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NEW CITY — CSEA is stepping up on behalf of Rockland County retirees after learning that County Executive Ed Day planned to switch retirees from the Empire Plan (NYSHIP) to lower cost coverage through Aetna as of April 1,
an announcement that came with few details about the new insurance plan and left many retirees upset over the abrupt change.
Some, though not all, county retirees received a letter from Day announcing both the insurance change and a schedule of informational meetings with Aetna.
Many retirees received the letter only a day or two before those meetings, leaving many unable to attend.
CSEA came to learn that Day and his team have been privately planning the insurance change for 20 months, without informing legislators or retirees.
“Our retirees were blindsided by this announcement,” said Southern Region President Billy Riccaldo. “This process was conducted entirely in private, with Ed Day directing the county’s insurance broker to issue a request for proposals instead of having a transparent process. It’s just disrespectful to our retirees who gave so much to our county to abruptly switch coverage.”
Riccaldo and CSEA Labor Relations Specialist Larry Sparber joined retirees in addressing county legislators with questions and concerns at two recent meetings. Legislators, in turn, have pressed the Day administration for information.
Riccaldo noted that many questions lingered even after retirees met with Aetna staff, due in part to the fact that Aetna
is customizing a plan for the Rockland retirees instead of going with one of its standard plans. The switch also affects active CSEA members employed by Rockland County, as those planning to retire soon would be placed in this same new insurance plan.
“We have no way of knowing if this coverage is equal to or better than the current coverage because we’ve gotten so few details about this customized Aetna plan,” Riccaldo said. “We have senior citizens worried that they may have to leave longtime doctors and specialists. We’re not letting this lack of transparency from Ed Day go any further without advocating on our retirees’ behalf. Even into retirement, we never quit on our members.”
— Jessica Ladlee
CSEA advocating for Rockland retirees in wake of insurance change
is published to share information and generate ideas on subjects important to retirees.
Published by CSEA
143 Washington Ave., Albany, N.Y. 12210
(518) 257-1000
(800) 342-4146 www.cseany.org
Danny Donohue, President
CSEA
Local 1000 AFSCME AFL-CIO