Bennett Fischer, RTC Chapter Leader
Another September, and another start to the school-year rhythms that have defined our lives as career educators and lifelong learners. Welcome back, retirees, and a special welcome to each new retiree who’s just joined the UFT’s Retired Teachers Chapter this year.
The Retired Teachers Chapter is here to help you navigate this new phase of life — whether that means assisting with health benefit and pension issues, offering adult education through the Si Beagle Learning Centers, engaging you in political action through phone banking and canvassing for union-endorsed candidates and legislation, or connecting you socially with old and new friends and colleagues.
We have a lot of work ahead of us this year. First and foremost: the midterm elections. These matter immensely to us as retirees because the benefits we depend on are at stake. The cruel cuts to Medicare and Medicaid contained in Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) are now kicking into high gear. The federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS)WISeR (Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction) pilot program, which began in January 2026 across six states — Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington — is up for expansion in 2027. WISeR uses artificial intelligence to manage prior authorizations, and it has sparked intense backlash over high rates of care denial. It threatens to turn traditional Medicare into what we typically think of as Medicare Advantage. CMS is also ending federal subsidies for Medicare Part D, which will increase premiums for prescription drug plans.
In addition, the massive OBBBA cuts to Medicaid — $1 trillion over 10 years — will hurt our members who need nursing home and in-home health care as well as those members who depend on small hospitals that won’t survive these cuts.
We will fight back by phone banking and canvassing for congressional candidates who will work to roll back the OBBBA cuts and who are friends of organized labor.
Part and parcel of our 2026 election work will be the start of a joint UFT-RTC campaign to protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Look for a UFT-RTC town hall kickoff in October.
We also have eight RTC general membership meetings scheduled this school year. Please participate! Our first meeting, on Oct. 13, will feature a presentation by Max Arnaud of the Medicare Rights Center on navigating the Part D drug plan marketplace during open enrollment.
The RTC Healthcare Committee and Labor Solidarity Project will continue the important work they’ve been doing, and we encourage members to join them. Other items on the 2026–27 RTC agenda include:
- Advancing the campaign to improve our annual cost of living adjustments (COLA)
- Continuing to advocate for legislation to protect our NYC municipal benefits
- Campaigning to restore the 8.25% fixed return rate to UFT members’ TDA accounts
Life and UFT activism don’t end at retirement; some say that’s where it all begins. Welcome back to a new year, and welcome back to the RTC.
RTC General Membership Meeting