Rank-and-File Organizing Leads to Upset Win in UFT Retiree Chapter

For the first time in 40 years the Retiree Advocate slate won in the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) Retiree Chapter elections. The vote count took place on Friday June 14^th and in the process ousted the incumbent Unity slate.

The Retiree Advocate slate received 17,226 votes, or 63 percent of the total, while Unity got 10,114 votes. The Retiree Advocate caucus, led by rank-and-file organizers, has fought against the city of New York’s efforts to switch their retired member’s health insurance from Medicare to Medicare Advantage.

Bennett Fischer who was elected as chapter leader, said “We’re teachers, we oppose the privatization of education. We should be equally opposed to the privatization of our great health care system”. Fischer also explained that he wants to bring democracy to the chapter. The retired teachers chapter has about 70 thousand total members.