The Way I See It

“Ageism is a systemic form of oppression against people of specific age groups. It affects older adults most severely but can also impact young people. It is based on prejudice, such as the idea that all older adults are unintelligent or uncooperative, or that young adults are not worth taking seriously.

Because most people age, ageism is a form of inequity that affects everybody. Education, intergenerational understanding and cooperation, and policy change are necessary to end it. 

Ageism is prejudice or discrimination against people based on their age. It typically applies to people who are older but can also affect young people. Ageism has a negative impact on physical and mental health, and reports link it with earlier death”.

World Health Organization (WHO)Trusted Source.

Ageism is a systemic form of oppression, but unlike other causes of inequity, such as racism, sexism, or ableism, anyone can experience it. Although it is universal, people do not always take ageism as seriously as other forms of inequity.

I worked at an educational Institute for a total of 22 years. It was sanctioned by the State and City of NY. I joined the DC 37 Union soon after my initial hiring as a full-time employee. I stayed in that position for 21 years until a major breakdown in my body forced me to take an early retirement. I received high commendations for my service there and was even a Union Representative at one point. The panel at NYCERS, the pension provider area of my job, did not recognize my disability but the Social Security Doctors and my own distinguished orthopedic physician did. So my pension was reduced because of a NYCERS panel decision. Consulting both attorneys and my Union provided no help to me because they would not go up against NYCERS. So sadly, as a result I live on a limited income today. I had no other savings, just a spouse who retired 5 years after I did with both his full pension and Social Security from 50 years of full-time employment. Even though he is an honorably discharged Army Corporal Veteran where he served during the Vietnam era, it made no difference and had no financial benefit attached. In essence, there is no other income other than our pensions and Social Security, a current part-time job my husband took on (for our essentials). We have original Medicare and the City provides their promise for a supplemental insurance plan. Our drug coverage was negotiated by my Union. We reside in NJ after selling our Brooklyn home we lived in for 35 years. We finally got a yard so my hard-working husband could garden vegetables and I could plant flowers. We felt like all our struggles were over and we could finally start to enjoy life with our children and grandchildren and for the past 6 years we almost succeeded. Despite our poor medical and physical conditions we were very grateful and happy.

All that happiness and worry free period started to end in 2020 and was in the works well before then. Aside from the horrific economic conditions that are currently happening to everyone living in America today, (who don’t happen to be rich), are now being financially ruined by the very system we dedicated our lives to serve.

When the City of New York with the Unions approval decided to use Retirees as THE BETA group for their healthcare changes years ago they branded us as a group that could be taken advantage of and eliminated quickly. In my estimation, this classifies as “ageism”. When I retired there was a contract in place that provided the supplemental insurance and negotiated drug coverage by DC37. Over the years, Union people made poor choices invested or “borrowed” from a fund held at the Executive levels. All of this had nothing whatsoever to do with the Union’s rank and file members (us), yet here we are today faced with a devastating issue because the Union heads and the City are breaking the contracts people retired under. This action will cause many retirees, like myself, to be financially destroyed as well receive inferior healthcare if they win. Yet, it seems no one cares about the elderly in this country, whether healthy or not. Using us as their BETA group was deceptive and a betrayal by the very leaders we trusted during the years we were of service. I am extremely worried now for both mine and my spouses medical and prescription drug coverage, as well as any tests we may need now or in the future for the purpose of diagnostics. I am worried now because in this terrible housing market we will need to sell our forever home in order to survive. The premiums we may need to pay will take much of our limited income and we will be in dire straits again. No more relaxation in the final years of our lives. We never lived in luxury, never took vacations, never spent more money on ourselves then we spent on the happiness of others. And yet, still, no one cares because now it’s the City and the Union we need to stand up to. It literally breaks my heart. For the first time in my life, I am sincerely worried about our survival in this time of blatant ageism.

I was raised to believe in Unions. Lessons taught to me by my father convinced me that a Union cared about their members overall well-beings and fought for their rank and file even when retired, you were still Union in your heart even if no longer on their books. They were not supposed to betray us by forcing us to be their BETA group for a horrific Medicare Advantage health plan that would remove our City covered individual supplemental plans and replace our traditional Medicare. When they agreed to do this to their Retired Public Service people, without a vote or any say from us, they threw down the gauntlet.

They started the fight we Retirees have been in for over three years. We filed lawsuits to stop the harm they were causing. Judges and appeals courts ruled in our favor nine times in total. Yet, this Mayor of NYC along with the so-called leaders of our Unions keep appealing. The concern they were supposed to have for us, although we retired, became non existent. Seems to me the City and Unions can add ageism to their list of abominations.

How long do you think it will take other Cities and States to adopt the same policy and affect a country filled with Union membership? What will you gain if we lose? Everything you worked your entire lives for will be for naught if this devious NY plan comes to fruition.

I joined a non-political organization three years ago, the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees (for Benefit Preservation) led by the absolutely brilliant Marianne Pizzitola and a group of retired moderators and administrators who voluntarily run it. This group hired attorneys to file the law suits with voluntary donations from our members and supportive others. We are still fighting open cases and now will fight a second appeals case filed by the incompetent Mayor of NYC.

We aren’t fighting for anything other than our right not to be harmed and the promise made to us during our hiring and upon retiring…the choice of a supplemental healthcare plan that pays the 20% that our traditional Medicare doesn’t cover. That 20% out of our pockets will put many retirees in dire straights. What they have proposed is to take away our traditional Medicare (which we continue to pay for from our Social Security and have paid during our working years to earn our Social Security) by forcing a BETA plan on us that is known as Medicare Advantage, (a privately run inferior plan that would force retirees to pay hundreds of dollars to enroll in), with no guarantee that the extreme monthly cost will not keep increasing, that prior authorization for healthcare will be needed and decided by a panel of insurers, many without medical nor psychiatric degrees.

Currently with traditional Medicare and our choice of supplemental insurance we do not have those worries and burden that will be caused by Medicare Advantage plans. Such as the private company, Aetna who is currently fighting disputes filed against them by other government agencies.

The description of ageism seems to be the very definition of what NY City and its Union leadership are doing to the Retirees who worked for decades to build, maintain and run the needed service of this City and other Cities. Think about teachers, administrative assistants in every department, transit employees such as train and bus operators, police, fire, EMT, nurses, doctors, DEP, et al. The list is practically endless. Once they are through harassing and harming their retirees, they will undoubtedly come for current employees. Together with letters to the City Council, votes for or against its members, as well as letters to the Union leadership, are the methods that can help end the practice of ageism against nationwide Retirees! Voluntary donations to groups such as our non-profit Organization will help continue to fund the legal battles being fought. Everyone can put an end to this biased behavior against the elderly, disabled and former public service employees who have since retired. We still matter. We are diverse. We are your mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and so on. We are on limited incomes trying desperately to survive with the paid healthcare choices we were promised.

This ongoing battle has infuriated me from its unjust, biased beginning. Writing the truth, exposing a portion of life many seniors must live, is my outlet. I said I would write the truth when I started TRUTH, CREATIONS & KATHY’S LIFE’S JOURNEY. This is the truth today in my life’s journey. Thanks for allowing me into your life to tell it.

Kathy