DC 37 Urges Governor Cuomo to Sign Bill Restoring NYC OTB Retirees’ Health Insurance

<div class="xn-content"><p><i>The state Assembly and <org>Senate</org> passed a bill to restore NYC OTB retirees' health insurance; The union is pressing <person>Governor Cuomo</person> to sign the bill before the time limit expires.</i></p><p><span class="xn-location"><location value="LU/us.ny.nyc" idsrc="xmltag.org">NEW YORK</location></span>, <span class="xn-chron"><chron>Sept. 15, 2011</chron></span> /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- <org>District Council 37</org>, the city's largest public employee union, along with its affiliated <org>New York City Off-Track Betting Corp.</org><org>Employees Local 2021</org>, are pressing <span class="xn-location"><location value="LS/us.ny" idsrc="xmltag.org">New York State</location></span> Governor <span class="xn-person"><person>Andrew Cuomo</person></span> to immediately sign a bill that would protect NYC OTB retirees' health insurance. The bill, A.5785 and S.4489, was passed overwhelmingly in <span class="xn-chron"><chron>June 2011</chron></span> by both houses of the state legislature – 88-50 in the Assembly and 51-11 in the <org>Senate</org> – and sent to the Governor's desk on <span class="xn-chron"><chron>Sept. 12, 2011</chron></span> for signature. The governor has up and until midnight <span class="xn-chron"><chron>Sept. 23, 2011</chron></span> to sign the legislation.</p><p>"It is unconscionable that workers who retired after providing years of exemplary and dedicated service to the <org>NYC OTB Corporation</org> should be concerned that their health benefits will not be restored because of <person>Governor Cuomo</person>'s inaction. Some retirees have life-threatening conditions that require constant care.  Failure to restore these benefits that they earned would be devastating," said <span class="xn-person"><person>Leonard Allen</person></span>, President of Local 2021 and a thirty-year NYC-OTB former employee. "The Assembly and <org>Senate</org> overwhelmingly passed a bill to restore the retirees' health care. We call on <person>Governor Cuomo</person> to sign that bill into law."</p><p>NYC OTB retirees lost health coverage as an unintended consequence of the corporation's closure, in which more than 1,000 active workers also lost their jobs. Health insurance for approximately 900 NYC OTB retirees would be covered by the bill on <person>Governor Cuomo</person>'s desk. Moreover, some 80 percent of those retirees are <org>Medicare</org> eligible and this number will increase in the future thereby reducing costs to the state over time. The union is urging the governor to follow state legislators' lead in signing the bill to restore their health coverage.</p><p>DC 37 Executive Director <span class="xn-person"><person>Lillian Roberts</person></span> said, "These are workers who deserve restoration of the health care benefits they worked long and hard for during decades on the job. They are a vulnerable population with outstanding health issues, who don't need to unnecessarily join the ranks of the uninsured. We urge the governor to sign the bill. " </p><p>New York City Off-Track Betting was taken over by the <span class="xn-location"><location value="LS/us.ny" idsrc="xmltag.org">State of New York</location></span> in <span class="xn-chron"><chron>June 2008</chron></span>.  In <span class="xn-chron"><chron>December 2009</chron></span>, then <person>Governor Paterson</person> authorized NYC OTB to file for bankruptcy protection.  NYC OTB was closed on <span class="xn-chron"><chron>December 7, 2010</chron></span>, after the <span class="xn-location"><location value="LS/us.ny" idsrc="xmltag.org">New York State</location></span><org>Senate</org> failed to pass legislation that would have allowed for its restructuring.</p><p><b><i><org>District Council 37</org> is <span class="xn-location"><location value="LU/us.ny.nyc" idsrc="xmltag.org">New York City</location></span>'s largest public employee union, with 125,000 members and 50,000 retirees.</i></b></p><p><b><org>District Council 37</org></b><br />American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees <br />125 <span class="xn-person"><location>Barclay Street</location></span><br /><span class="xn-location"><location value="LU/us.ny.nyc" idsrc="xmltag.org">New York, NY</location></span>  10007 <br />Phone (212) 815-1535 <br />Fax: (212) 815-7535 <br /><a href="http://www.dc37.net">www.dc37.net</a></p><p><b>Contact:</b><br /><span class="xn-person"><person>Zita Allen</person></span>, Communications Director <br /><span class="xn-person"><person>Molly Charboneau</person></span><br /><span class="xn-person"><person>Rudy Orozco</person></span><br />212-815-1535</p><p>SOURCE <org&gt;District Council 37</org></p></div>