Chicago fires its health commissioner. A teacher union's lack of democracy. The New York win signals a new movement to preserve healthcare.
Dr. Allison Arwady, who led Chicago through the difficult uncharted waters of the Covid pandemic, was unceremoniously (but not unexpectedly) fired by new Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
The Chicago Board of Health had asked the Mayor to keep the city’s public health commissioner in her post.
The nine-member panel met in a special meeting Thursday evening where the seven members present unanimously pledged their support for Arwady, who is known to Chicagoans for her unflappable assurances during the pandemic.
The Chicago Teachers Union, who was Johnson’s employer before he was elected mayor, was a consistent critic of Arwady and former Mayor Lightfoot who had appointed Arwady.
Apparently anyone connected to the former mayor is persona non grata in the new administration, regardless of qualifications.
The firing seemed petty to me.
*****
In contrast to every notion of what union democracy should look like, New York’s United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew refused to take the rank and file membership’s no for an answer.
The unit representing Occupational and Physical therapists voted no to the latest contract offer.
Rather than taking that as a directive to return to the bargaining table, Mulgrew told the members to vote on the same offer again.
UFT retiree and former elected UFT board member, Arthur Goldstein says, “Hey, that’s our union leadership’s wacky view of democracy. There’s voter suppression all over the US, but those folks have got absolutely nothing on our leadership.”
*****
Joshua Freeman, a prominent labor historian says that the victory in court of New York public employees who sued to preserve their retiree healthcare signals the “beginnings of an effort to create a nationwide movement” to enable retirees to retain their traditional Medicare.
“I think the New York example shows that if retirees who know how to organize — and after all these people who had experience in the union movement, people who are used to acting together — if they band together and dig in their heels, they can really tie up the city and other government entities into knots,” said Joshua Freeman, professor emeritus at Queens College and a member of the CUNY Professional Staff Congress retiree council.
“They’re pushing back and they have been remarkable in what they’ve achieved in New York City so far — it’s not over, but it’s pretty incredible what’s happened.”