Fix Tier 6 efforts get major boost

hanks to member solidarity, NYSUT secured meaningful pension reforms for Tier 6 members.

“This Tier 6 agreement is proof that when workers organize and stay united, change is possible. This is a victory for public workers across New York,” said NYSUT President Melinda Person. “Because members across New York refused to give up, we secured meaningful progress for public workers.”

Whether it was rallies, calls, lobby days, or a historic labor event at Albany’s MVP Arena, NYSUT members turned up and turned out — and delivered decisive wins.

“This victory belongs to every member who spoke out, rallied, lobbied, and kept the pressure on,” Person said. “We are taking an important step toward building a fairer future for the next generation of public workers. And we’re going to keep fighting.”

Bethany Hamilton, a member of the Tri-Valley Teachers Association, has been part of this fight since the beginning. Her local introduced the resolution to Fix Tier 6 at the 2023 NYSUT RA.

“I feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief,” Hamilton said. “It feels like, ‘Okay, now we can do this. There’s some light at the end of the tunnel.’”

Hamilton, who was also part of the Committee of 100 delegation that went to the Capitol in 2024 and rallied on the Million Dollar Staircase, said the latest victory is about solidarity and persistence.

“This fight has brought people together from a spectrum of political stances, a spectrum of professions. People have come together from all over the state to fight for this … that’s what’s given it its momentum and its power,” Hamilton said.

John Hines, president of the Cornwall Central TA was celebrating when he heard the news. “Best birthday present ever,” he said.

Hines and 10 other Orange County locals held the first-ever Fix Tier 6 Mixer back in October 2023. When Hines, a math teacher, ran the numbers for people and pointed out the clear discrepancies between the tiers, his colleagues were floored. “I think people’s eyes were really opened, and it started there.”

Hines said he is elated by what he and his fellow NYSUT members have been able to accomplish. “This is a clear demonstration of the power of our union and what labor can accomplish when we stand together,” he said.

Christopher Kazim, president of the Port Chester TA, led the first “March on the 6th” to galvanize his members and drive attention to the problem. The march was so successful that it became a recurring event, taking place on the sixth of every month, in locations across the state. “This shows that when members come together … there is strength in our unity, and we can push for positive change,” said Kazim. “Change can happen and is happening.”

Each of the successive updates to Tier 6 has been about making this tier equitable with previous tiers, and that means getting Tier 6 members less time until they hit retirement age — and also more money.

When Kevin Toolan, president of the Patchogue Medford Congress of Teachers and a NYSUT Board member, heard the news, he began running the numbers. By comparing two employees who began the same year, and projecting modest 1 percent salary raises over the course of their career, he estimated that just by lowering the retirement age, his Tier 6 members could save $60,572 in salary contributions, collect $44,100 in free health insurance, and collect another $611,745 in pension five years sooner than expected, resulting in a combined savings of $716,417. “That’s three-quarters of a million dollars that just went into my members’ pockets,” said Toolan.

And more is coming.

“We can’t let up on the gas pedal, right? Today, we celebrate,” Toolan said. “Tomorrow, we reorganize to address the contribution rates and pension calculation.”

For now, members are enjoying this latest win.

“I didn’t know what we were going to get from this budget … but I could tell this was an irresistible force, and this announcement proves that,” said John Liquori, Elmira TA. “We can’t be ignored, and this win is going to give us momentum to keep working on other changes for our Tier 6 members.”