Former workers at St. Clare’s Hospital are asking Governor Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers for help — again.
St. Clare’s Hospital Pension Recovery Alliance Chair Mary Hartshorne sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul and other electeds officials for a New York state budget allocation to restore the workers’ pension fund.
Hartshorne has been a tireless advocate for those who worked alongside her at the former hospital in Schenectady. More than 1,100 health care professionals employed at St. Clare’s lost some or all of their retirement savings when the hospital's pension fund dried up in 2019 following a move to drop the fund's federal pension insurance protection in the 1990s.
In 2019, a lawsuit filed against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany sought damages for the pensioners. Three years later, State Attorney General Tish James announced she had filed a separate lawsuit against the diocese. But Hartshorne says everything is stalled: the pensioners continue waiting and even if a court eventually hears the case, she fears the outcome would be minimal.
"Because everything has to go back to the bankruptcy court, and we have to realize that the diocese has to take care of the sex abuse victims as well," said Hartshorne. "So what we thought we were fighting for with our AARP attorneys and legal aid and our volunteers turns out to be a much smaller amount than we ever thought. And after, well, we're going on seven years, so after six full years, this is just too long for these wonderful people to wait for their well-deserved and well-earned pension. So I decided to try again to speak with Governor Hochul. I haven't had good luck in the past. She doesn't even give me five minutes. But, I was hoping, if I appealed to her and the politicians, maybe, maybe something could happen. There certainly has been money distributed in New York State to other people, and my pensioners are very deserving."
Hartshorne says that after seven years, the figure to restore the pension fund has increased from $54 million to about $90 million.
Republican state Senator Jim Tedisco recalled attempts he and Hartshorne had made to meet with former Governor Cuomo and current Governor Hochul. Hochul's office told Tedisco her staff would handle the meeting. He says they offered no recommendations or assistance.
Speaking with WAMC, Tedisco also criticized Democratic members of Congress.
"They passed a $1.5 billion dollar stimulus plan at the federal government two or three years ago under the Biden administration. $87 billion in there for 200 other pension systems, union pension systems, who were going bankrupt also had their money not available to them, and they made them whole. Not one penny for the 1,100 individuals from St. Clare's Hospital. This budget we have this year, $259 billion — $17 billion more than the previous year. If we can build football fields for $600 million, give Hollywood moguls $800 million, I think we can collectively come to an agreement with the federal, state and the diocese and maybe a little bit of local help, how we can make these people whole or close to being whole," said Tedisco.
WAMC reached out to the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese for comment.
Hartshorne also sent Democratic state Assemblymember Phil Steck a copy of her letter. Steck, of the 110th district, says it is critical the diocese be involved in funding the pension plan.
"When St. Clare's was merged into Ellis, everyone knew the pension plan was in trouble, and the state made a substantial contribution to bail out the pension plan. However, what happened was, this was during the financial crisis, time of 2008 and the value of the contribution went down substantially. So you're asking the state to do it for a second time when the fund was not under the state's control and mismanaged by private parties. So yes, we are willing to participate, but as I've said many times, the Catholic Diocese would have to participate with us," Steck said.
Governor Hochul's office did not respond to a request for comment. The state budget is due April 1st.
