Deadline to File 9/11 Pension Participation Forms Fast Approaching

21 years ago, three thousand transit workers responded to the attack on America on September 11, 2001. Most were ordered to respond by the Transit Authority. Some volunteered. All of them who survive are at risk for 9/11 illnesses (mainly cancers) which have spiked among this workforce because of the toxic substances they were exposed to after the towers fell.

 

For more than a decade, TWU Local 100 has educated our members about the various benefits available to those who worked on the pile, and those whose jobs involved bringing first responders there and back. Among these benefits is monetary compensation provided by the Victim's Compensation Fund, set up by the federal government under the Zadroga Act. Over 100 transit workers have been paid benefits under that law. Another benefit is the ability to file a Workers's Compensation Claim once you develop an illness linked to 9/11. The way to obtain this benefit is to file a form called a WTC-12, once you become aware that you have a 9/11 related illness. That form can be found here. Another benefit is the right to be examined and treated for 9/11 illnesses by a network of health care providers headed up by Mt. Sinai hospital. This is explained in the 9/11 section of our website, which is here.

Earlier this summer, every TWU Local 100 member who was working at the time of 9/11 and whose address we have on file received a letter from Secretary-Treasurer Richard Davis, advising you that there is a deadline approaching to file Notices of Participation with the NYCERS and MABSTOA pension systems. The deadline is September 11, 2022. You can find the NYCERS form here and the MABSTOA form here. Filing these forms preserves your right to get an enhanced pension down the road if you should become disabled due to a 9/11 injury of illness. If you meet the criteria for filing one of these forms -- that you worked in the rescue and recovery effort during or after 9/11/01, this is your last chance to file. If you need assistance, please call the Union Hall.

If you are denied -- that is, if the pension system tells you that "the agency" (NYCT) was unable to verify your participation in the 9/11 rescue and recovery effort, you have the right to appeal and to provide supporting documentation, witness statements, and to personally go before a panel to attest to your 9/11 service. This right will survive the 9/11/22 cutoff date for filing the forms, provided that you have filed a form.