Employees of the former St. Clare's Hospital in Schenectady are facing another holiday season without a pension.
The workers have been trying for years to get their pensions restored. St. Clare's pension fund was established in 1959, about 10 years after the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese co-founded the hospital, which closed 15 years ago. The Catholic hospital was absorbed by Ellis Medicine following a recommendation from a state commission on consolidating healthcare facilities.
The fund was decimated in the 2008 recession. New York state did pay St. Clare's $58 million to cover transition costs including $28.5 million to cover the pension fund's anticipated needs. A move to drop federal pension insurance protection in the 1990s doomed the fund.
In March 2019, the St. Clare's Corporation petitioned the state Supreme Court to dissolve, claiming it had run out of money to distribute to some 1,100 pensioners.
Six months later, a group of advocates, including the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York and the AARP, filed a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany seeking damages for the pensioners.
This May, State Attorney General Tish James announced she had filed a separate lawsuit against the diocese.
"650 retirees lost all pension rights. And 450 retirees who received only a single payment equal to 70% of the value of their pension," said James.
St. Clare’s Pensioners’ Committee Chair Mary Hartshorne says the group, which includes retired nurses, lab technicians, social workers, EMTs, orderlies and housekeepers, is still awaiting financial help.
"The attorney general has stepped in and since she started her own lawsuit, which is quite unusual, we got encouraged, there's no doubt," Hartshorne said. "However, nothing has happened as of yet. She is asking or will be asking if the Supreme Court will hear both of our cases at once. That would save our attorneys a lot of work, and maybe, make this a little bit quicker. We got set back by the pandemic, of course, but our biggest problem is that the church has been, 'the church' meaning the Diocese of Albany, has been very uncooperative with us from day one. They started from the very beginning by saying there's nothing in writing that connects us to these pensioners. And that's true."
Hartshorne feels the diocese betrayed the workers.
"I have all my papers that say 'you're invested for life. You're guaranteed this pension.' And apparently those words don't matter," lamented Hartshorne.
State Senator James Tedisco, a Glenville Republican, has made the pensioners’ plight a priority. He says time is running out.
"The longer we wait, the more difficult this is for these individuals who are up there in years," said Tedisco. "Some of them are in their late 60s 70s or 80s. It's unconscionable that we're waiting this one, to have the diocese, either come forward and say they're going to provide this assistance, or go before the courts with the AG and have to let the legal system force them to do so."
The attorney general’s office tells WAMC its case is going through the legal process. Hartshorne and her former co-workers remain hopeful as they await resolution.
"We stayed together this long," Hartshorne said. "We keep together. There's no judgment of each other. We treat each other equally. We're are kind to each other whenever we get together. I don't say we're perfect. I don't mean that, but we worked very hard on this. And I think our faith has really helped us get through."
The Diocese emailed WAMC a statement in response to a request for comment, which says:
“Many questions remain as to how the pension promised to the dedicated St Clare’s employees failed. As the civil lawsuits progress, the plight of those who lost their pension is of great concern to Bishop Edward Scharfenberger.”
Scharfenberger says he is willing to meet with anyone to discuss the issue.
