Still other benefits are available by completing an application (Chief newspaper digital subscription) or at a discount from a specific vendor (Lifestation Alert System).

The Organization of Staff Analysts is pleased to offer a voluntary short term disability plan to active members through Winston Financial Services. Members have the opportunity to enroll at their own cost in a disability income plan that supplements the existing group disability coverage provided by the OSA Welfare Fund. The plan provides additional income protection in the event of disability from sickness or accident.

The plan features guaranteed acceptance for new OSA members for up to $2,000 a month in benefits, regardless of your health condition, as long you enroll within 6 months of receiving your new membership kit from the union. For existing active members, there are no physical exams or medical tests. Qualify by simply answering a few medical questions. The plan is underwritten and backed by Transamerica Financial Life Insurance Company, a company that carries an A+ (Superior) rating from A.M. Best, the leading independent source for reporting on the financial strength and operating performance of the nation's insurance carriers. More than 30,000 other New York City union workers are covered under the plan.

You must be actively at work to enroll (retirees are not eligible for this coverage). You can download a brochure with details of the coverage by clicking here.

Plan Highlights

In 2015, Winston unveiled a new accident plan that can assist in paying for unexpected expenses associated with an accident or injury. The benefit payments are tax free and can assist in covering health care deductibles. The member, spouse and children are all coverable. Payments of up to $1,500 a month for up to six months are available. Accidents on and off the job are covered. For more information about the rider, contact Winston Financial at 1-800-347-6071. You can download a flier about the rider by clicking this link.

The additional Group Term Life Insurance coverage is available on a voluntary basis through payroll deduction. Both the Basic Life coverage and the Voluntary Group Term Life Insurance coverage are provided by Lincoln Financial.

Please note that we are no longer in the open enrollment period for the optional life referenced on the flyer linked below. We have crossed out references on the flyer that are out of date and hope to replace the material linked soon.

You can download a flyer about the benefit at the following link:

Optional Life Insurance Open Enrollment Flyer

For a modest monthly premium, OSA members and retirees can enroll in a legal services plan to assist with non-employment related legal matters, including family law, real estate, elder law, and estate planning. For more information, you can download a plan overview at the link below:

MetLife Legal Plan Overview

To see coverages, find an attorney or get a case number, create an account at legalplans.com. To enroll, contact The Voluntary Insurance Program/Winston Financial at 1-800-347-6071, Monday through Friday from 8:30am - 5pm ET.

In 1990, OSA did not represent a single retiree. Today, the number has grown to about 3,000. Our retirees have many of the same needs as our active members, but also some special needs. One issue is the tendency, in old age, for our retirees to be living alone. Active members may also have an older parent or other relative living alone.

As we age, two issues arise. Our balance gets much worse with age and we are more likely to fall. At the same time, our bones get more fragile and each fall becomes more likely to cause harm.

Modern technology has responded to this problem with remote devices that can enable us to call for help if we do fall, but the costs are not insignificant. Still, the reality of a single person, falling and unable to summon help is very scary and very real.

Since OSA now has both many retirees and also many elderly parents and relatives of active members in the situation of single living circumstances, Mike Schady, a Welfare Fund Trustee, researched the available products on the market. He then worked with Michael Goodwin, an outside consultant to OSA, to approach the chosen company and to get OSA a discount since we are a "group."

The company is called "LifeStation" and we are offering several variations on their medical alert service to members and retirees. To obtain more information on the options and costs, download the information at the following links. Then, if you are interested, contact LifeStation at 800-951-0634 with your questions and to arrange for service.

Since 2018, the union has been making available free subscriptions to the civil service newspaper, The Chief to interested dues-paying active members and, more recently, retirees. The Chief, appearing weekly in print and online at www.thechiefleader.com, is a key resource for public sector workers.

In 2021, OSA honored the Prial family, who published the newspaper for more than a century. The Prials have now turned over the reigns of the newspaper to a new publisher. With the new leadership has come a number of changes - a revamped design and a promise of expanded coverage of union and labor issues, but also some behind-scenes changes. Going forward, subscribers will have access to the digital version of The Chief on their website, as well as a facsimile version of the newspaper, quite similar to the present E-Chief. This involves a new vendor for them and migration of subscriptions to a new platform.

As a result, we suspended the old subscriptions as of May 1, 2022.

We ask that those of you who wish to continue (or start) to receive access to the newspaper complete the linked subscripton form that appears here:

Chief Subscription Form