ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Gov. Kathy Hochul made a verbal agreement Tuesday to meet with St. Clare’s pensioners, according to Sen. Jim Tedisco’s office.

Tedisco said he asked the governor to meet with the pensioners as they greeted each other at the State of the State address. Tedisco said Hochul said she would “certainly” meet with the pensioners.

More than 1,000 former health care workers lost their pensions in 2018. The Albany Catholic Diocese is now facing multiple lawsuits claiming it failed to contribute money to the pension fund. A judge recently ruled the St. Clare’s pensioner lawsuit against the Albany Diocese should merge with the Attorney General’s lawsuit filed in May.

In 2019, AARP Foundation attorneys took on a case against the Diocese on behalf of the former St. Clare’s hospital employees. The Attorney General’s lawsuit alleges the Albany Diocese failed to contribute to the pension plans. The Diocese pointed to the St. Clare’s Corporation as being responsible for the pension fund and asserted that they never owned or managed it.