The New York City Alliance for Retired Americans along with a number of other senior organizations coordinated an event with the Occupy Wall Street Movement last Monday the 21st. The event included a solidarity march in which occupiers and seniors marched to Zuccotti Park. Before the march there was a forum held called “Intergenerational Dialogue” Forum where many speakers talked about cuts to Medicare, Social Security, and Medicare and how these cuts would affect the 99%.
A number of labor speakers that talked about how these cuts would affect them and people like them. Many of these speakers are part of the senior movement, including Michael Burgess, who is a policy consultant for New York Statewide Senior Action Council and was the former Director of the New York State Office for the Aging. Natasha Perez also spoke; she is the Regional Field Director for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. Also the Alliance’s very own Nancy True, Director of IBT Local 237 Retirees Division delivered remarks.
This successful demonstration brought a lot of attention to senior issues. These types of demonstrations are necessary to call attention to senior issues such as Medicare and Social Security. Congress needs to know that they cannot simply cut senior programs without a major backlash that they will feel both in the media and the polls.
Seniors are part of the 99%!
Comments