Alliance for Retired Americans Blog

Ohioans Push for Repeal of Senate Bill 5

Yesterday, hundreds of retirees and workers alike cheered as the referendum on Ohio’s controversial collective bargaining law was officially certified for the November ballot, with tens of thousands of signatures to spare. Over 1.3 million total signatures were turned in last month to put the referendum on the November ballot to overturn Senate Bill 5's drastic actions. 

In the morning, the Ohio Alliance's Norm Wernet sat on the Ohio AFL-CIO Community Allies Roundtable yesterday morning with AFL President Trumka and a wide variety of community organizations including: NAACP, Union Veterans, African American Greek Fraternal Organizations, Community for Change Ohio, A Phillip Randolph, pastors, and others. All parties present were there to talk about how and why they are  fighting for economic justice through the ballot campaign to repeal Senate Bill 5, which would strip public employees of most of their collective bargaining rights.

Wernet said:

It is a simple math, better wages and working conditions means a chance at retirement. Lower wages and benefits and unsafe working conditions mean less security and less of a chance at retirement or a life after work plays out.

Bargaining in the workplace is an American tradition part of building out our democracy. Retired trade union workers know democracy at work has to be defended for all who work. Retired workers public and private fought for those basic rights at work and SB5 moves the clock backwards.

Back in the 60’s and 70’s many public worker wages were so low that you could work 30 - 40 years and still be in poverty in old age and qualify for Aid for the Aged. I know because I took their applications in the welfare department. ... Public workers lived in or near poverty after we got too old or disabled to work.

This spring Ohio Alliance for Retired American leaders organized members and joined the repeal drive without being asked or prodded because: An injury to one is an injury to all.

If you are a steelworker, an auto worker, a chemical worker, a telephone worker, or even a public worker, we have all seen retirement security eroded by mis-management, bankruptcies, stock market manipulation and bad business deals gone wrong. Bargaining needs to be strengthened for all workers not diluted.

The bargaining law did not cause the state’s fiscal issues. The lack of work did. The People’s veto of SB5 is essential to protecting all who want to live into a life after a life of work.

The Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans, its leaders and members, are ready to engage this campaign for basic rights at work and a reasonable standard of living.

 

That evening, a town hall meeting in Columbus drew a large crowd who heard from AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka and Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga about next steps with the referendum to repeal the anti-collective bargaining Senate Bill 5. Alliance President Barbara Easterling joined the town hall via tele-conference call which included an additional 70,000 on the line. The town hall event kicked off the campaign to defeat the statewide assault on civil rights at the polls in November.  Easterling said, “Our Ohio chapter has over 270,000 members and nearly 100 groups, and we will do everything we can between now and November.” 

Photos: Norm Wernet from town hall in Columbus. Top: 3 Akron retirees; Bottom: Retired Steelworkers from Columbus

People's World ~ It's Our Turn: Campaign to repeal Senate Bill 5 takes off

 

Ohio Alliance stages "Don't Make Us Work 'Til We Die" demonstration

On Thursday, the Ohio Alliance participated in a “Don’t Make Us Work ‘Til We Die” demonstration and news conference targeted at Representatives Patrick Tiberi and Steve Stivers as they return to Congress after voting for the Ryan Budget plan. Demonstrators ranged from under one-year-old to their late sixties. HCAN partner Ohio Communities United, and Progress Ohio helped to bring Ohioans together for this cause.

OARA President David Friesner said, “We are here today to challenge Congressmen Pat Tiberi and Steve Stivers for voting to make older Americans work until we die. The House budget plan proposes harmful actions to America’s productive workers now and in the future. We think that is wrong.

“Without Medicare Most Older Ohioans would Have No Health Insurance. The House budget plan, supported by Congressmen Tiberi and Stivers, does away with traditional Medicare and instead gives retirees and seniors vouchers for a fixed-dollar amount to buy health coverage on their own. Who can afford an individual private plan now with pre-existing conditions? Our children and grandchildren certainly will not have the savings to cover the ever-rising premiums the House budget proposes.”

Bruce Bostick, USW retiree and OARA activist pointed out the irony involved in Tiberi and Stivers’ votes to decimate Medicare while preserving tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and largest multinational corporations. He said, “This week marks the 10th anniversary of the passage of the Bush Tax Cuts, which have added $2.6 trillion to the public debt. Rather than eliminating these tax cuts, which mostly went to people making more than $645,000 a year the Republican budget aims to achieve $4.5 trillion in savings by cutting services and programs that primarily benefit the middle class. Of that amount, $4.2 trillion, is used to fund more tax cuts to the richest individuals and companies rather than actual deficit reduction.”

Some questions raised for Congressman Tiberi on the Medicare and Medicaid related to the Ryan Budget passed by the House:

•  Medicare’s administrative costs are a mere 3%, while private insurance companies spend between 15% and 20% on administrative costs.  In light of this, would you support turning Medicare over to private insurance companies?

 

•  Under the House-passed Ryan Budget, Medicare would slowly be privatized and the average senior would be left with annual out-of-pocket costs of $20,700 by 2030 to cover their health insurance.   Do you support ending Medicare as we know it and replacing it with a privatized voucher program that shifts costs on to the backs of seniors?

 

•  Medicaid pays for 62% of all long-term care services in the U.S., including nursing home and in-home care, for millions of elderly and people with diabilities.  The House-passed Ryan Budget, which block grants Medicaid, would force Medicaid programs to drop coverage for millions of vulnerable seniors and dramatically increase costs for those still covered.   Would you support a proposal that block grants Medicaid knowing that it would leave so many seniors out in the cold?

 

I am a Public Service Worker: Former BWC Investigator and Retiree Jean Fightmaster

Re-posted from Ohio AFL-CIO.

Jean Fightmaster has been retired for over four years but remembers the days before collective bargaining in Ohio.  Terrible working conditions and issues with safety were common.  Sexism, racism and favoritism in the workplace were the order of the day.  “I remember when multiple female co-workers, who had more experience and seniority, were passed up for promotions, and instead the jobs were given to less experienced men,” said Fightmaster.

Jean Fightmaster – a retiree from OCSEA/AFSCME Local 11 – started her public service career in 1978 at Franklin County Human Services in the clerical department then moved her way up the ladder – while raising three kids – to become an investigator for the state, tracking welfare fraud and food stamp eligibility.  Fightmaster moved over the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) in 1988, where she served as an investigator until she retired in 2006.  At the BWC, she investigated fraud in workers’ compensation claims but also worked with families, affected by a death on the job, to assist with their claims.  “Our job was to be impartial in order to protect the interests of Ohio taxpayers, but also to protect the families affected by these devastating losses,” said Fightmaster.  

Fightmaster is concerned that Senate Bill 5 will lower the bar for all workers in the state.  “It is a slippery slope,” said Fightmaster.  “I remember the horrible things co-workers and friends went through before the collective bargaining law was passed.  The law has stopped a lot of those abuses and helped to improve conditions, not only for firefighters, sanitation workers, case managers, and other public service workers, but for workers in the private sector as well.  That is why this law is so dangerous – because it puts all workers at risk.”

As a retiree, Fightmaster is also concerned about the effect the bill will have on retirement security for workers and the hit local economies will take from the loss of retiree spending.  “This bill is an attempt to destroy unions entirely and will take away workers’ voices on issues like retirement, which is an important part of all local economies in Ohio,” said Fightmaster.  “Like my husband and I, Ohio retirees tend to stay in Ohio and spend their money in their communities.  If this bill passes, though, it could put at risk billions of dollars that keep Ohio small businesses running.

  - Photo by Dave Harding/Progress Ohio

2011 State of the Union Watch Parties

Post by Asiah Gayfield, student at Butler University Indianapolis, IN

 Social Security was on the minds of Alliance Members all over the country as they tuned to President Obama’s State of the Union address on January 25, 2011. Members gathered in living rooms, community centers, and restaurants to hear what the President would say about the state of the country, the growing national deficit, and if Social Security would play a part in helping to pay down that deficit (which Social Security does not and cannot by law contribute to).

Seniors citizens were no doubt relieved, and some where even moved to cheer, when the President declared “To put us on solid ground, we should also find a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations.  We must do it…without slashing benefits for future generations; and without subjecting Americans’ guaranteed retirement  income to the whims of the stock market.”

The watch parties were not only a way for members to socialize as they watched the important event, but were also incubators of great discussions. One group of energized seniors in Gig Harbor, Washington spent three hours at their State of the Union gathering both watching and discussing the President’s speech, including their ideas about Social Security and health care reform. A group of senior activists in Toledo, Ohio made up their own criteria to grade the President on before his speech and stayed after to discuss what grade the President should receive. And another group in Tucson, Arizona were so inspired by the Presidents speech they decided  they were going to follow up with their Member of Congress.   

When asked about their opinions of the State of the Union address, party participants had great things to say. A retiree from Arizona exclaimed, “It was really positive – he’s on our side!” Another retiree from Washington summed up the whole speech by saying, “Obama hit that out of the park!” Many retirees even ventured out on a limb and tried their hand at new technologies by using the popular websites Youtube and Twitter to share their feelings about the State of the Union and the Republican responses. The Arizona Alliance, for example, tweeted on their Twitter account http://twitter.com/azretiredams while the Florida Alliance hosted a member teleconference call throughout the State of the Union Address and a press conference call afterwards. FLARA then posted video responses from members and part of the press conference call on YouTube here.

The success of the State of the Union watch parties underscores the value of holding such events because they are a mobilization tool to help organize seniors to discuss current events and respond to them as they happen, in real time.

Response from Doug Hart, Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans President

Slideshow (watch parties & events across the country featuring AZ, CA, CT, IA, IN, NH, OH, TX & WA)

Photos: above at right ~ top to bottom: Connecticut, New Hampsire and Indiana Alliance parties

Spotlight on Dan Fonte - Alliance activist in Canton, Ohio

Dan Fonte is an Ohio Alliance activist and leader in Canton, Ohio.

Seven years ago, he retired as the business manager of the United Association of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Local 94 after 24 years working there. Currently, he serves as the director of the Harry Mayfield Senior Center in South Canton.

On January 10th, at Walsh University in North Canton, Fonte confronted newly elected Congressman Jim Renacci (R) on repealing health reform. It’s well worth a watch here:

 

Fonte’s apt question prompted Cleveland’s Plain Dealer to construct a “PolitiFact” check on Renacci’s statement that there are “a half a trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare that are going to go into place as a result of health care reform.” The “truthometer” generously rated Renacci’s statement as “barely true.”

Photos: Top ~ Dan Fonte speaks at a Social Security forum in Canton; Bottom ~ Dan Fonte MC's a candidate forum in Ohio.

On why he stands up for the health reform law, Fonte says, “I don’t look at just me and my case; I look at the broad spectrum and if it’s gonna help people.”

Fonte said, “When my parents immigrated to this country,” he said, “it was because of a union job that my father could afford to raise a family and have health care."

Pension security and senior issues are important to Fonte. Fonte says that he stands up to Representatives like Jim Renacci on issues such as health care and Social Security out of respect for future generations, stating, “Not everybody’s gonna get pulled up by their bootstraps.” He holds Representatives like Jim Renacci accountable on such issues for his children and grandchildren and “for working people who’ve struggled so long all their lives.” 

“When you’re a doer, you’re a doer,” Fonte said. The Alliance is glad that Dan Fonte is a doer.

Social Security and the State of the Union

Post by Sam Burnett of Toledo, Ohio (Alliance for Retired Americans Regional Board member)

Once again the seniors and retired folks are under attack.  My major concern is for the way we respect the seniors and Social Security.  Social Security has been a fantastic program for folk that are now seniors and put part of their earned income into the social security trust fund.  They were entitled and expected what they put in and the interest from that would be there for them at retirement and it worked well for 75 years.

The Social Security program has not caused one cent of deficit in the U.S. Government program.  So why hurt us?  Now we have a 2% suspension of the FICA tax.  This will hurt the trust fund and hurt the future seniors and older Americans because if you put in less you get less out of the system.  The way to make up the difference and pay it is wrong and not in the proper way the system was designed.   

I would ask that the seniors all watch the state of the union speech to see if and how Social Security will be further attacked.  The best way to hold the senior citizens in the proper esteem is to know what our President Obama will say about this very important topic.

Before the speech, let’s contact our National Elected Official to share our concerns.

Let’s share our concern with the White House today.

Do it today before the speech and tell them keep hands off our successful program.

[Photos from 2011 State of the Union watch party hosted by Sam Burnett]

Happy Birthday Social Security!

Social Security celebrates its 75th birthday today and Alliance activists and Americans nationwide continue celebratory parties and events.

The week of August 1st, Alliance members held several events in Arizona, Iowa, Ohio and South Carolina in advance of the birthday.

Last week, over 50 Alliance events took place in communities across the states, and festivities continue next week.

Social Security is a true American success story, one that has kept generations of seniors out of poverty, and allowed millions to retire with dignity and peace of mind. Because this landmark anniversary is tainted by the deficit commission's calls to cut Social Security benefits and raise the retirement age, Alliance activists are busier than ever staging events to celebrate and educate across the country. Check out very personal accounts from Alliance members about how Social Security has impacted their lives here.

Festivities in Cedar Rapids, Iowa recently helped spread the word that Social Security puts $7.2 billion into the Iowa economy by releases on Social Security matters coinciding with birthday celebrations. The Social Security Works for Iowa report adds, "Without Social Security, half (50.8) percent of Iowa women aged 65 or older would have incomes below the poverty line." U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA) joined the celebration in Cedar Rapids and added his personal story about Social Security survivor benefits. The Congressman told attendees that without Social Security survivor benefits, he would not have made it through college. Other state reports here.

Yesterday, seniors in Omaha, Nebraska gathered to join the month-long, national commemoration of Social Security and the people it serves. ‘With more than 50 million people receiving Social Security benefits today, the program helps virtually every American family,” Donna M. McGrath, Secretary of the Nebraska Alliance said. “Beyond the candles and the cake, we have a more serious message – Social Security must be remain strong for current and future retirees.”

Members nationwide speak out on the issue. Here is Don Thacker from South Carolina:

Jo Price from Florida also shares her thoughts on Social Security:

Check out some news clips including interviews with Alliance members here:

Wisconsin

• 'Social Security celebrates 75 years' - Wisconsin Radio Network
  Billy Feitlinger is Executive Director of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans. “We feel very strongly, if it is not the greatest program that the federal government has done, it’s clearly one of the most successful programs. And we feel very strongly right now that it’s under attack.
• Seniors celebrate the 75th anniversary of social security - WEAU Channel 13 Eau Claire
  Social security provides benefits to more than one million Wisconsinites. Besides sharing a cake, speakers discussed the importance of social security and the adjustments needed to have it for future generations.

North Carolina

• Etheridge visits Louisburg Senior Center to celebrate Social Securit's 75th anniversary - The Franklin Times
  With a 75-year-old as the guest of honor, the Louisburg Senior Center was the appropriate place for a birthday party.

Connecticut

• 75 years of Social Security celebrated (video) - The New Haven Register
  NEW HAVEN — A 75th birthday party was held Wednesday for the nation’s Social Security Act, and guests, including U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, wished for many, many more.

California

• Senior Group Plans SF Social Security Rally - KPIX CBS Channel 5 San Francisco
  ... several organizations in San Francisco are warning against suggestions by some in Washington, D.C. to cut Social Security benefits or raise the retirement age in order to fix the federal government's deficit woes.

Alliance leaders speak out:

• 'A federal plan that works' - Toledo Blade letter from Sam Burnett
  Social Security has been the lifeblood of people age 65 and older. Without monthly Social Security payments, nearly half of Americans over 65 would live in poverty.
  Help us celebrate this successful government program, which is run by fine people who care about senior citizens.

• Alliance President Barbara Easterling's column on Huffington Post commemorates Social Security's 75th birthday.

Happy birthday Social Security... and many more!

Ohio Alliance Stands with Delphi Workers

Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans activists from from Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Youngstown and Warren appeared today at a U.S. House subcommittee field hearing in Canfield, Ohio. They were there to support Delphi retirees (over 300 present) fighting for fair treatment, and to denounce the pervasive weakening of retirement income security.
 
Congressman Charlie Wilson (OH-CD 6) arranged a hearing of the House Financial Service Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation at Canfield High School Auditorium to review the challenges faced by Delphi retirees as a result of the corporate collapse in the auto industry and the effects of the fiscal crisis on retirees created by the implosion of the financial industry.
 
Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans State Director Norm Wernet testified:

“The Delphi workers fighting for full pension or at least “top-off” of the reduced pension payout from PBGC are asking for some measure of economic justice for the compensation they have earned through a life of work.

“To allow those who managed this company into bankruptcy to walk away with huge sums of money that guarantee their livelihood at the expense of the retirees is not just an injustice but also a structural weakening of the local and state economies. The recent study [http://bit.ly/bcQRnQ] by Youngstown State University of the loss of pension by the salaried retirees alone will cost the area $58 million a year in economic losses.”
 

Norm Wernet and the Ohio Alliance encouraged Congress to act immediately in 4 ways:
 
1. To support mechanisms that would make all Delphi retirees whole in the same manner as the “top-offs” in GM.
2. To pass H.R. 4677 and its companion S. 3033, The Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act of 2010, that would bring a measure of equity to workers caught in the financial web of corporate gamesmanship or fiscal failure in bankruptcy
3. To strengthening Social Security by:
    Raising the payroll tax cap on Social Security taxes for the wealthiest Americans.
    Freezing the estate tax at 2009 levels and apply those revenues to Social Security.
    Putting people back to work in good-paying, American jobs.
4. To enacting (S. 2927), and (H.R. 4191)….., this modest tax of 0.25 percent on Wall Street speculation would raise over $75 billion a year.

Public invited to Delphi hearing - Tribune Chronicle (Warren, Ohio) [July 13, 2010]

Hearing to Focus on Delphi Retirees - The Business Journal (Youngstown, Ohio) [July 13, 2010]

Congressional hearing held on Delphi pension issues - People's World [July 19, 2010]

 

Retirees Pleased with Tele-Town Hall and Health Law Clarification

This week's teletown hall event with President Obama, organized to clarify the new health reform law for seniors, was well-received by many seniors and Alliance members nation-wide.
 
The Alliance's Judy Cato attended the event in Wheaton, Maryland; and the Alliance hosted over 25 watch-and-call-in parties in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvani and South Carolina.

Photos. [Top left: Obama at tele-town hall in Wheaton MD courtesy National Council on Aging (NCOA) Bottom left: DesMoines, Iowa event.]

Barbara Franklin, President of the Illinois Alliance, was the first phone call accepted. She asked President Obama about whether or not changes in Medicare Advantage overpayments would result in a reduction in care for seniors.  Obama replied that this was one of the more common myths about health reform (in addition to death panel concepts), and explained what the new health law does to sustain Medicare.

Video.

Elmer Blankenship said in response to Obama's tele-town hall,

As a retired Auto Worker and a member of The Indiana Alliance for Retired Americans, I was one of the seniors here in Indianapolis that watched President Obama’s June 8 town hall forum on CSPAN to learn more about how the new health reform law will benefit seniors and retirees.

The new law will help retirees better afford to see a doctor and fill their prescriptions.  Seniors who fall into the “doughnut hole” coverage gap in Medicare Part D will, starting this week, receive a $250 rebate check from the government. That may not sound like much, but for many Seniors, it can be the difference to getting needed medicine.

Seniors are starting to benefit with free annual check-ups in Medicare, ending co-payment for preventative screenings, allowing children up to age 26 to be covered on their parents policy and in many other ways. I thank President Obama for his efforts to end the myths and scare tactics around health reform and giving America’s seniors the facts.

Ken Sagar and Midge Slater reported from Iowa that the consensus from seniors gathered at the tele-town hall sites was that "President Obama should do more town hall meetings to inform Americans of the content of the new health care program and to dispel the falsehoods being spread by tea party and other malcontents.  Many people indicated that they learned quite a bit from the discussion."

You're Invited to Ask the President Health Care Questions on Tuesday!

At a special event on Tuesday, June 8, Alliance members are invited to ask the President health care questions by telephone!

A few members of the Alliance will be attending the event - which will include information on benefits for seniors under the new health care law - live, in Wheaton, Maryland. Other members are invited to ask the President questions by phone.

This one-time, national "tele-town hall" can also be seen and heard on television by watching C-SPAN, or on-line via web streaming at www.healthreform.gov.

If you live in one of the following communities and would like to join a local watch party, please contact us at:

ARAORGANIZING@retiredamericans.org

Iowa - Dubuque, Des Moines, Waterloo
Missouri - St. Louis
New Hampshire - Nashua, Manchester
New Mexico - Albuquerque
North Carolina - Raleigh
Ohio - Ashtabula
South Carolina - Columbia

In addition, several of our allied unions are sponsoring events. Currently, we are aware of an
AFT-sponsored event in Latham, NY and an event in Las Vegas sponsored by IUPAT. A number of other unions will be sponsoring events, and a more complete list will be available later today.

The live event is scheduled to begin at 11:15 AM on Tuesday and will last one hour.

The President will also be joined by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius. Topics to be covered will include the $250 checks for seniors caught in the Medicare prescription drug "doughnut hole" coverage gap, and efforts to combat scams associated with those checks.

The Hill: Obama holding healthcare town hall next week

New York Times, The Caucus blog: Obama Will Tout Medicare Rebates