Geo T. Johnson
Executive Director

Your Retirement Security Is Under Attack

I don't know about you, but I’m about ready to march on that man in the White House. President Bush and his Republican allies in Congress want to privatize Social Security, which would destroy the safety net that keeps millions of retirees, people with disabilities and survivors of workers who die young out of poverty.

This hits close to home because Black folks and Latinos count on Social Security more than pensions or stock investments to make ends meet in their golden years. According to one estimate, 65% of older African American women would be living in poverty without their Social Security benefits.

Replacing Social Security’s guaranteed benefits with risky private accounts is the centerpiece of Bush’s attack on the retirement security of working families. When you consider that two-thirds of retirees count on Social Security for most their retirement income, that’s a helluva gamble with your future and mine.

Let me make it plain for you: Bush’s plan would cut a retiree’s benefits by 40 % -- even if that person did not choose a private account. Now, I know a lot of you are counting on that Social Security check each month whenever you retire as well as, perhaps, your pension from the city. Think how much harder it would be if your Social Security check was 40% smaller. Could you hold onto your house? Pay for your medications? Take vacations? Treat your grandchildren once in awhile?

For now, at least, it looks like the majority of the public isn’t feeling Bush’s radical plan for Social Security. According to a recent poll conducted by the widely-respected American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), 75% of African Americans oppose thechange to private accounts if it would result in cuts to guaranteed benefits, and 70% of balck folks oppose passing along to our children the $4.9 trillion tab for creating private accounts.

But we must do more than throw bad words at Bush’s plan; we must work together to defeat it. We can start pulling our weight by mobilizing our Council 20 retirees. Through our new Council 20 Retirees Committee, active members who have retired can still help our union on this issue and others. They have valuable experience, relationships in their communities and the time to volunteer.

And you can be sure our active retirees will have the resources that they need to become one of AFSCME’s best retiree committees in the nation. I suspect Council 20’s retirees will school us “young folks” on how to handle that Bushman in the White House. No doubt, I do believe in “gray power.” So if that’s you, then get involved with Council 20’s Retirees Committee. To all of our members, I say:

Stop the privatization of Social Security!