Public Employee Press

POLITICAL ACTION 2012
PEOPLE power saved Social Security

By ALFREDO ALVARADO

In 2005, the most successful government program in American history, Social Security, was in danger of death by privatization.

Wall Street banksters and their Republican allies in the White House and Congress launched a massive raid on the Social Security retirement fund, aiming to put its billions of dollars into risky individual retirement accounts to their profits.

President George W. Bush had the investment bankers on his side, but the American people had AFSCME leading a fightback fueled by the generous contributions of union members nationwide to PEOPLE, AFSCME's voluntary fundraising arm.

The financial industry pledged to spend up to $70 million to support privatization. The 1.6 million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, DC 37's national union, mobilized members and the public nationwide to save Social Security from Bush's privatization scheme.

In New York City, DC 37 members played an instrumental role in the fight as they joined thousands of unionists who demonstrated at noon on March 31 in a "Day of Action" in 70 cities throughout the nation. On April 26, Executive Director Lillian Roberts led a contingent of hundreds of DC 37 members into a huge Capitol Hill rally against privatization.

Union members and PEOPLE dollars beat back the financial giants of Wall Street, and labor's mounting pressure forced the Bush administration to abandon the privatization plan.

"PEOPLE power saved Social Security," said Roberts of the union's aggressive campaign. "And that's what we'll need in November."

How to join PEOPLE

Joining PEOPLE is easy. Union members just sign a card authorizing your employer to deduct the voluntary contribution from your paycheck. How much to contribute is your decision. DC 37 urges members to become PEOPLE MVPs by contributing $4 every paycheck or $100 a year. DC 37 members can pick up PEOPLE cards at the Political Action Dept. in Room 408 at union headquarters, 125 Barclay St., Monday through Friday during regular working hours. You can also authorize your credit card issuer or bank to make regular monthly contributions. Contributions to PEOPLE are not deductible for federal income tax purposes.

In addition to derailing Bush's Social Security privatization plan in 2005, the funds union members contribute to PEOPLE have helped pass legislation important to all working people, such as President Bill Clinton's 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act. FMLA guarantees employees leave for medical and family reasons, including pregnancy and adoption, and requires that health benefits continue during the leave.

Members' PEOPLE contributions also helped President Barack Obama pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which saved millions of jobs in schools, public service and the private sector, and the Affordable Health Care Act, which prohibits insurance companies from imposing lifetime dollar limits on essential coverage and, starting in 2014, prevents them from refusing to cover people for preexisting conditions or disabilities.

"All of those laws had our support, because they help our membership and they support the things that our union believes in, like health care coverage for everyone and public education," said Roberts. "But once we win, we have to keep on fighting to protect our benefits, just like we did with Social Security, and that's why we have to keep PEOPLE strong and well-funded."