A Message to Union Retirees

by George J. Kourpias

I joined a union – the Machinists union – in 1952. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

I’ve been fortunate to serve in a number of different positions in labor and government over the years, but there is no title that has ever meant more to me than being called “brother.”

The labor movement built the middle class in this country. We have made great strides toward justice on the job and in our communities. We have so much to be proud of.

But unfortunately, the story hasn’t been that good lately.

Union retirees are seeing what we built begin to crumble. Good jobs sent overseas.
Pensions and health care vanish in the blink of an eye. Big corporations walk away from their commitments to workers and retirees – knowing that the government won’t stand in their way.

As retirees, we worry about what we are leaving behind for our children and grandchildren.

On November 7, we can begin to change this. The entire U.S. House of Representatives, one-third of the United States Senate, and 36 of our governors must go before the voters.

November 7 shouldn’t be just Election Day. It should be Judgment Day.

It was the politicians who got us into a lot of these messes, and now we need some new ones to get us out of them.

Here are two reasons why each and every union retiree should vote on November 7:

First, we need to save Social Security. President Bush and Republicans in Congress say they want to “reform” Social Security next year.

But here’s the problem: their privatization scheme would gamble your Social Security on the whims of the stock market. For you, it would be big risk. For those on Wall Street, it would be big profit.

And second, we need to fix Medicare. Seven million seniors are falling into what is known as the “donut hole” – where they pay full price for their prescriptions, at the same time they pay full monthly premiums. And meanwhile, the big drug companies and insurers keep making record profits from this new Medicare law.

Congress created this Medicare mess, but they refuse to fix it. We need leaders in Washington who will fill in the “donut hole” and force Medicare to negotiate bulk discounts with the drug companies so your prescriptions cost less and we save taxpayer dollars.

I realize I’ve painted a pretty bleak picture of where we are today. But why do I have hope? What do I think we should do?

The answer, my brothers and sisters, is a four-letter word.

VOTE.

On November 7, a retiree’s place is in the voting booth.


George J. Kourpias, a former International President of the International Association of Machinists, is currently serving his second term as President of the Alliance for Retired Americans, an advocacy organization representing over three million retirees from labor and community groups. For more information, visit www.retiredamericans.org or call 1-888-633-4435.