Alliance members have joined the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and other labor allies to hold dozens of “Save Social Security” events to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the earned benefits program.
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On Tuesday, more than 100 people attended a Social Security anniversary town hall co-hosted by the Arizona Alliance and Honest Arizona. Sen. Mark Kelly (AZ) and former SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley spoke at the event.
Senator Kelly discussed the negative impacts of DOGE cuts on the Social Security Administration and beneficiaries, saying “this administration has fired a lot of people that administer Social Security, so it’s hard for people to receive their benefits. Our wait times are up. Offices are being closed. Staffing is cut drastically, and this is for an agency that was very efficient.”
“The agency has never experienced six months like these last six months, with more people pushed out the door in an agency that was already at a 50-year low in staffing and – because of baby boomers of my generation, I know you’re all much younger than me – customers grown to an all-time high,” O’Malley added. “With so many cuts in such a short period of time, including a reduction of their IT staff by 40 percent, we are probably headed towards a benefit interruption of some type at some point.”
Alliance members are also scheduling rallies and presenting “Retiree Hero” and “Retiree Zero” awards to highlight legislators’ pro-retiree scores in our annual Congressional Voting Record. Texas Alliance members presented Rep. Mark Veasey (TX) with a “Retiree Hero” Award after holding a Social Security anniversary rally in Dallas on Wednesday. Yesterday, the Wisconsin Alliance held an anniversary rally in front of the SSA office in Wasau, and John “JD” Doran, 2nd Vice President of the New Mexico Alliance and AFSCME retiree, spoke at a Social Security Awareness press conference held by Rep. Melanie Stansbury (NM).
“Our Alliance activists are speaking out about the need to protect and strengthen Social Security,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance. “At a time when SSA is still reeling from the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) cuts and prices for essential items like groceries are rising, it’s more important than ever to defend earned benefits. We urge everyone to attend an event next week.”
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