AFT Retiree members are fighting for their rights

Members of the AFT's Retiree division from across the country gathered in Washington, D.C., during the AFT's convention to discuss their program and policy council's four goals: increasing retiree activism, improving retiree data, fighting federal policies harming retirees and boosting retiree activism in the upcoming general election.

The meeting featured a panel with four guests, each of whom spoke on how they were working toward one of the PPC's goals.

Elizabeth Jones, president of the retiree chapter of the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers, spoke about how she and her local union lobbied against a state bill that would have replaced her and several other retired teachers who sit on the state's teacher retirement board with state appointees. The bill, if passed, would've minimized Ohio educators' voices in conversations related to pensions.

David Quolke, the former president of the Cleveland Teachers Union, said he was working to create a playbook of step-by-step ideas on how AFT affiliates can properly collect data on retirees. The playbook was created in response to a survey he conducted that revealed several challenges in tracking retiree members.

"Data gives you the numbers, but clean data really gives you the power to organize," Quolke said.

Roger Boudreau, president of the Rhode Island AFT Retirees Local 8037R, spoke about his fight against the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, two federal provisions that disproportionately affected retired public service workers by slashing or eliminating their Social Security benefits. Boudreau worked with AFT leaders and members, and congressional lawmakers, to get the Social Security Fairness Act, a bill that ended the WEP and GPO, passed.

Ken Ulric, president of the Long Island Retiree Delegates Council talked about how he led get-out-the-vote strategies ahead of the November 2024 election. Ulric said he organized a "retiree army" of nearly 300 people to make phone calls to voters, urging them to cast a ballot. During the last presidential election, Ulric said his group made 47,000 phone calls.

Explaining why retiree activists are needed, he said "Stuff needs to be maintained, but stuff needs to be changed, and you either accept it and keep your mouth shut, or you open your mouth and you do what's necessary to do the right thing."

At the end of the meeting, Marcia Reid from the AFT's political department spoke about the importance of voting in the 2026 midterm election. She invited retirees to participate in the AFT's Democracy Defenders program to protect the vote and help mobilize 200,000 voters for the November elections.

[Alvin Buyinza/Photo credit: Pam Wolfe]