AFSCME President Saunders Defends Social Security's 90th Anniversary

The Facts -

Social Security marks its 90^th anniversary, a milestone for a program that has provided essential support to working families striving towards a secure retirement. However, the program faces significant challenges today, threatening the safety net it offers to millions of seniors, people with disabilities, and their families.

In a statement, AFSCME President Lee Saunders highlighted the increasing threats to Social Security, emphasizing the detrimental actions taken by policymakers in Washington. According to Saunders, crucial regional offices are being closed and the workforce of the Social Security Administration is being reduced, leaving beneficiaries struggling to get assistance and answers to their concerns.

“Social Security has been essential for helping working families achieve the American Dream — keeping the promise of retirement alive for working families while preventing millions of seniors, their survivors, and people with disabilities from falling into poverty. But as we mark Social Security’s 90^th anniversary, that promise is under attack like never before. Anti-worker extremists in Washington are shutting down regional offices, slashing the Social Security Administration’s workforce, and leaving beneficiaries with no easy way to get their questions answered and problems solved. While they keep working people in the dark, they’re exposing millions of peoples’ sensitive Social Security data to unaccountable billionaires and their unvetted cronies, putting our privacy on the line.”

Saunders also criticized the administration's ties with influential Wall Street figures, highlighting attempts to undermine Social Security by labeling it as ineffective and suggesting privatization. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been pointed out as one of those suggesting new accounts that could serve as a “back door” for privatizing the program, which Saunders describes as part of a broader strategy to enrich the wealthy at the expense of retirees' security.

“This is all par for the course for an administration that continues to elevate greedy Wall Street CEOs who smear Social Security as a ‘Ponzi scheme’ and claim retirees wouldn’t miss their benefits if they lost them. All the while, billionaires like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are suggesting they use new Trump accounts as a ‘back door’ for privatizing Social Security. As we honor 90 years of this program, we must call out these dangerous efforts for what they are: A coordinated assault on the freedom of workers to retire with dignity — all to make the rich even richer.”

AFSCME, representing 1.4 million public service workers and retirees, stands firmly against these actions. The union is committed to protecting Social Security and ensuring that workers can retire with dignity and without financial insecurity.

“AFSCME, and the 1.4 million public service workers and retirees who make up our union, won’t stand for it. We’re going to keep fighting to build an economy where people who have worked hard their entire lives can retire securely without fear of how they’re going to afford to live and eat. That’s the promise of Social Security. By standing together, we can make sure we keep it for workers today and the generations to come.”

---
Read More USA Works News