Social Security will mark its 90th anniversary—but instead of celebrating, labor leaders and activists say the program faces the gravest threats in its history.
Speaking during a virtual town hall on Aug. 7, AFT President Randi Weingarten warned that the Trump administration is pursuing policies aimed at dismantling Social Security. “They’re not going to tell people that they don’t want it,” she said. “We have to fight in every which way we can, particularly those of us who are not yet on Social Security, … for people to have it and to keep it … for our children.
Weingarten tied the looming anniversary to another recent milestone—the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act—warning that efforts to erase historical achievements go hand in hand with attacks on economic security. She urged members to join Social Security days of action planned for Aug. 14 and Aug. 16 to push back against cuts and privatization.
Jessica LaPoint, a member of the American Federation of Government Employees and president of AFGE Council 220, which represents Social Security Administration workers, delivered a stark insider’s view. “We’re worried right now as workers, and with the rapid pace that [Social Security] is being dismantled from within, that we’re not even going to make it to midterms, which is why we need to be out there, loud, right now,” she said.
She noted that the current SSA commissioner is avoiding meetings with labor, centralizing operations away from community-based field offices, and accelerating under-staffing. LaPoint warned that contracting out SSA work to private companies could drive administrative costs from less than 1 percent to as high as 20 percent, reducing service quality while handing public money to private industry. “Everything is on fire, and the workers are suffering,” she said, adding that staff rights, flexibility and job protections are being stripped away almost daily.
