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September 8, 2006
Monday, September 11, 2006
Retirees Gather in Washington, Vow Aggressive Fall Campaign to Educate, Mobilize Seniors
George Kourpias, Ruben Burks Re-Elected to Lead Alliance
FOR IMMEDIATE
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Contact: Michael Buckley 202-330-1913
September 8,
2005 Amy
Buffenbarger 301-275-3356
Washington D.C. - As the November 7 elections draw near, nearly 600 retiree activists from across the country gathered in Washington this week to map out an aggressive grassroots campaign to educate and mobilize seniors around threats to Social Security and Medicare.
At their national convention, members of the Alliance for Retired Americans heard from leading policy makers and political strategists, attended workshops on building grassroots power in their local communities, and visited Capitol Hill to share their concerns with their elected officials.
During their visit to Capitol Hill, Alliance members delivered donuts to congressional offices to protest the massive gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage known as the donut hole. The bags of donuts were emblazoned with a sticker saying “Rx Donut Hole No Treat for Seniors” and were an effort to call attention to the seven million seniors this year to lose access to affordable prescription drugs. While in the “donut hole,” seniors pay both full price for their prescriptions, as well as their full monthly premiums.
Alliance members re-elected George Kourpias as their President, and Ruben Burks as Secretary-Treasurer. Both will serve four-year terms. Kourpias is the former International President of the International Association of Machinists, and Burks had previously served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the United Auto Workers union.
Noting seniors’ mounting frustration with many of their elected officials, Kourpias said, “America’s seniors say enough is enough. To us, November 7 is not just Election Day, it’s Judgment Day.”
“We want to protect Social Security from being destroyed through privatization. And we want to make Medicare work for the people it’s supposed to work for – America’s seniors – instead of the CEOs of the big drug and insurance companies,” Burks said.
Delegates to the convention adopted policy resolutions in support of universal health coverage; strengthening the Supplemental Security Income program serving those with low incomes and with disabilities; and greater use of early voting, voting by mail, and the use of absentee ballots.
For more information, please visit www.retiredamericans.org