Social Security Fairness Act Passes House, Senator Schumer Pledges to Bring Bill to a Vote

On Nov. 12, APWU members were alerted that the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), would be brought to a vote in the House of Representatives. This bill seeks to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), which are two separate provisions of an over 40-year-old Reagan-era Social Security law that unfairly reduces or eliminates hard-earned Social Security benefits for almost three million civil servants, including postal workers, many state employees, and federal annuitants, as well as their survivors. The GPO and WEP unfairly penalize postal and federal Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) retirees despite meeting the requirements for Social Security benefits and paying their fair share into the program.

Responding to the APWU’s call to action, our members mobilized to make calls urging their representatives to vote “yes.”

Helping to push the legislation over the finish line was a coalition of public-sector retirees from the National WEP/GPO Repeal Task Force, including APWU members, who spent the day on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, visiting offices of the bipartisan cosponsors of the bill to thank them for their support for H.R. 82, and to remind them to vote “yes” later that evening. Retirees Department Director Nancy Olumekor took the APWU delegation to Capitol Hill to speak to congressional staffers and leave them with information fliers about the bill.

Finally, in a bipartisan effort on the evening of Nov. 12, the House of Representatives passed the Social Security Fairness Act by an overwhelming vote of 327-75. But the fight for retirees’ justice was not over.

The next challenge was to get Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to move the bill to the Senate floor for a vote. With no commitment from Sen. Schumer to move the bill forward, APWU members mobilized once again. Joining with the coalition, APWU members quickly assembled to support a rally at Capitol Hill to demand action. And senators responded.

On Dec. 11, standing alongside labor leaders and union members in the pouring rain, Sen. Schumer joined the rally outside the Capitol and pledged to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. At the time of publication on Dec. 12, the bill has not yet been put up for a vote.

“This bipartisan effort shows that we can right the wrongs of the past when we stand together as working people,” stated APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “I’m proud of the actions our members took to encourage legislators to move this bill forward.”

“We simply could not have achieved this level of bipartisan support without the continued activism of our members,” said APWU Legislative and Political Director Judy Beard. “Your stories made national headlines and allowed us to put pressure on Congressional leaders to finally correct this decades-long injustice.” ■

Click here to see photos from the Dec. 11 rally.