AFSCME Retirees: Paying the Union Difference Forward

AFSCME Retirees gather outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. to show their solidarity.

By Pete Levine · Thursday, May 28, 2026

Tags: Our Stories Retirees Retirement Security

AFSCME Retirees know that stepping away from their jobs doesn't mean stepping away from their commitment to public service. As trusted voices in their communities, AFSCME’s nearly 200,000 retirees continue to mobilize, agitate and organize as tenaciously as they did during their working years.

AFSCME Retirees know that the rights working families earned have been fought for – not given – and that spirit drives them today.

You’ll find them on the strike line, in statehouses, and in Washington, D.C., where they’re standing up for their union family and the retirement security of generations that follow.

For decades, the AFSCME retiree army has been battling to defend our union freedoms from billionaires and anti-worker, anti-retiree lawmakers. Because no one better understands the difference that belonging to a union can make in working peoples’ lives.

“My union has been everything to me”

John Tilden, a member of AFSCME Illinois Retiree Chapter 31, spent nearly three decades as a psychologist for the Illinois Department of Human Services.

Treating developmentally disabled patients provided him with a rewarding career. But he says that without his union, his retirement would have been “a nightmare.”

“My union has been everything to me,” he says.

Now, as an AFSCME retiree, he's using his union power to fight for a system where all Americans can enjoy a secure retirement after a lifetime of hard work.

AFSCME Retirees take on the affordability crisis

The affordability crisis is impacting everything from housing to healthcare to childcare and more. And it’s threatening the retirement security of millions of Americans.

Nearly 40% of Americans aren’t confident they will have enough money to last throughout their retirement.
30% of Americans believe they simply won’t be able to retire at all.
And half of Americans who are at or near retirement age have no retirement savings.

That is why AFSCME Retirees are fighting for a retirement system that keeps up with skyrocketing costs – a battle with many fronts.

One of those fronts involves grassroots efforts to win cost-of-living increases (COLAs) for people with pensions.

In testimonies before pension committees, lobby days, letter writing campaigns, online initiatives and more, AFSCME Retirees are giving voice to the day-to-day impact of skyrocketing costs.

And their efforts are paying off.

Recently, in Maryland and Washington, Retirees’ doggedness has brought big wins: new laws that ensure pension systems include much-needed cost-of-living adjustments.

And in other states like Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia, AFSCME Retirees are mobilizing and speaking out for COLA increases so that the retirements they earned during their working years will continue to sustain them.

AFSCME Retirees know that when they make their voices heard, they win results – results that make a difference for all retired Americans.

AFSCME Council 4 Retiree Chapter member Bette Marafino spoke at a White House event to celebrate the passage of The Social Security Fairness Act.

AFSCME Retirees deliver major victory for millions’ retirement security

In the early 1980’s, two laws were enacted that harmed public service workers.

One was called the Government Pension Offset (GPO); the other, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). Together, these laws unfairly denied over two million retired public service workers – AFSCME members, teachers, firefighters, police officers and others – their hard-earned Social Security benefits.

But decades of relentless organizing by AFSCME Retirees and their allies sought to do away with these unjust laws.

They spoke out year after year – holding hearings, signing petitions; sending tens of thousands of letters and emails to lawmakers.

They mobilized politically, electing and partnering with pro-worker lawmakers and other allies.

In 2025, their decades of union advocacy paid off, when President Biden signed into law The Social Security Fairness Act, finally delivering retirement justice to millions of retired public service workers.

AFSCME Retirees stand up for all working people and all retirees.

And they don’t care how big or powerful their foe is. That includes the world’s richest man, Elon Musk.

When Musk and his DOGE minions raided The Social Security Administration, illegally stealing Americans’ sensitive Social Security data while threatening the ability of Social Security to provide services, AFSCME Retirees jumped into action.

They have been the faces and voices behind AFSCME’s legal efforts that have sought to block DOGE’s access to Social Security data and seek accountability for their wrongdoing.

And they have been instrumental in AFSCME’s Get Organized campaign.

If you’re retired and looking to channel your union voice, a great way to do that is by joining AFSCME Retirees. It’s about community, engagement, and building power for working families.

When you join AFSCME Retirees, you will:

✓Make new friends with seasoned union fighters.

✓Mobilize during election seasons for pro-worker, pro-retiree candidates.

✓Make calls, write postcards and knock on doors to educate voters.

✓Attend lobby days with your fellow AFSCME working and retiree members.

✓Stay active while making a difference for working families.

✓Connect with old union friends.