Social Security Advocates Rally in Cleveland

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Social Security Advocates Rally in Kansas City

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AFGE Local 3937 Participates in SSA Day of Action

AFGE Local 3937 joined nearly 100 other AFGE locals in the SSA Council’s day of action. Led by Legislative Coordinator Andrea Wassner, the local held its informational picket outside of the SSA offices in Caldwell, Idaho.

Workers/Seniors/Consumers Rally at Social Security Offices to Protest Budget Cuts

Union Releases Analysis of Sequester Impact on Agency Services

Today the American Federation of Government Employees, its National Council of Social Security Field Operations Locals (NCSSFOL) and the Social Security Works Coalition released a new study detailing the impact on Social Security Administration (SSA)  staffing and services of the federal sequestration plan.  To highlight the study and bring attention to potential budget cuts, the groups are holding rallies at over one hundred Social Security offices around the country.

“If sequestration is allowed to go into effect”, said AFGE Council President Witold Skwiercznski, “applicants and beneficiaries will have more difficulty getting answers to their questions and confidence in the Social Security system’s ability to function effectively will erode.  Lawmakers need to wake up and know that further cuts at SSA cannot be sustained”.

SSA expects to lose an additional 2,000 employees in FY 2013, which means the agency will lose a total of more than 9,000 federal and state employees from FY 2011 through FY 2013.  SSA will have approximately the same number of employees in FY 2013 as it did in FY 2007, even though workloads have increased dramatically with retirement and survivor claims up 30 percent, and disability claims up 25 percent.

The study looked at staffing levels and eleven specific production measures – indications of quality and efficiency – as a basis for determining the impact of sequestration.    According to the results, all of the measures used would show degraded performance under a sequester.  “Whether it’s staffing levels which would be cut by almost 4,000 or the length of time it takes to approve a disability application, which would increase by six days, this plan is an attack on Social Security”, said Nancy Altman, co-chair of the Social Security Works Coalition.

The study presents one scenario for the way in which SSA will attempt to reduce services in order to comply with the required reduction.    In addition to the impacts described in the study, SSA has already decided to reduce field office hours by 3.5 on Wednesdays and 30 minutes on all other days of the week; approximately 41 field offices have been closed over the past two years and more closings are expected and/or planned for the future.    Finally, the study does not provide an estimate of potential staff furloughs as it has no empirical data upon which to base an estimate.

“We are holding these rallies on a Wednesday afternoon to remind people that if they need help from SSA on a Wednesday afternoon, they will be out of luck.   Employees want to work, people need the help, but the agency will be closing its doors at noon, regardless”.

Despite spending less than one percent per year to administer the Old Age and Survivfors Program and despite the fact the funds come out of the Social Security Trust Fund, the budget for SSA has been virtually flat since 2010.   “We are being starved of resources needed to operate the program, and worse, it is for no good or justifiable reason”, concluded Skwiercznski.

Social Security Advocates to Hold Protests at SSA Offices Across the Country on Wednesday, Dec. 5th

Coalition Group Says “Don’t throw Americans Social Security over the Fiscal Cliff”

WHAT: Informational pickets at more than 100 Social Security offices around the country

WHEN: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, December 5, 2012

WHERE: Events will be held at SSA offices around the country including:

Alaska, Alabama, California, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin

Main national event:  Baltimore, MD  300 North Green Street near Lexington Market

WHO: American Federation of Government Employees Social Security employees

Social Security Works and numerous labor unions and other coalition groups

Thousands of Social Security employees at more than 100 Social Security offices across the country and representatives from a 200-plus member organization coalition are taking to the streets on Wednesday, December 5, in what the coalition is calling an effort to “save Social Security and Medicare” from extinction.

“Cutting Social Security’s budget or making modifications to Medicare and Medicaid should not be part of a grand bargain to reduce the deficit. These cuts will only punish Americans who count on Social Security and Medicare by adding to backlogs and limiting assistance to the American public, especially the poor, our seniors, the disabled and families that have lost a parent or spouse,” said Witold Skwierczynski, president of AFGE’s National Council of Social Security Field Operations Locals (NCSSFOL).

A recent study by the National Council of Social Security Field Operations Locals (NCSSFOL) on the potential impact of sequestration determined that if mandated, sequestration would require the Social Security Administration (SSA) to reduce its budget by 5.5 percent. As a result of those cuts, SSA would have to institute an agency-wide hiring freeze with the exception of the hearings operations. This would result in a loss of more than 3,500 SSA and DDS (Disability Determination Service) State employees. More than 300 contact stations would have to be closed, eliminating in-person services in many rural and remote sites. SSA would also have to indefinitely suspend mailing out Social Security statements thus eliminating an important link between young workers and the benefits they will receive when they retire. (For more information on the study and a full list of coalition partners go to www.preserveyoursocialsecurity.org)

Visit www.strengthensocialsecurity.org for more information about efforts to strengthen social security.

Cuts That Run Deep

Hundreds of thousands of individuals are waiting to receive their social security benefits yet budget cuts have forced hundreds of Social Security offices to close. Don’t let Congress destroy your social security benefits. Watch the video below and call your representative at 1-888-907-5171.

Hands Off Social Security!

From WREG Memphis: “Government Employees Protest Shut Down of SSA Office”

November 19, 2012
by Elise Preston

(Memphis) About a dozen government union workers holding signs pleading with the federal government to keep the east Memphis Social Security office open, lined Players Club Parkway Monday. The parking lot is full, but the doors are expected to close December 28th.

“The agency stated they could save 300,000 dollars a year. With all the budget cuts, they needed to shut the office down,” said American Federation of Government Employees local president, Peter Harris. According to Harris, the office serves 75,000 people and shutting it down would cause a lot of hardship for those folks. “That’s going to create a lot of wait times, a lot of poor service for taxpayers. People who have paid into social security all their life, are going to have to go elsewhere,” said Harris.

Seventy-three year-old Maryam Rostebet is on Medicare and uses the office. Her son Saeed Nia has to come with her, “They normally do not talk on the phone, unless they can talk to the person. Not knowing the language, she has a hard time. That`s why we come here, because I can translate.” Nia calls the looming close a disaster, “ I would have to take off from my work, so commuting is difficult if its farther.”

We called the Social Security Office to speak with someone about the shut down,  but haven’t received a call back.

Harris believes the administration foolishly used funds on things that didn’t impact people and now those in need, will suffer, “It’s a lot of angst and uncertainty, the matter in which this was held. There was no public meeting, this was just a quick 2 month decision.”

Three offices will remain open in Memphis. Once is located in Midtown at 1330 Monroe. Another location is in Walnut Grove at 225 N. Humphreys. The address to the Raleigh location is 3602 Austin Peay.

Click here to read the original story and view the video.

AFGE Joins Social Security Advocacy Groups in Requesting Adequate Funding for SSA in FY 2014

The American Federation of Government Employees joined other Social Security advocacy groups and organizations in requesting adequate funding be dedicated to SSA operations in the president’s fiscal year 2014 budget. In a letter to Office of Management and Budget(OMB) Acting Director Jeffrey Zients, coalition groups  have expressed the need for SSA to be properly funded in order to administer complex programs, meet the agency’s ever-increasing workloads,  and increase staffing and resources.

To read the letter in its entirety please click the graphic below.

Social Security Union Expresses Concerns Over SSA Office Hour Reductions

The AFGE Social Security Council  expressed concerns today about plans by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to reduce the number of  hours at field offices open to the public. According to the agency’s announcement, as of November 19, 2012, offices that now close at 3:30 pm will close at 3:00.  Offices will close at noon on Wednesdays beginning on January 2, 2013.

“This decision is a deliberate attempt by Commissioner Astrue to deny Social Security beneficiaries and the public access to critical information they need to successfully navigate the System” said Council President Witold Skwierczynski. “46 Social Security Offices have been closed over the past 21 months, field office staff have been cut, and over 300 contact station around the country have closed. The pattern is clear, SSA is saying to the public, ‘we are getting out of the service business, you’re on your own’.

Under Commissioner Astrue, the Agency has pursued an aggressive agenda of moving all applications, benefit inquiries and other questions onto the internet. “The problem is that they are moving so quickly, they are leaving thousands of people behind. These are people who were denied benefits or received lower benefits that they were eligible for because they did not have access to a SSA claims representative who could guide them through the claims process. The internet is an important tool for SSA but it should not be used as a vehicle to deny Americans the benefits to which they are entitled” said Skwierczynski.  Many claimants are unable to navigate complex retirement and disability applications on the Internet and require face to face service to properly complete their applications.  Reduced service hours will force the public to fend for themselves on the Internet.  Union surveys of employees who review Internet claims indicate that those who file on the Internet often make errors that can cost permanent loss of thousands of dollars of benefits.

The Union has urged the Agency to seek alternatives to cuts in the field office structure including eliminating a bloated management structure that includes unnecessary layers of management and 42 all management offices that cost millions in rent and perform no direct service for the American public.  Reducing office hours while keeping unnecessary offices for high graded managers who do not take or review claims is a sign of misplaced government priorities said Skwierczynski.

“Finally, we have heard recently that SSA plans to spend $55 million to build a fence around the headquarters building.   Apparently even when the nation is overwhelmed with debt, SSA can find money when it wants to”  Skwiercznski concluded.

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The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 625,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia. For the latest AFGE news and information, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.