ARE YOU TOO OLD TO FIGHT????

by Paul J. Mendrick, President DMAL Retiree Chapter                        

Workers have been taking it on the chin for the past 40 years.  Wages are stagnant and profits are up.  CEO pay is 367 times greater than worker pay.  Whereas 40 years ago, it was only 35 times greater.  With the inception of the Wal-Mart business model, we find our great nation in a race to the bottom.  If that were not enough, add in the so called Trade Treaties – NAFTA – CAFTA and you will soon understand that workers in the USA have been beat on to the point that there isn’t much more to give.

So the question becomes; who will be the next group of people to be attacked?  The answer is simple: THE SENIORS – THE CURRENT AND FUTURE RETIREES of this country.

Who will fight for the retirees?  Unions have their hands full just treading water – trying to keep the status quo.  Are they equipped to put the retiree’s needs on the same priority as the needs of their current workers? Retirees cannot take the chance that we will become irrelevant.  If we chose to become lesser in our society – shame on us.

There are many effective senior organizations that work diligently on insuring that the rights and dignity of senior citizens are maintained. Some of those organizations are:  AARP, NARFE and CARA.  Our union – the APWU has an outstanding National Retiree Organization but like every National Organization, it can only be strong if there are local organizations supporting their efforts.  For that reason, we have begun the process of forming our own chapter   We have had preliminary meetings and have adopted a governing document.  We recognize that together we are stronger and that when we have a common goal, we can make our unified voices heard.

We are in the building stages - there is a lot of work to be done, so it will take a while to get organized.  We are committed to forming an active, vibrant organization that will fight to insure that seniors and retirees aren’t the next group to be attacked.

The Denver Metro APWU Retiree’s Chapter will have meetings, we will develop a working relationship with APWU Locals and other retiree organizations, to make our voice  stronger and louder to insure that retirees are not the next to be attacked.

If you’re looking for a good fight contact Paul J. Mendrick at pauljmendrick@msn.com.  We will be looking forward to building a strong retiree’s organization that includes advocacy, education and socialization.

PJM/jd

opeiu #30

afl-cio