Retired Americans are looking forward to having their benefits be protected, thanks to the election of Joe Biden and the Democratic wins in the Georgia U.S. Senate runoff elections.
Alliance for Retired Americans Executive Director Rich Fiesta joined America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss what the Alliance is looking forward to in the coming years and what they did to help elect the two Democratic U.S. Senate candidates in Georgia.
How President-elect Biden can help retired Americans
Fiesta said that retired Americans let out a collective sigh of relief with the election of Joe Biden. After four years of attacks on Social Security and other benefits, they have a leader who will fight for them.
He said the first order of business when Biden takes over on Jan. 20, is to ensure a vaccine is available to the most vulnerable Americans and continue rolling it out to the highest age groups. Although this has begun at the state level, many states were ill-prepared, or failed to craft a plan all together.
Next, Fiesta hopes President-elect Biden will work to help working Americans. He said the best way to do this is to develop an Occupational Safety and Health Administration temporary standard. Hopefully, this will protect essential workers and allow others to safely return to work.
How the ARA helped Democrats in Georgia
Fiesta said ARA members from all over the country pitched in and helped elect the two Democratic U.S. Senate candidates.
They worked with rited Georgia politicians to put together speeches and other programming. Additionally, ARA members throughout the country organized phone banks, where they called ARA members in Georgia and explained why it was important to vote for the Democratic candidates.