There were a lot of seniors in the giant No Kings III events across the country on March 28. The contrast with the last great American protest upsurge during the Vietnam War was evident. Back in those days, nearly all the protesters were young students. It’s a lot different now.
It will come as no surprise that those same young people from the 1960s, now with gray hair and grandchildren in tow, are marching today. They make up a substantial part of today’s protest movement.
Back in the ’60s, not many retirees were organized. The National Council of Senior Citizens was credited by President Lyndon Johnson with having made Medicare and Medicaid possible. But its members were largely from only a few unions, especially the Autoworkers and the Steelworkers.
Eventually, a growing number of unions organized their own retirees. The Autoworkers, Communications Workers, Steelworkers, Teachers, and State, County and Municipal Workers were outstanding. But those union retirees often limited their work to union goals rather than the broader goals capable of uniting all seniors. A good example was the Teamster retirees, who became suddenly active as long as Teamster pensions were threatened.
Today, everybody can organize
It remained for the national labor federation, AFL-CIO, to create an organization dedicated to senior issues of healthcare, pensions, and Social Security. In 2001, they created the Alliance for Retired Americans and began chartering the states of the union.
Unlike the traditional union auxiliaries, the ARA accepted both union and non-union members. Further, no age limit was imposed. Anybody who wants to save and extend the right to retire in America is welcome.
Texas, where I serve as president, was chartered in 2006. I believe I am the only living charter member still alive. In 2011, national ARA hired a part-time organizer named Judy Bryant. She had considerable previous experience organizing school employee retirees. Bryant organized seven active chapters in the major cities of her vast territory.
Each of them participated in the No Kings events, and some of them had a presence in more than one event. Dallas, where Bryant and I live, had representatives handing out material at seven marches and rallies.
Streets and ballots
Retirees are a strong force on the streets, but they’re even more significant in the electoral arena. Consider some simple statistics from the 2024 presidential election: 75% of retirees voted while the youngest category, 18-24, had 47%. The likelihood of voting increases with age.
The spread between young and old is even more obvious when considering voter registration. 80% of retirees are registered, while only 45% of the youngest demographic are. Overall, 73% of eligible American voters were registered for the 2024 elections. Retirees beat everybody!
Presidential elections bring out the most voters, but seniors tend to vote even in local elections and runoffs when most younger voters stay home. As a result, seniors have profound effects on many elections, even though it is largely unmeasured, unsung, and not even realized by many candidates.
In my area, we have local elections on May 2 and runoffs from the primaries on May 26 that will be strongly influenced by the senior vote. Fortunately for Texas, our national ARA had us chartered as a 501c4 organization with the power to endorse and support candidates. I believe we are the only retiree organization in the state that can and does endorse candidates.
Retirees make a big difference that cannot be ignored.
As with all op-eds, the views expressed above are those of the author.
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