Texas Senate were graded on our Pro-Worker Scorecard by floor votes, committee votes, and bill sponsorships related to labor and Texas workers

2025 National Elections and participation by retirees

APWU Retirees should be very proud.  
Retirees vote was approximately 27.4 %.
Our new president Jonathan Smith received approximately 37.3 % of his votes from retirees.
Retiree Members Attending the AFL-CIO Labor Day Breakfast. Getting to know and talking Labor with the Candidates in the upcoming election 2025
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Dallas Area Local 
​Retiree Chapter
President


Retirees Local Union Address
2010 Postal Way
Dallas, TX 75212
Phone:
(214) 631-3162

Secretary Treasurer
Barbara Burkhalter
 As the Older Americans Act Turns 60, Future of Programs Seniors Rely On Are Under Siege
Last week marked the 60th anniversary of the Older Americans Act (OAA). On July 14, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed it into law. Now, at a time when 10,000 Americans turn 65 each day, the Administration has proposed a budget that significantly slashes programs funded by the Act.

 The OAA funds services for seniors such as family caregiver support, transportation assistance, meal delivery, and protections against elder abuse. A major reason for the law’s success is that it gives states flexibility in deciding where and how to use funds, but as a result many Americans aren’t even aware that the program they rely on is funded by the federal government.
 OAA programs fund thousands of senior centers, Meals on Wheels, transportation to medical appointments, as well as the Medicare State Health Insurance Programs (SHIPs), Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs), the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), and the National Caregiver Family Support Program (NFCSP).

Workers who administer OAA programs were already reeling from layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in April that slashed 40 percent of staff from the Administration for Community Living (ACL), which coordinates federal aging and disability policy. The Administration’s FY2026 budget will further compound their struggle to provide services by cutting $5 million from elder rights programs and completely eliminating funding for health promotion, disease prevention, and Aging and Disability Resource Centers.

 “The Older Americans Act has served seniors well for sixty years,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance. “Lawmakers should be working to safeguard these programs with more funding instead of trying to cut them. As we fight to protect Social Security, we are also ready to mobilize our members to fight back against this proposal and defend the OAA.”

A Study Debunks Pharmaceutical Industry’s Claims That Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Would Harm R&DA new study by Bentley University debunks the pharmaceutical industry’s claims that the Medicare drug price negotiation law would harm innovation and research. Drug research and development (R&D) spending actually increased after it passed despite these assertions, according to the analysis.
 The study evaluated spending at 134 corporations and found that R&D spending surged from $211 billion to more than $247 billion after the law passed in 2022, surpassing record levels.
Other data indicates that equity investments decreased in 2021, but then stabilized and even grew after 2022. Additionally, drug mergers and acquisitions were not negatively impacted, with pharmaceutical corporations engaging in more acquisitions of valuable firms between 2022 and 2025.
 Pharmaceutical lobbyists have used similar rhetoric when defending their monopoly pricing power, most recently when working to pass the so-called ORPHAN Cures Act, which exempts more drugs from Medicare price negotiation and gives drug makers a massive $5 billion windfall. 
 “This research confirms that pharmaceutical corporations exaggerated the potential negative impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act so they could continue to exploit patients and maintain the industry’s drug pricing monopoly,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance. “Since R&D is clearly thriving at these companies, we must make sure they negotiate in good faith, protect Medicare drug price negotiation, and work to expand the number of eligible prescription drugs.”
 
Social Security Administration Struggles to Provide Customer Service Amid Fallout from DOGE Cuts
Months after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) fired thousands of experienced, hardworking Social Security Administration (SSA) workers, the agency is having trouble keeping up with calls to its 1-800 number, according to a report from the Washington Post. SSA pulled about 1,000 field office employees to answer the phones instead of working on claims.
 “Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano seems to think he can make it look like customer service numbers are improving by shifting workers who process claims to answering the phone. But that’s only going to make the length of time to process a claim take longer,” said Joseph Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “Congress clearly needs to pass legislation to force this Administration to keep these offices open and functioning.”
 Fortunately, Rep. John Larson (CT) has introduced a bill (H.R. 1876) that will keep field offices open to ensure that beneficiaries can still get in-person help if they need to. 

Action Needed: Please send a message to your representative demanding that they support the Keeping Our Field Offices Open Act (H.R. 1876).

TPWU Retiree Conference Corpus Christi, Tx 2025

Texas Alliance For Retired Americans
Rally in Rowlett to get voters for Averie Bishop Texas House District 112 and voters awareness.
Disability Retirement
Basics of Disability Retirement: 
 This information is for your review. It is not meant to advise or suggest any action on your part. Retirement is a personal decision that everyone must consider for themselves after reviewing their personal needs.

  Federal Employees and Civil Service Employees struggling to work with a serious illness or injury, may be entitled to Disability Benefits under the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) or the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), respectively. A Disability Retirement Annuity provides these benefits in addition to coverage you receive through your Basic Benefits Plan.

 Key Facts about Disability Retirement
* Federal disability retirement is a benefit accorded to all Federal and Postal Employees under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), For CSRS employees,  you must have a minimum of five (5) years of service. For FERS employees, you must have a minimum of 18 months of service.
* The Office of Personnel Management  (OPM), a Federal Agency, approves or disapproves all disability retirement applications.
The difference between Social Security Disability and Disability Retirement:
* The main difference is that the criteria to obtain Social Security Disability is much higher -- that of  "total disability". To obtain disability retirement under CSRS or FERS, you must merely be disabled for performing one or more of the essential elements of your particular kind of job.
Texas Retires Chapter Officers:
President: Lewis Fulbright (Dallas)
Vice-President: Laura Provo (Houston)
Secretary-Treasurer: Billie Glazebrook (Houston)
Legislative Director: Brenda White (Beaumont)
Organizational Director: Bobby J. Alexander (Dallas)
Human Relations/Chaplin: Jose Lopez (Dallas)
Trustees: Barbara Burkhalter (Dallas), Tony Callaus (San Antonio), Earl Stewart (Ft. Worth), 
​Editor: Bobby Edwards