AFSCME Retirees elected new leadership on Sunday, a slate of officers with extensive experience in organizing retiree chapters, growing union membership and fighting for policies and programs important to former public service workers.
The newly elected officers are Council Chair Jeanne Weaver and Vice Chair Sheila Bennett, who both ran unopposed. Secretary Sue Conard, also unopposed, was reelected.
Weaver is the president of the Retired Public Employees of Pennsylvania Chapter 13 in Pennsylvania. She has a 50-year record of activism with AFSCME.
Bennett is the president of District 1199C Retirees/NUHHCE in Philadelphia and has more than 35 years of experience as a labor negotiator.
Conard was the first president of Wisconsin Retiree Chapter 32 and has been the secretary of the AFSCME Retiree Council since 2018.
AFSCME President Lee Saunders addressed the Retiree Council on Sunday and congratulated members for their growing strength and activism. Retirees have signed up nearly 100,000 members since 2018, with a net growth of 20,000 over that period.
Their enthusiasm was on display at their meeting, held during AFSCME’s 47th International Convention in Chicago.
“Our chapters all across the country are kicking ass,” Saunders said. “They understand retirees have a strong voice … and you understand the importance of growing, of taking on those politicians who want to take your benefits away from you.”
Saunders celebrated several state-level organizing and policy victories for retiree chapters in recent years. He encouraged them to remain engaged at the federal level, where their pensions and health care are on the line.
“They’re coming after us at the federal level and also at the local level, and they’re trying to take away the power we have collectively, Saunders said. That will not happen. You are going to lead the way and continue to lead the way every single day.
David Morris, a member of retiree Chapter 31 in Illinois, said he’s looking forward to reconnecting with union friends and colleagues during Convention week.
“I get to see people I haven’t seen for years, and many of them taught me. Just a lot of great relationships here,” said Morris, who retired in 2024 from his job with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
He was president of AFSCME Local 805 (Council 31) for 28 years before retiring. Becoming a retiree means Morris no longer deals with workplace issues and grievances. He is instead focusing on fighting to protect state and federal programs and policies, such as Social Security and Medicare.
Maurice Garrott is the statewide vice president the Retired Public Employees Council (RPEC) of Washington state. She is a former police officer and 911 dispatcher from Kalama, Wash., and is attending her second AFSCME Convention.
RPEC members have shirts that say “I’m retired, not expired” on the back.
“We can’t let politicians look at us like we’re a burden. We are here, we vote. We remind them, your core voters are retired people,” Garrott said.
Saunders urged the retirees to continue their advocacy in the November midterm elections and help elect candidates who will support public service workers and retirees.
“People don’t want to mess with retirees when they’re organized,” Saunders said. “They know that if a politician doesn’t listen to what members and retirees have to say, next time around they may not be in office. That’s the power that we have. That’s the power you have. Nobody can take that power away from us.”
AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer Elissa McBride is scheduled to address the Retiree Council on Monday.
