Joelle Fishman accepts Kevin Lynch Award for CT Alliance for Retired Americans

 

Joelle Fishman remarks at CT ARA annual awards luncheon

June 26, 2023 at Central Connecticut State University

Thank you so much, Kevin.

I am so deeply moved and of course greatly honored to be recognized on behalf of Art and myself for our commitment to the CT Alliance for Retired Americans. And congratulations and appreciation Rep Garibay for your work on the Aging Committee at the State Legislature. I'm so happy to be awarded with you.

I clearly remember the day that Kevin Lynch called me and invited the Peoples Center to be the community affiliate to enable CT ARA to qualify for its founding charter. We were all so excited. The certificate issued by the national ARA hangs in the front hallway of the Peoples Center.

And now years later under the leadership of Bette Marafino along with Win Heimer CT ARA is a place where retirees from lots of unions can join together and keep up the fight.

The founders of the Peoples Center in 1937 were immigrant workers who led huge marches that won Social Security and unemployment compensation. They helped organize some of the early unions in New Haven, and pioneered to end racist segregation.

From the moment Social Security was signed into law, the corporate profiteers have been aiming to get their hands on that money – our money from our labor!

Art put his many talents and creativity into that fight among many others. He said bluntly “Social Security is in danger, not because it is running out of money, but because it is running into vultures who want to kill our retirement security so they can feast on the carcass.”

He followed that up by helping organize a youth for social security rally on the New Haven Green with Lisa Bergmann showing the unity of generations in this fight. It was wonderful to hear high school students talk about what Social Security meant to them and their families.

That was in 2005 when George W. Bush had appointed a special commission designed to undermine and privatize Social Security. But Art's statement could have been made today as the MAGA Republican vultures circle.

I'm so proud to be part of ARA in the thick of the fight for the dignity of all to protect and expand Social Security and to eliminate the WEP and GPO (thanks to Mary Elia and Bette for leading that nationally).

This fight can be won if we all stick together. Thank you Recovery for All coalition for organizing that way in this legislative session and beyond. Educators and students and health care workers and immigrant families and racial justice advocates and retirees and the entire labor movement and faith based and community groups Black and Latino and white deciding to stick together.

At our joint ARA and AFSCME retirees meeting in May it was powerful to hear Mairead Painter, CT State Longterm Care Ombudsman say that it was because all the groups working on seniors issues decided to support each others' bills, the whole agenda passed committee led by Rep Gariby. Can you imagine it took all that to require nursing home owners to provide air conditioning in the rooms of people who live there!

The MAGA Republican vultures circling to kill Social Security depend on divide and conquer tactics. They use race baiting, labor hating and red baiting. So we have to be all about unity and solidarity.

During the budget fight when it was said there wasn't money for everything, instead of fighting each other everyone stood together in support of all the needs. Wasn't the beautiful May 17 rally at the capitol powerful? How many were there?

Imagine if that unity sticks, do you think we can elect more working class champions and get rid of the spending cap, tax the rich, enact Medicare for All and meet people's survival needs in the richest state?

Imagine if that unity sticks, do you think we can stop the MAGA Republicans from taking over Congress and the White House and robbing Social Security and all our rights?

I was thinking about what makes ARA so special. It's union power.

Art was part of the original organizing committee of Local 34 at Yale. ( Happy 40^th anniversary!) and then part of YURA under Pat Carta's leadership. We saw so many workers at Yale change their thinking as a result of the union experience. Once they saw that collective action can win better working conditions, pay and benefits, they were in.

I always remember one union sister during the recognition strike, I think her name was June. She told Art the union is fine but I'm not going on any picket line. One day after lots of house visits she showed up and started walking the picket line. This was on Whitney Ave at the driveway where delivery trucks came in. One truck turned to try and cross the line. All of a sudden there she was standing in the middle of the driveway arms spread out blocking the truck, “No you don't,” she said. She went on to become a leader in her department.

That understanding of the power of collective action by the multi racial working class doesn't go away after retirement. Retired union members who remain connected to the labor movement are able to carry the message into the community. ARA and all the union retiree organizations can do that.

We can do that in 2024 and beat the circling vultures before they destroy all our rights and our democracy.

In case you can't tell I grew up in a union household. My mother Edie Fishman is here with us in spirit and she's listening on the phone. Can we give her some love? In their youth, Edie and my father George joined those marches that won Social Security and when they moved to Connecticut 30 years ago they added a lot to our CT ARA chapter.

I grew up in a union household, and a Communist household during the repressive era of the 1950s when McCarthyism aimed to crush unions and every progressive challenge to corporate rule. That means I grew up knowing we were on the side of the workers and not the bosses. I grew up on the union picket line at Campbells Soup in Camden New Jersey where my father worked, I grew up marching as part of the civil rights movement. I knew we were on the side of racial justice and equality and not the KKK.

I learned early on that an injustice to anyone is an injustice to everyone and I've tried to live my life that way as did Art.

Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr. said in his Time to Break the Silence speech “We must see now that the evils of racism, economic exploitation and militarism are all tied together. And you can't get rid of one without getting rid of the other.” He called for “a radical redistribution of political and economic power.” saying “our weapon is our vote.”

2024 is just around the corner. Now is the time to start talking issues with our retiree members, family and friends so we can stop the circling vultures..

Art always had two tables to sit at when we came to ARA events – the Peoples Center and YURA! I know he's at both tables now and at our side in every fight going forward.

I am so moved by receiving the Kevin Lynch Award. I hope it will make our unity and vision stronger so we can win a better world.