One of SOAR’s Three-Fold Purposes
SOAR has identified its purpose as threefold. Per the SOAR constitution, one of the three reasons for our existence is "to engage in political and legislative action." The USW has given us a number of ways to do this. One of the ways SOAR members can be involved is by participating in an online membership survey currently accessible on the uswvoices.org website. Information on how to access this survey is available in the beginning of this newsletter. This survey asks you to identify priorities regarding important issues facing working and retired Americans today.
As you know, the USW endorses candidates, not parties. Therefore, candidates must commit to supporting the core issues deemed important by our members. In April, the USW will begin holding town hall meetings to hear from our members so they can weigh in on the matters we consider most important to us. I encourage SOAR members to participate in these meetings when scheduled in your area.
In May, the SOAR Executive Board will meet in Washington, D.C., and then participate in the USW Rapid Response, Legislative and Policy Conference.
One of the tools SOAR representatives will be armed with when meeting with our elected representatives to discuss the issues our union has identified as a priority is their voting record compiled by the Alliance for Retired Americans, whose mission is "to protect and expand retirement security for all Americans."
The Alliance publishes all U.S. senators’ and representatives’ annual and lifetime voting records on key retirement security issues. Learn more about the 2023 Congressional Voting Record on page 11 of this newsletter.
SOAR Chapters will soon be asked to get involved in helping to elect candidates whose values best align with ours as a union and who support our position on issues determined to be important by our members. SOAR members can volunteer by attending rallies, making phone calls, helping to write postcards to our members, and writing letters to the editor to ensure our members understand who stands with us on our issues and who does not.
The link for signing up to volunteer to write postcards is already active on the uswvoices.org website.
Whether taking the survey, participating in a town hall meeting, or writing postcards, SOAR members have plenty of opportunities to engage in political and legislative action.
-Bill Pienta, SOAR President