United States Senate passed the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82)

Brothers and Sisters,

The IAFF is proud to announce that today, the United States Senate passed the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82) – bipartisan legislation to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). This day has been over 40 years in the making. 

This is an enormous victory for the millions of Americans whose retirement benefits have been unfairly slashed each month. Now, fire fighters, emergency medical workers, and other public servants will receive the full Social Security benefits they’ve earned and paid into.

Nobody believed we could pass this bill. We were told it would cost too much, take too much time and effort, and that the House and Senate would never put it up for a vote. Some of our own IAFF affiliates even said the WEP/GPO repeal was dead.

Our cause was righteous, and we refused to take no for an answer. Your IAFF brought the fight to Capitol Hill, and at a time when little gets accomplished in Washington, we worked with politicians from both sides of the aisle to secure our members the dignified retirement they earned. When it was time to put up or shut up, the Senate passed the legislation overwhelmingly.

We couldn’t have done it without you.

IAFF members sent over 50,000 emails to Members of Congress through our online Advocacy Center, read our news stories more than 139,500 times, shared dozens of IAFF social media posts, and attended rallies in D.C. and in your own states.

Some of you also made your voices heard through FIREPAC, the IAFF’s political fund.

FIREPAC is funded by individual contributions – separate from union dues – which gives us a seat at the table in the political arena. Money is the lifeblood of politics. Currently, 19,000 of the 352,000 IAFF members contribute to FIREPAC. Without FIREPAC, the Social Security Fairness Act would not have passed. I encourage you to invest in our political efforts and make a voluntary contribution to FIREPAC today.

Repealing the WEP and GPO proves that our retirees are part of the IAFF’s mission. They should be allowed to be members of our union.

At every stage of your career, this IAFF has your back. The push to repeal the WEP/GPO is just one more example of the IAFF’s commitment to securing what’s right and fair for our members. I’ve never been prouder to serve as your General President.

Be You. Be Strong. Be Fire Fighters.

Sincerely,

Edward A. Kelly
General President