Join fellow New Yorkers to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Social Security Act! We'll be gathering on Monday August 18 from 3:30 to 6 pm at 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, located at 498 Seventh Avenue (at 36th St.) in midtown Manhattan. We'll be hearing from public officials, issue experts, and local community and labor leaders, and then cap off our gathering with an informal celebration party.

Please be sure to fill out this form right away so that we can arrange for enough seating and refreshments!

There will also be a livestream to watch for those who can't attend in person (RSVP here for that.)

How to invite others to this forum:

• PDF flyer
• Short link: https://bit.ly/SocSec90AnnivForumNYC
• Facebook event

WHY THIS EVENT:

Social Security is one of the most popular and beloved public programs in the US, along with Medicare and Medicaid. Together, they comprise a vital "three-legged stool" that keeps millions of Americans living in dignity and out of poverty, including older people, children and newborns, people living with disabilities, spousal and dependent children survivors of deceased workers, and low-income workers and their families.

President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law on August 14, 1935, and since then it has provided financial security to millions upon millions upon millions of Americans and our families. It has also grown over the years to embody much of our nation's social contract and safety net, including health care programs.

Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are all coming under direct attack by the Trump administration and their congressional allies, particularly by the new federal tax cut law. However, polling consistently shows that the public overwhelmingly wants these programs to be improved and expanded, and not cut back.  So we have work to do together to defend, improve, and expand them in both the immediate moment and the years ahead.

Here are some useful resources:

• Fact Sheet with key messaging points (Protect Our Checks)
• Social media toolkit (Protect Our Checks)
• Social Security FAQ (Economic Policy Institute)
• New York Social Security Enrollments by Congressional District (US Social Security Administration)
• Social Security Expansion Act, S. 770, H.R.1700 (US Senator Bernie Sanders, VT)

Event Partners:

• Brookdale Center on Healthy Aging, Hunter College CUNY
• Health Care for America Now-New York State Network
• Metro New York Health Care for All
• New York Statewide Senior Action Council
• 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East

Event Co-Sponsors [list in formation]:

• American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1760 and Local 3369
• Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled
• Center for Independence of the Disabled New York
• Citizen Action of New York
• Community Healthcare Network
• Cross-Union Retirees Organizing Committee
• Empire State Voices
• 504 Democratic Club
• Guyanes-American Workers United
• Healthcare Education Project
• Housing Works
• Living New Deal
• Long-Term Care Community Coalition
• Medicaid Matters New York
• Medicare Rights Center
• New York State Alliance for Retired Americans
• Physicians for a National Health Program, Metro New York Chapter
• Professional Staff Congress CUNY
• Rise and Resist Health Care Action Group
• Upper West Side MoveOn-Indivisible Action Group

Additional sponsors are welcome -- just fill out this online form.