By Ken Rawles
I wish to first thank Business Manager Tom Dalzell, and President Mike Davis and the IBEW Local 1245 Executive Board for allowing me to attend the California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA) convention as the IBEW representative. The convention, held Oct. 12 and 13 at the Oakland Airport Hilton, was the 7th for CARA. The organization has grown every year of its existence.
CARA is playing a large role in representing a combined membership of 900,000 Californians. Its broad-based coalition includes senior centers, tenant associations, retired public employee organizations, trade unions retirees, and a variety of other agencies and associations.
Year in Review
CARA has been busy as ever, with legislative actions around the state, volunteers for fund raising, advocating, letter writing, phone calling, bill analyzing and tracking, testifying, rallying and whatever is needed to get our bills passed or defeat our opponents’ bills.
This year we also piloted a senior-to senior-program to engage and educate seniors on ballot measures facing our state. We made thousands of calls in the June Primary, as well as right now for the November elections.
We celebrated Social Security’s 75th Birthday all around the state with a birthday cake and rally!
We will continue to focus on the President’s Deficit Commission to attempt to stop their recommendations for cuts to the Social Security and Medicare programs.
We had the 3rd annual Wrinkle Run at the state capitol which was not only a fund – raiser , but a time where we visited every office of our state legislators to give them the message to “stop the cuts”, and find new revenues.
CARA Convention
The convention had two full days of activities. We heard from Senator Mark Leno, the author of SB 810, the California Health Security Act.
Art Pulaski, leader of the California Labor Federation, thanked CARA for all its hard work in advocacy for all Californians. Art led a chant with us: “Oh No You Don’t” to warn Meg Whitman we will not submit to the demands of billionaires. We had discussions on protecting Social Security and Medicare.
We had work shops on Strategies for Aging, and Seniors on Social Media (a brief overview of Twitter, My Space, Blogging, etc. as ways to organize and reach others.
We had phone banking going on also that was very successful.
We boarded two buses and went to Laney College to hand out pamphlets, and asked the students to sign our petitions for protecting Social Security for All. We held a short rally and discussed Social Security and Youth. Young people have a stake in this fight. The students were very interested.
We finished the convention with a CARA board meeting.
IBEW Local 1245 retiree Ken Rawles is vice president of the CARA board.