Gail Moran, a retired federal employee, remembers having to expedite her move to New Orleans at the end of 1995, the last time the U.S. government shut down. Moran said she rushed to New Orleans, but when she arrived at her new post, she wasn’t allowed to work as a manager at the National Labor Relations Board.
“We weren’t able to do our job,” Moran said. “Contrary to public belief, we want to work.”
Moran was one of the speakers at a rally Wednesday at the Social Security Administration building to protest the government shutdown. The rally was sponsored by the President Barack Obama’s Chicago-based organization for Action Illinois and the Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans.
Moran said the rally was held to bring attention to the large scope of the government shutdown.
“Eight hundred thousand employees shouldn’t have to pay for a tantrum irrational Republicans in Washington are throwing,” Moran said.
The organizations sponsoring the rally spread the word through email and social media.
But, some of the participants said they didn’t know why exactly they were there. One woman asked if she was there to support Obamacare, the Affordable Health Care Act that went into effect on Oct. 1, the first day of the shutdown.
The shutdown is the result of a political battle between members of Congress. Republicans are holding up the government’s new fiscal spending budget to protest the new health care act. Democrats have accused them of holding the budget hostage for the healthcare law that Congress passed and was held as constitutional by the Supreme Court.
As a result of the impasse, many federal services have been suspended.
Beatrice Lumpkin, a member of Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees, said she has yet to receive her monthly social security check. Without her benefits, her income will be cut in half.
“I haven’t paid my rent,” Lumpkin said. “You can say I’m scared, but I’m mad and angry because this is so unnecessary.”
Lumpkin said during the last government shutdown it wasn’t a major scare because her husband was still alive.
Last year approximately 159,485 individuals in Cook County received benefits from The United States Social Security Administration, according to their 2012 end of year report. The ages of these individuals range from under 18 to over 65 with the large majority of recipients being between 18- to 64-years-old.
Even though Sarah Farley, 63 and a recent retiree, has a working husband, her social security check is still a necessary part of her household income.
“I looked up the salary of Congress,” said Farley. “It’s $174,000. Do you think anyone here makes $174,000?”
Rochelle Gray, 71, a retired public aid and human services employee, has been relying on her social security check since she retired in 2003. For the last 10 years Gray said has used her check as a main source of income.
“It’s half my income,” Gray said, adding that without her social security benefits, she would not be able to pay rent.
Even though the government shutdown is not completely closing the SSA, it is having to cut back on non-essential staff. Due to this cut in staffing, individuals will not be able to replace lost cards and parents won’t be able to request cards for their new babies. And decreased staff means offices aren’t able to provide any form of customer service.
When residents of the Chicago region, which encompasses the midwestern states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin, call into the SSA building in Chicago they get the following message: “During the government shutdown, local social security offices, except card centers, are open for a limited number of services.”
If they further attempt to reach someone directly via an extension, they get a message telling them that during the shutdown, SSA staff will not be available to answer inquiries.
The three main aspects to social security benefits are retirement, disability and survivor benefits.
Retirement benefits are acquired over a lifetime as you pay into social security through your employer. You receive a certain amount of credits, and once you reach the age of retirement you are eligible to receive benefits.
Disability benefits are given to individuals who have a medically diagnosed condition that will prevent them from working at least one year or is ultimately going to end with their death. However, unlike some programs, social security does not give benefits for partial or short-term disabled people. Lastly, survivor benefits are given to the spouse and children of workers who die.
Further information on social security benefits can be found at the SSA website.
The Organization for Action Illinois is a nonprofit working to support President Obama and the national agenda Americans voted for in 2012. The Illinois chapter is a grassroot level of the program assisting with issues at the state and local level such as gun violence and immigration.
Alliance for Retired Americans is a nationwide organization with approximately 4 million members and the Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans the local chapter. Its primary focus is to mobilize senior citizens and community groups into a national grassroots movement that advocates for a progressive political agenda.
IARA has been instrumental in delivering a petition to congress with 2.1 million signatures blocking the privatization of Social Security.
Jessica Wenck and Ke’yanna Johnson contributed to this story.
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