Michael McMullen spent years agonizing over the failed retirement plan that jeopardized his golden years.
He wrote numerous postcards and made countless phone calls urging Congress to step in and secure his future. But it wasn’t until he and other Georgians elected Raphael Warnock to the Senate in 2021 that Democrats had the final vote needed to pass legislation stabilizing that plan and other multi-employer pension funds on the brink of collapse.
Warnock saved McMullen’s retirement and that of 1.3 million other Americans — and then cast dozens of other votes that helped steer the nation’s trajectory from danger to progress. Now, Warnock’s re-election in Georgia’s December 6 runoff is crucial to continue the country’s hard-fought path.
“He’s pro-working class, pro-middle class,” summarized McMullen, president of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1703, which represents workers at the Georgia-Pacific paper mill in Cedar Springs, Ga., who already benefit from the pension-savings provisions of the American rescue plan that Warnock pushed over the goal line in March 2021.
McMullen and other union members have become increasingly concerned over the years about their paper industry pension plan, one of about 130 multi-employer pension funds that have been precipitating bankruptcy due to Wall Street recklessness, corporate bankruptcies and other factors beyond workers’ control .
Some of his colleagues have already delayed retirement to build savings in case the fund goes bust, while others worry about a meager retirement choosing between buying groceries or buying recipes.
“They were really concerned about that,” McMullen said, adding that the plan’s impending failure also heralded the demise of shops and restaurants that rely on retirees for business. “It would have been like a factory closure.”
Labor unions and their Democratic allies repeatedly tried to salvage the plans, but the pro-corporate Republicans who controlled the Senate blocked efforts to secure the future many workers and retirees had spent decades building.
Warnock’s 2021 election — winning a seat previously held by a Republican — helped give Democrats the razor-thin Senate majority needed to finally pass the pension bill without the support of a single Republican.
“It took every democratic vote. If they didn’t have that one vote, they couldn’t have cast it,” McMullen said of Warnock, recalling how the anxiety he and others had about their pensions vanished in an instant.
Working with President Joe Biden and the Democrat-led House of Representatives, the new Senate majority passed additional legislation critical to fighting COVID-19 and recovering from the economic crisis created by the previous administration.
Warnock, a pastor with working-class roots, was a key supporter of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which modernizes the nation, creates jobs for the middle class and revitalizes American manufacturing.
In October, for example, Solvay Specialty Polymers announced that IIJA support will allow it to build an electric vehicle battery parts plant in Augusta, Georgia, creating dozens of manufacturing jobs and the state’s mainstay in the clean economy get extended.
Warnock passionately defended the right to vote amid Republican efforts to disenfranchise millions of working-class voters across the country, warning that people were being “pushed out of their democracy”.
He led the Senate passage of the CHIPS and Science Act to build critical supply chains and improve national security.
And he’s not only sponsored, he’s also enacted legislation capping insulin costs for Medicare beneficiaries to $35 a month and capping total drug spending for seniors at $2,000 a year.
“I know seniors who pay $400 to $500 a month for insulin. Having that capped at $35 is a lifesaver,” noted Darryl Ford, president of USW Local 254, which represents hundreds of American Red Cross workers in Georgia and other states.
Ford, who has championed Warnock and spoken to him during Georgia AFL-CIO conference calls, respects the senator’s deep connection to everyday Georgians and his lifelong commitment to serving others. “‘I’m not in love with politics. I’m in love with change,'” said Ford, repeating one of Warnock’s favorite phrases by heart.
“He’s authentic. When I see him, I can see my father. i can see me It motivates you to fight, to want to make things right,” Ford said, citing Warnock’s continued support for legislation that makes it easier for workers to form unions and take control of their own destiny.
Voters elected Warnock in 2021 to serve out the unexpired term of a predecessor. He’s earned a full term since then, Ford said, noting that in less than two years Warnock — a freshman lawmaker with no prior government experience — has amassed a remarkable track record and won praise for reaching across the aisle to bring critical legislation to move forward.
He’s there to work,” added Ford. “He’s not there to do the backdoor deals. I wish we could have more senators like that.”
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Independent Media Institute
This article was created by the Independent Media Institute.