AFGE Council 220 and Council 215 joined Social Security Works and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in calling on Congress to fully fund Social Security and solve its solvency issue so all of us can retire with dignity and receive the earned benefits we have paid into during our work life.
During AFGE’s Legislative Conference earlier this month, Jessica LaPointe, president of AFGE Council 220 representing Social Security field offices employees, and Rich Couture, president of AFGE Council 215 representing SSA Office of Hearing Operations employees, were part of a congressional briefing panel that took place on Capitol Hill and called on Congress to fully fund Socials Security’s customer service.
LaPointe laid out a few alarming facts: Since 2010, the number of beneficiaries has risen by almost 25% while the operating budget was slashed by 17% and the staffing level reduced by 15%. Morale took a nosedive as high attrition has made working conditions unbearable for those who stay. Some SSA workers were so overwhelmed with work stress that they committed suicide.
There are now 4.2 million backlogged items pending at the Payment Centers. Average wait times for disability hearings increased from 11 months in FY 22 to 15 months in FY 23. Today it takes on average 2.5 years to get a hearing decision after initially applying. Average wait times for public calls to be answered on the 800 number have increased from 3 minutes in 2010 to 36 minutes in 2023. Many callers were frustrated and hung up without service.
Last year SSA’s staffing was the lowest in 25 years. Some modest funding from Congress allowed the agency to hire and retain about 3,000 employees last year, but that’s not enough to tackle the backlog that results in severe customer service delays that limit benefit access.
“Lawmakers’ constituents deserve timely service and the workers that administer the program deserve adequate staffing resources and technology to get the job done,” she said.
Rich Couture, president of AFGE Council 215 representing SSA Office of Hearing Operations employees, told congressional staffers that attended the briefing that what AFGE and allies requested would actually help them as he suspected a lot of their constituents have complained about delays in getting SSA services.
“So, the funding situation and the staffing crisis that we’ve found has shifted a lot of work that we do onto you, and that’s not right,” he said. “So, while I would not presume to represent all of you, I am seriously trying to help you out here.”
Couture said AFGE has tried to work with SSA on cost neutral and cost saving measures that wouldn’t impact the bottom line only to be met with resistance or outright hostility.
“Many of the things that we would like to see because our colleagues at other federal agencies have these types of benefits, we hit the wall of ‘we’re broke, we don’t have the money, if we provide better pay or more competitive benefits, that means we’re not going to be able to hire the people that we need to share the load,’ he said. “So we’re not in a position right now to be able to do more with less. We’re frankly in a position to do less with less. And that’s not acceptable to the people we represent because we all joined this agency to serve the American public. And in some cases, this literally kills some of our peers as you heard the statistics about folks who committed suicide.”
Besides LaPointe and Couture, the congressional briefing also featured Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., Social Security Works President Nancy Altman and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ Social Security and Disability Policy Director Kathleen Romig.
The congressional briefing is part of AFGE’s continued push for full funding for SSA. The AFGE Councils are urging locals to continue to engage with and make connections with community partners and union members and co-host events like town halls and rallies to advocate for contacting Congress to request full funding.
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