Press Release -- June 22, 2007

June 22, 2007 - For Immediate Release
 
Washington, D.C.— At tomorrow’s National Labor College (NLC) commencement, the Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund (Alliance Educational Fund) will award its second annual Bert and Annabel Seidman Prize for Advancing Social Policy to NLC student Christopher J. Valverde, a sheet metal worker from San Jose, California.
 
The Alliance Educational Fund created the prize to honor the Seidmans, whose careers were inspired by a lifelong passion for social justice and worker rights.  Bert served as director of the AFL-CIO's Social Security Department for 33 years. In retirement, he was an expert consultant to the Alliance for Retired Americans and the National Council of Senior Citizens, specializing in Social Security, pensions, housing, and health care.  Annabel, a teacher, social worker and strong advocate for senior citizens and people with mental disabilities, founded the National Nursing Home Information Service and was  director for 25 years. 

"Bert and Annabel Seidman were deeply committed to helping workers and retirees better their lives,” said George J. Kourpias, Alliance Educational Fund President. “They would love this prize paper, because it addresses such a critical, fixable problem that directly affects retirees of both today and tomorrow.”

The prize and $3,000 cash award encourage NLC students interested in advanced aging studies to research and analyze social policies affecting the older population.  The winning entry focused on the failure of union members to vote in the best interests of themselves and their unions in national elections, despite knowledge that doing so could put their healthcare and secure futures at risk.

The research paper surveyed 116 apprentices from the Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local #104 in the San Jose, California area. While 97 percent of those surveyed confirmed the importance of union membership in their lives and more than 80 percent of respondents value union political recommendations, less than 50 percent of participants actually voted in the 2006 midterm election. The study further suggested the importance “get out the vote” campaigns could have on enhancing the political involvement of apprentices.

“Our parents believed strongly that the path to social justice lies through union activism and political involvement,” said sisters Joan Seidman Welsh and Betsy Seidman Garaufis, the finalist judges. “This paper marries these two concepts. Its findings are an important argument to use to achieve victory for working families in next year's election.”

The Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund focuses on growing senior grassroots involvement in public policy issues; educating on public policy issues that affect retirees; researching and developing written materials that address public policy affecting retirees; and working with other not-for-profit organizations on issues that affect retirees.

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Contact: Marcie Kohenak (202) 637-5178 or
mkohenak@retiredamericans.org