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This page outlines why privatization of Medicare is bad for the Medicare Trust Fund and for all Americans. Stop Privatization of Medicare Watch PSARA Co President Jeff Johnson lay out PSARA’s Plans for getting Medicare out of the Hands of Private Equity by Leveling the Playing Field Resources on preventing privatization of Medicare: PSARA’s Level the playing field resources page Read and Download PSARA’s Primer on Leveling the Playing Field Traditional Medicare was created in 1965 as a public good to provide a national health care system for seniors and the disabled in the United States and has proven to be our most efficient and effective public health care program with administrative costs accounting for only 2-3% of Medicare spending. However over the last 20 years the federal government has created various for-profit privatized health care programs within Medicare including Medicare Part D (prescription drugs), MediGap (Part B) (supplemental plans to cover Medicare’s 20% copays), and Medicare Advantage (Part C) which is permitted to take up to 15% of every Medicare dollar for administration and profits for managing Medicare claims. Additionally, the Trump administration doubled down on privatizing Medicare through the Direct Contracting Pilot, rebranded under the Biden Administration as ACO-REACH, which allows private equity firms and Wall Street companies to take up to 25% or more of every Medicare dollar for administration and profits for managing Medicare claims. Recent reports by the HHS Inspector General, academic researchers, and investigative journalists have uncovered wide-ranging fraudulent practices, confirming that upcoding, delaying medically necessary care, and the denial of claims by insurers and other private businesses managing Medicare claims, together account for defrauding the Medicare Trust Fund and Medicare beneficiaries of many billions of dollars annually. PSARA is working with groups across the nation that recognize privatization of Medicare is unacceptable and are fighting for major changes to fix it. Our campaign to terminate Medicare privatization and to protect and strengthen traditional Medicare is grounded in the following seven goals: 1. Expose and educate PSARA members, policy makers, and the wider public on how Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare Shared Savings plans, and other “innovative” reimbursement plans are undermining traditional Medicare, fleecing the Medicare Trust Fund and taxpayers, and delaying and denying critical care to seniors. 2. Level the playing field by allowing Medicare to offer the same level of benefits to beneficiaries as the Medicare Advantage plans. 3. Require private insurers and companies to pay back to the Medicare Trust Fund, with interest, the money they stole and make restitution to the Medicare beneficiaries to whom they delayed or denied care. 4. Remove fraudulent actors from the Medicare system. 5. The DCE/ACO REACH pilot can and should be terminated immediately. Until then, no further corporate participants should be allowed into the pilot. 6. Allow Medicare beneficiaries to move from Medicare Advantage plans to traditional Medicare during the annual open enrollment periods seamlessly. 7. Support Reps. Pocan and Khanna’s bill, the Save Medicare Act, relabeling Medicare Advantage plans “alternative private health plans” and fining private insurers that use Medicare in plan titles or advertisements. PSARA’s goal is to create a movement around protecting and strengthening traditional Medicare, ending Medicare as a profit center for private enterprise, and building a sound foundation for Medicare for All. We hope you will join us in this fight. More Resources Here

Frieda Takamura

August 2025 Original Medicare Prior Authorization Requirement In the Advocate August 2025: Robby Stern CMS Expands Prior Authorization in Original Medicare Washington One of Six Designated States Robby Stern The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on June 27, “The CMS Launches New Model to Target Wasteful, Inappropriate Services in Original Medicare.” We know from a study by the Medical Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC) that Medicare Advantage (MA) overcharges the Medicare Trust Fund annually at least $80 billion per year. One would think wasteful inappropriate services must exceed that number or why would they be prioritizing expanding prior authorization in Original Medicare? (A PNHP study estimates overcharges are much higher, up to $140 billion annually.) MEDPAC estimates that up to $5.8 billion in Medicare spending in 2022 was spent on services with minimal benefit. Five billion eight hundred thousand is a lot of money, but it is approximately 7 percent of $80 billion overpayments to MA. We don’t know why they chose to focus on the much smaller amount possibly lost to "fraud, waste, and abuse.” Maybe they are trying to level the playing field in the wrong direction. Maybe they secretly want more of us in Medicare Advantage so they plan to add more prior authorizations into Original Medicare. We don’t know their motives, but below are excerpts from what they did say. "The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing a new Innovation Center model aimed at helping ensure people with Original Medicare receive safe, effective, and necessary care. Through the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) Model, CMS will partner with companies specializing in enhanced technologies to test ways to provide an improved and expedited prior authorization process relative to Original Medicare’s existing processes, helping patients and providers avoid unnecessary or inappropriate care and safe- guarding federal taxpayer dollars… “'CMS is committed to crushing fraud, waste, and abuse, and the WISeR Model will help root out waste in Original Medicare,' said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. 'Combining the speed of technology and the experienced clinicians, this new model helps bring Medicare into the 21st century by testing a streamlined prior authorization process, while protecting Medicare beneficiaries from being given unnecessary and often costly procedures…. “'Low-value services, such as those of focus in WISeR, offer patients minimal benefit and, in some cases, can result in physical harm and psychological stress,' said Abe Sutton, Director of the CMS Innovation Center. 'They also increase patient costs, while inflating health care spending.' "The WISeR Model will test a new process on whether enhanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can expedite the prior authorization processes for select items and services that have been identified as particularly vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse, or inappropriate use. These items and services include, but are not limited to, skin and tissue substitutes, electrical nerve stimulator implants, and knee arthroscopy for knee osteo- arthritis. The model excludes inpatient- only services, emergency services, and services that would pose a substantial risk to patients if significantly delayed. "Companies selected to participate in the model will operate in assigned geographic regions and must have clinicians with appropriate expertise to conduct medical reviews and validate coverage determinations. Importantly, while technology will support the review process, final decisions that a request for one of the selected services does not meet Medicare coverage requirements will be made by licensed clinicians, not machines. "Model participants will receive payments based on their ability to reduce unnecessary or non- covered services (inappropriate utilization) and lower spending in Original Medicare. … "The WISeR Model will not change Medicare coverage or payment criteria. Health care coverage for Original Medi- care beneficiaries remains the same, and beneficiaries retain the freedom to seek care from their provider or sup- plier of choice… The WISeR Model does not impact people enrolled in Medicare Advantage." Trying to cut through the bureaucratic writing, what they are saying is CMS is changing Original Medicare coverage(which they deny) by expanding the list of medical treatments recommended by our providers subject to prior authorization beginning in 2026. CMS will contract with private, no doubt for-profit companies that will determine if the recommended treatment is unnecessary or inappropriate and/or constitutes waste, fraud, and abuse. The contractor may utilize AI to make the determination subject to a final decision by a licensed clinician that works for the contractor. These companies are essentially “bounty hunters." They are compensated based on their record of denying care and reducing spending in original Medicare despite the data that shows Original Medicare spends 22% less per patient than Medicare Advantage. Introducing “bounty hunters” into Original Medicare... what could possibly go wrong?! On June 23, HHS Secretary Kennedy and CMS Administrator Oz announced an insurance industry voluntary pledge to fix what they termed the broken prior authorization system in Medicare Advantage and Medicaid. The voluntary agreement with Medicare Advantage and Medicaid insurers addressed time limits for decisions on prior authorization. Standard decisions are to be made within seven days. Urgent medical requests are to be made within 72 hours. The appeals process for denials, if necessary, extends the time before the Medicare/Medicaid beneficiary receives the treatment the provider has recommended. This is a voluntary program for insurers participating in Medicare Advantage. The WISeR Model, which expands prior authorization in Original Medicare, is mandatory in the six designated states. Neither beneficiaries nor providers can opt out. PSARA will launch an effort, with our national allies, to stop WISeR before it starts in 2026. Robby Stern is President of the PSARA Education Fund and serves on the PSARA Executive Board. BACK TO THE ADVOCATE

In the Advocate May 2025: Pam Crone Final Legislative Budget Overview Pam Crone The 2025 Washington legislative session ended on April 27. The information below reflects the final legislative budget. The Governor has until May 20 to sign the budget and exercise his veto authority. The budget does not be- come final until he acts. This overview was prepared before the Governor has taken action. As a reminder, the Governor has line-item veto power, meaning he can eliminate funding but cannot add new spending or shift dollars around. Over the final weeks of the session, the Legislature returned to the drawing board multiple times to draft a budget that included new revenue to navigate a $16 billion deficit projected over the next four years. Why did the Legislature have to return multiple times to the drawing board? The Governor repeatedly and consistently expressed opposition to a wealth tax, as well as concerns about relying too heavily on new revenue to balance the budget. As a result, the final budget includes more, and deeper, cuts. Another major concern is the potential impact of looming federal Medicaid reductions. Although these cuts are largely unpopular – effectively reducing healthcare access for many Americans while further lining the pockets of the wealthy – the Repub- lican-controlled House continues to move closer to a budget proposal that includes them. If these cuts are en- acted, the Governor is expected to call a special legislative session to address the resulting healthcare crisis. Current Budget Snapshot: Final operating budget: $77.8 billion Four-year outlook: $7 billion in total reductions New revenue (2025–2027): $4.3 billion New revenue (2027–2029): $4.4 billion Rainy Day Fund: $2 billion remaining Cash reserves: $225 million Investments in K–12 Education: $750 million for special education services $213 million for materials, supplies, and operating costs $200 million in local effort assistance for low-income school districts Investments in State Workers: Approximately $1 billion to fund and approve collective bargaining agreements for state employees Housing Investments: $605 million to the Housing Trust Fund $117 million in grants to local governments to offset lost document recording fee revenues Maintaining Core Services: $93 million for emergency food assistance organizations $27.9 million for senior nutrition programs $20 million to expand resources for crime victims Pam Crone is a retired lobbyist and Chair of PSARA's Government Relations Committee (GRC). BACK TO THE ADVOCATE

GENIUSes at Work: Crypto Buys the Government, Michael Righi In the Advocate August 2025: Michael Righi GENIUSes at Work: Crypto Buys the Government Michael Righi The Big Beautiful Bill has been voted into law. Now we have the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, passed by the Senate, with the help of 18 Democrats. If this is genius, what are the idiots up to? Other than thinking up ridiculous names, that is. What is a “stablecoin”? It is a type of cryptocurrency. Crypto coins or tokens are privately created assets based on computer blockchain technologies (don’t ask). Boosters want them to be actual money to buy and sell stuff, but they aren’t. They are pure speculation, created out of thin air. Crypto is great for money launderers, illegal arms traders, drug dealers and anyone engaged in fraud or bribery, since it is anonymous, with no traceable bank account. It has no use for anyone with a bank card or a payment app. Yes, those have fees that go to tech firms or bloated banks, but they are a lot more efficient than trading crypto, which takes huge amounts of computer power, and uses outsized amounts of fuel and water. Cryptocurrencies are great for those companies that issue them and rake in fees from trading. Unregulated predatory operators pump up the value of their coins and then sell, leaving smaller purchasers with the losses. Crypto also works well for corrupt politicians like Trump. Used to be you had to furtively hand a bag of cash to the politician you needed a favor from. Now, Trump and family have issued a whole array of crypto assets that tycoons buy, pump up their value, then announce on X that they have put $100,000 into $TRUMP. (That’s an actual case, not a hypothetical. In return, the SEC pauses your fraud case.) They’re Stable, Right? But back to stablecoins. Stablecoins are supposedly backed up one-to-one by liquid dollar assets like government bonds. So they are stable and safe, right? And then traditional financial institutions like banks and insurance companies can lend money to them, and pools of pension and government funds can “invest” in them. Which gives the crypto industry legitimacy. To achieve that legitimacy, crypto super PACs put hundreds of millions into the 2024 election, nearly half of all corporate spending for political candidates that year. They defeated crypto skeptics and elected boosters. They brought in the Trump crime family. They bought the government. The result? The GENIUS Act. Which very lightly “regulates” stablecoin- issuing companies. It will allow banks to issue coins, and lend money to firms who do. It requires minimal reporting of reserve assets of stablecoin issuers, with weak oversight. What could go wrong? Does anyone remember the 2008 financial crisis? The GENIUS Act removes the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from regulating or bringing fraud charges. It basically allows private issuers to create their own money, without any customer protections, such as deposit insurance. Maybe it is OK to allow speculative trading in crypto, although many unaware folks are being fleeced of their money. But if that fraud and manipulation finds its way into the banking system, it threatens a financial crisis that affects all of us. And then the GENIUS Act will ensure that crypto speculators get bailed out by the government. Socialism for the rich. Supporting an industry whose main contribution to the economy is to scam people. Monopoly Money The GENIUS Act would also allow big tech firms – Apple, Meta, X – to issue their own stablecoins/currency. Musk, Zuckerberg, and others would have their own private currencies, locking you into their platforms and having access to your data. The rich get richer, and more powerful and in control. We have had laws for 200 years separating commerce and finance; this begins to break that separation down. The huge surge in inequality at the very top (the 0.1%) we have experienced since the 1980’s has occurred in a couple of waves. The first was the rise of hedge funds and private equity. These are predators who buy and sell and break up productive firms, producing nothing themselves but accumulating wealth in fewer and fewer hands. This has come at the expense of jobs and wages, and you would think there’s a limit. But now, notice that private equity firms have moved hard into health care, housing, and even kids’ sports leagues. The second wave of tycoons is our tech overlords, who already control our data and our attention. Now they want a piece of crypto profits as well. This is privatization run amok: from private schools and health care and privately held firms, and now to private weather forecasts and private currencies like crypto. It’s clear who benefits from all this privatization; it’s where our greedy billionaires come from. Michael Righi is a retired economics professor and a member of the Retiree Advocate editorial board. BACK TO THE ADVOCATE

Previous PSARA Webinars Don’t Let Naked Profiteering Destroy Our Medicare - Webinar Monday, March 20, 2023, 5:00 p.m. F eaturing Dr. Ed Weisbart If You Missed this Interesting and Informative Webinar, Click HERE for a recording. *********** June 2022 Dr. Ed Wesibart webinar on Defending Medicare from ACO Reach https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/6TNaj35HMKAKnOqBszVkAPnIVsPN7JsWPur2FCmm3b6MtRUozYbArjtiMGKR43vR._szD7hnhwbdDMfDJ?startTime=1656543630000 On April 21 , 2023, Robby Stern gave an outstanding talk to m embers of the One Payer State Network on the fight to stop the privatization of Medicare. Watch on You Tube HERE PSARA 2022 Winter Membership Meeting with Guest Speakers Bill McKibben and April Sims Recording HERE. Have We Started Building Back Better A PSARA Webinar Featuring Congresswoman Pramilla Jayapal The webinar was on January 25 , 2022 and was excellent. To Watch a recording of this webinar, cli ck here: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/U_r0DCFj9fcM_T3cjalJ-9k2KMNb3tD0fbbfTarHd_D-_YYS2IW1tFIGY4NgT-ir.sUDKpnQVT7B6Ipv5 Story Telling With Aunt Mama Stories about the Plaza Hotel and Trump in NewYork, saving Medicare, her barn in eastern Washington... Oh my! https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/8EN-PEhvJi778NVSHeiExlgs34yHTFy3Bs-Nifz2EPEk1zL22c7tXh-R8X0Xd7gU.RTEuPTBtrqkm5gwY A Very Special PSARA Event - A Webinar about Reparations Dr. Ron Daniels, the founder and president of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW) spoke about the long struggle for justice for Black Americans. If you missed this excellent webinar on Nov. 19, or would just like to listen again, go to this link: Reparations Defending Democracy in a Period of Far Right Insurrection by Leonard Zeskin and Devin Burghart https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/onS3iwBMPPI_QunOz7T6ecxct93_CmpMUeA9dixGSSe7iGQDhiKR626sikqeJOCJ.7FCibith0t7vCLW7?startTime=1632441625000

Seattle’s 42nd Annual MLK Celebration: We Rise Against Project 2025 Seattle’s MLK Jr. Organizing Coalition invites PSARA members to Seattle’s 42nd Annual MLK Day Celebration. The election underscores the need to mobilize against broad and sustained assaults on human and civil rights under the incoming administration, as outlined in Project 2025. We expect a robust turnout for the Career and Opportunity Fair, Community Workshop Series, rally, and march on January 20, and the community discussions taking place in the preceding week. The day begins with the MLK Career and Opportunity Fair, where job seekers take steps toward exciting career opportunities and meaningful connections. Over 50 vendors include companies ready to hire, apprenticeship programs, and organizations focused on career exploration. Attendees can polish their resumes with coaching, attend career workshops, or simply explore opportunities. We’re creating an inclusive, welcoming space with multilingual support and accommodations for all attendees, plus snacks and hospitality. The Fair kicks off at 8 a.m. on January 20 at Garfield High School. We’ll build pathways to success while honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy of equity and economic justice. This year’s MLK Community Workshop Series builds bridges between movements and communities to build solidarity and resist threats to democracy and justice. We’ll offer 15 workshops on the morning of MLK Day (January 20 from 9:15 - 10:40 a.m.) at Garfield High School. We’ll also host standalone workshops on Thursday, January 16 and Saturday, January 18 to support deeper presentations and community discussions on critical topics. Workshop information will be posted on the MLK Coalition website. Please look for detailed information on the site starting in early January, and be sure to check back for any changes and additions. A printed workshop brochure will be available on site at Garfield. Our Monday workshops will focus on strategies and resources for effective movement building. Among the offerings are: Choosing Your Cause Well-Being for Activists Support for Immigrant Justice While the Movement Is Under Threat Keeping Us Safe in Seattle’s Surveillance City Creating Community-Centered Housing and Economic Systems Climate Justice Panel: People of Color on the Frontlines Strategies for Countering Right-Wing Movements Building Solidarity in Opposition to Project 2025 Healing Together: A Community Event for Violence Prevention Cultural Reconnection: Return to the African Homeland Building Support for African American Reparations Reclaiming Education: BIPOC Youth Leading the Way to Transformation For the past two years, we’ve piloted more extended community discussions on urgent community issues in the week preceding MLK Day. This year, we’ll hold two. JR to 25 : We Cannot Turn Back centers on the state’s troubling juvenile rehabilitation plan, including new facility construction, which doesn’t address the paucity of therapeutic services and staff’s inability to control violence at its facilities. Sponsored by Team Child and Kids Are Kids, the event begins at 5:30 with a community meal followed by discussion from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. The event takes place at Washington Hall on Thursday, January 16. A community discussion on youth gun violence will be held on Saturday, January 18 from 1 - 3 p.m. at the Northwest African American Museum. Please join community leaders, activists, and families as we learn about causes and dynamics of youth gun violence, who perpetrates it, how we are affected by it, and strategies to mobilize against it. The event will be followed by a community meal at 3 p.m. and a program organized by the MLK Coalition’s Young Leaders program at 4 p.m. Following the Monday morning workshops, the rally will begin at 11 a.m. in the Garfield gym. Our focus this year will be on Project 2025 and youth gun violence. We will honor the legacy of the late Dr. Maxine Mimms, the visionary founder of the Evergreen State College’s Tacoma campus. The Reverend Dr. Kelle Brown will be among our speakers. The march will leave Garfield High School at 12:30 p.m. Please dress warmly and come with your signs, banners, bullhorns, and whatever else you need to make your presence visible and powerful. Please check the MLK Coalition website for final details on transportation, food, and other details. This is the time to stand in solidarity for our rights! Let’s flex our political muscle. Please join us, and bring 10 of your friends and allies.

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PSARA Lobby Day Training Thank you for participating in PSARA’s Lobby Day! To assist you in preparing for your day at the Washington State Legislature, we have put together the following training materials for you below. Bill status is ever changing and we will have the most up to date information on Lobby Day: Training Video: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (see below) Legislator Meeting Prep w/District Lead and To Dos (see below) 10 Advocacy Tips for Meeting w/your legislator (see below) PSARA’s 2025 Legislative Agenda and Bill Status Washington State Capitol Campus Map (click here for the map) Priority Talking Points (click here for talking points) 2025 Lobby Day Agenda (see below) Lobbying: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Legislator Meeting Prep w/District Lead and To Dos Your district lead will contact you with a zoom link, date and time to prep for the legislator meetings. Please attend that zoom pre-meeting. Please be flexible as legislators’ schedules change. Be on time. Please bring a boxed lunch including water. Follow the lead of your district lead during the legislator meetings. ·Stay on topic and PSARA legislative priorities. Meeting schedules will be tight. When you get to the Labor Council Office the morning of March 18, please find you District lead and stay with your group as much as possible. We will have coffee and a light breakfast/snack. 10 Advocacy Tips for Meeting w/your legislator Identify yourself – State your name and identify yourself as a constituent, if you are one. Be specific – Include the name and number of the relevant bill. Clearly describe the issue/problem and why the bill is necessary. Make it personal – Speak in your own words about why the issue is important to you, your family, friends, etc. Tell a personal story. Do your homework – Review your “talking points.” Learn something about your legislator. See below for legislative website links. Be confident – Your legislator’s job is to represent you. You may also know more about the issue than your legislator. Offer yourself as a source of information. Keep the door open for future conversations – Be passionate, but not rude. Be brief – Get to the point quickly and be specific about why you are contacting them. Limit your written documents to one page. Be factual – Make sure the information you provide is accurate. If you don’t know the answer to a question, say so and follow up later. Make “the ask” – Ask the legislator to support your position on the issue. If the legislator will not make that commitment, ask them to read your issue paper, meet with you again, keep an open mind, if opposed. Show appreciation – Thank them for their time and follow up with a written thank you and send any materials you have promised. Helpful websites www.leg.wa.gov , https://leg.wa.gov/legislature/Pages/MemberInformation.aspx https://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/ PSARA Lobby Day Agenda 9:00 a.m. Meet at the WSLC for Lobby Day Overview Coffee/tea, breakfast rolls and fruit 906 Columbia St SW #330, Olympia 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. All Day Legislator Meetings 11:00-11:30 a.m. OIC Commissioner Patty Kuderer meeting at the OIC Building (Room TBD) 12:00-12:15 p.m. Speaker Jinkins meeting at the Legislative Building (Room TBD) Lunch on your own 1:00 p.m. Legislator Meetings Continued 2:30 p.m. Debrief at the WSLC 3:00 p.m. Head home Pam’s Cell for Support 206-650-0020

PSARA 2024 Legislative Agenda In preparation for the WA State Legislative Session the PSARA Board has established a set of legislative goals. Read

Seattle’s 42nd Annual MLK Celebration: We Rise Against Project 2025 Seattle’s MLK Jr. Organizing Coalition invites PSARA members to Seattle’s 42nd Annual MLK Day Celebration. The election underscores the need to mobilize against broad and sustained assaults on human and civil rights under the incoming administration, as outlined in Project 2025. We expect a robust turnout for the Career and Opportunity Fair, Community Workshop Series, rally, and march on January 20, and the community discussions taking place in the preceding week. The day begins with the MLK Career and Opportunity Fair, where job seekers take steps toward exciting career opportunities and meaningful connections. Over 50 vendors include companies ready to hire, apprenticeship programs, and organizations focused on career exploration. Attendees can polish their resumes with coaching, attend career workshops, or simply explore opportunities. We’re creating an inclusive, welcoming space with multilingual support and accommodations for all attendees, plus snacks and hospitality. The Fair kicks off at 8 a.m. on January 20 at Garfield High School. We’ll build pathways to success while honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ’ s legacy of equity and economic justice. This year’s MLK Community Workshop Series builds bridges between movements and communities to build solidarity and resist threats to democracy and justice. We’ll offer 15 workshops on the morning of MLK Day (January 20 from 9:15 - 10:40 a.m.) at Garfield High School. We’ll also host standalone workshops on Thursday, January 16 and Saturday, January 18 to support deeper presentations and community discussions on critical topics. Workshop information will be posted on the MLK Coalition website. Please look for detailed information on the site starting in early January, and be sure to check back for any changes and additions. A printed workshop brochure will be available on site at Garfield. Our Monday workshops will focus on strategies and resources for effective movement building. Among the offerings are: Choosing Your Cause Well-Being for Activists Support for Immigrant Justice While the Movement Is Under Threat Keeping Us Safe in Seattle’s Surveillance City Creating Community-Centered Housing and Economic Systems Climate Justice Panel: People of Color on the Frontlines Strategies for Countering Right-Wing Movements Building Solidarity in Opposition to Project 2025 Healing Together: A Community Event for Violence Prevention Cultural Reconnection: Return to the African Homeland Building Support for African American Reparations Reclaiming Education: BIPOC Youth Leading the Way to Transformation For the past two years, we’ve piloted more extended community discussions on urgent community issues in the week preceding MLK Day. This year, we’ll hold two. JR to 25 : We Cannot Turn Back centers on the state’s troubling juvenile rehabilitation plan, including new facility construction, which doesn’t address the paucity of therapeutic services and staff’s inability to control violence at its facilities. Sponsored by Team Child and Kids Are Kids, the event begins at 5:30 with a community meal followed by discussion from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. The event takes place at Washington Hall on Thursday, January 16. A community discussion on youth gun violence will be held on Saturday, January 18 from 1 - 3 p.m. at the Northwest African American Museum. Please join community leaders, activists, and families as we learn about causes and dynamics of youth gun violence, who perpetrates it, how we are affected by it, and strategies to mobilize against it. The event will be followed by a community meal at 3 p.m. and a program organized by the MLK Coalition’s Young Leaders program at 4 p.m. Following the Monday morning workshops, the rally will begin at 11 a.m. in the Garfield gym. Our focus this year will be on Project 2025 and youth gun violence. We will honor the legacy of the late Dr. Maxine Mimms, the visionary founder of the Evergreen State College’s Tacoma campus. The Reverend Dr. Kelle Brown will be among our speakers. The march will leave Garfield High School at 12:30 p.m. Please dress warmly and come with your signs, banners, bullhorns, and whatever else you need to make your presence visible and powerful. Please check the MLK Coalition website for final details on transportation, food, and other details. This is the time to stand in solidarity for our rights! Let’s flex our political muscle. Please join us, and bring 10 of your friends and allies.

PSARA Oral Histories Project PSARA members have a wealth of experience in their respective professions and communities including their roles in labor, social justice, racial justice and environmental movements. Angela Bartels has been collecting the oral histories of PSARA members and documenting those interviews in PSARA’s monthly publication the Retiree Advocate. Those interviews are now recapped in the Oral Histories section of our website. The written summaries of the interviews are provided here and in some cases video of the interview are included. Bob Barnes Swimming Against the Current: making hard choices during the Vietnam War. Bob Barns talks about facing life changing challenges during the Vietnam war. View Story Frankie Manning "Before we integrated hospitals, the majority of Black people who died in the hospital died because the Black hospitals and wards were not well equipped..." View Story Lou Truskoff Lou Truskoff talks about his early years, his love of Music and integrating music into the labor movement. View Story Larry Gossett A Story of the Great Migration North, Housing discrimination in Seattle and how Black Power Captured Larry Gossett’s Soul While in VISTA . View Story Frieda Takamura Frieda Takamura has been and activist on a range of issues most importantly fighting for social Justice Listen to Frieda's Story Frank Irrigon Mud on their hands: Frank Irigon talks about his time in the military and working with Seattle's Asian Student Coalition protesting the construction of the King Dome. View Story Thursten Muskelly Thursten Muskelly discusses his work in the labor movement and particularly with the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1170 organizing in Seattle. View Story Tony Lee Friends of Tony Lee, Peter Costantini and Tom Berry, recount their work creating the Team Tony Lee during the 2022 election helping to flip the third WA State Congressional District View Story Gary Owens Gary Owens recounts his time with the labor movemet and the Black Panthers. View Story