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The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents August 2026 Sen. Murray's Speech to Senate Urging End to Trump Administration’s WISeR Program that is Delaying and Denying Seniors’ Health Care The Retiree Advocate reprints her speech in full: “I wanted to talk today about not just how Republicans are making health care more expensive, but also how they are making it just plain worse for seniors. President Trump came into office saying that he wouldn’t cut Medicare. But that was clearly a lie. Because right now, his administration is trying to privatize Medicare — in part, by putting AI between Medicare beneficiaries and their health care! “In January of this year — under Secretary Kennedy’s and Dr. Oz’s leadership — CMS began this pilot program that uses AI to require prior authorization in Traditional Medicare. For the first time ever. And it is set to run for 6 years. They call it the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction model — well, they got the wasteful and inappropriate part right! “The ‘WISeR’ Model uses AI to deny vulnerable seniors the care they need and that their doctors recommend. Not only that, but the for-profit contractors that conduct this prior authorization are paid a percentage of the cost of care that they deny. They are literally incentivized to rip health care away from seniors because that is better for their bottom line. When your business model relies on denials, denials are what seniors are going to get — and that is perverse. “WISeR was rolled out in the beginning of this year in my home state of Washington and five other states, without safeguards, and without any transparency, and without the best interest of Medicare beneficiaries at the heart of the program. “President Trump is saying: forget the doctors who went to medical school and took an oath to do no harm — AI knows better when it comes to health care decisions for our seniors. The consequences of that poor judgement are real and they are life threatening. “I hear from Medicare patients in Washington state all the time who are suffering in debilitating pain for weeks because they are not getting the care they need, thanks to this harmful model. “Patients like Joanne—she’s a Medicare beneficiary from Quilcene, Washington. She went to her doctor for severe pain and an MRI showed that a herniated disc was pressing on her sciatic nerve. Joanne’s doctor prescribed an epidural injection to help ease that pain. This was standard, routine care — care that, before this year, she would have been able to get quickly after it had been recommended by her doctor. “But because of this WISeR model, she had to wait 6 weeks to get approval. That means that thanks to WISeR, Joanne had to deal with unnecessary, un[treated] pain for six weeks. Because of this nonsense delay, her day-to-day life was disrupted — and the burden fell on her then to fight for the care she needed. “This is simply outrageous! But that is also WISeR working by design. And that is a direct impact of the Trump administration’s actions. “We’ve seen way too many stories like Joanne’s from states that have been selected for this pilot program — no way should an algorithm decide if seniors should get the care that they need. “That’s why I joined my colleagues in introducing a resolution to overturn this model. And I want all of my colleagues to join me in voting for it so we can make sure seniors in my state and all over this country can once again receive their health care on time, without interruption. “Let’s just use our common sense: it is clear as day that some AI model should never be at the wheel making health care decisions left and right. “And it’s not just patients I hear from, I’ve met with health care providers all over my state. Whether it’s a rural hospital or a doctor in Seattle—no one has had anything good to tell me about prior authorization in Traditional Medicare. “Now I ran for office exactly because I believe regular people deserve a say in how their government is run—and that is especially true when it comes to the government deploying AI technology. “I don’t know any senior, Republican or Democrat, who asked President Trump to let AI decide if their doctor-recommended treatment was necessary. Of course, AI can help make things more efficient or do good things, but that’s not what the WISeR model is doing! “So, let’s get to the crux of it, as a country, we make a promise to American seniors: if they paid their taxes throughout their careers, they earned their Medicare coverage. Full stop. WISeR breaks that promise to seniors with these senseless, AI driven prior authorizations that deny and delay care. “Let me be clear, many seniors choose traditional Medicare over other options because traditional Medicare rarely requires prior authorizations. People choose traditional Medicare because they want to make their health care decisions with their doctor—not with a private company that’s out to make a profit. “Simply put, the WISeR model — which again delays and denies necessary care to Medicare patients — it is reckless and irresponsible. “I want my Republican colleagues to join us in voting to get rid of WISeR once and for all, because Mr. President, this should not be a partisan issue. “We all have seniors in our states that deserve the highest level of care, without having to deal with red tape and delays. Thanks to Trump, AI is getting in between seniors and their health care: in Arizona, in New Jersey, in Ohio, in Oklahoma, in Texas, and my state of Washington. “We have an opportunity to stop this harmful, experimental pilot program before more seniors are harmed. No senior in America should have to appeal their pain and suffering to a machine. “To my colleagues, if it was your spouse or parent who needed care, who would you want to decide if they get their treatment? Their doctor or a for-profit algorithm? Would you want them to suffer in pain for weeks for care they are entitled to? “I know what my answer is. Let’s maintain the promise of Medicare. Let’s pass this resolution.” The Retiree Advocate thanks Sen. Murray for her advocacy on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries and her staff for sending us a copy of her speech. Senate Republicans unanimouly defeated the eflort to terminate the WISeR pilot. < Back to Table of Contents

The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents August 2026 JCIJ and the Incredible Accompaniment Program An Interview with Dina Burstein and Dick Stein, Part 2 Bobby Righi and Angie Bartels Riverton Park United Methodist Church During the Biden administration, a huge number of immigrants were coming into the Seattle area to already overcrowded homeless shelters. Word got out that a church in Tukwila would accept immigrants and they would find them a place to sleep in a tent or on the floor of the social hall. Late one night, Jen, a Seattle police and community resource officer, found a couple in downtown Seattle wandering the streets with no place to go. She knew of the church, so she brought them there. People started appearing at the church seeking shelter. Some people had a scrap of paper with the church’s address scribbled on it, and they would just appear. The numbers of immigrants arriving at the Riverton Church grew and grew until there were tents set up all over the grounds and people were sleeping in every nook and cranny. There were hundreds of people on site and it developed into an unhealthy situation which was not sustainable. The City of Tukwila was not pleased with what was happening at Riverton and began passing ordinances limiting the number of people allowed on site. These ordinances did not name the church specifically, but it was obvious what they intended. The health department also got involved but basically did nothing. Volunteers from JCIJ (Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice) and other groups in the private sector stepped in and began providing resources to meet the migrants’ needs and prevent the situation at Riverton from being an absolute disaster. People in support of the church and the immigrants worked really hard and finally got money from the county and the state. Many volunteers, including Jen from the SPD, were working more than full time supporting the Riverton program, while doing their own full-time jobs. Pastor Jan Bolerjack was working day and night to make the community sustainable and healthy. JCIJ members helped pull together volunteers to enroll the children in school and help with homework. It was a massive operation. JCIJ tried to fill in wherever they saw needs arise. They recruited legal volunteers, some of whom were immigration attorneys, to provide free legal services to the hundreds of people living at Riverton. From that came a monthly asylum clinic and a weekly Monday clinic, for help completing immigration forms, all staffed and organized by volunteers. Riverton Church, all the while, was really kicking butt organizing for the community members (CMs) living there. Getting government support was a long and arduous process so several non-profit organizations and volunteers helped to fill the immediate needs. The makeup of the Tukwila City Council changed over time so JCIJ had some supporters there, as well as on the county council and in the state government. A massive organizing effort resulted in funding for housing so the hundreds of people living at the church could be relocated to hotel rooms and eventually apartments. It was an incredible community of people taking action to care for the immigrants and JCIJ was there through it all. JCIJ Grows Dick said he sometimes felt impatient at the slow pace but, “It was well-thought-out from the beginning, and we’ve been able to grow and develop as the program moves along”. About a year and a half ago, Dina was the sole Dispatcher, there was one person doing Intakes for Spanish speakers and Dina did all of the others - Angolan, Congolese, etc. As the number of accompaniment requests grew, it became clear that more people were needed for Dispatch and many more for Intake. “So we began defining roles,” Dina said. “We increased the number of Dispatch volunteers to five and Intake volunteers increased to five also. The number of volunteers in Intake has increased even more and our definition of each role continues to evolve as we get feedback from the volunteers and as ICE changes its strategy.” “Today we have a paid executive director, one half-time person and another person working 80%. The half-time person is acting as the lead Dispatcher and all of them are doing an amazing job,” Dina said. “We have non-profit status and the vast majority of our funding comes from private donations.” “We have to respond to changing ICE tactics”, Dina continued. “ICE agents used to come to court, now they don’t. They then instituted a program called pretermission which canceled asylum applications and sends immigrants to third countries like El Salvador to apply for asylum. El Salvador has no asylum program so immigrants may be sent to prison. Now DHS has stopped filing new pretermission cases, but they are prosecuting the cases already in process. DHS has also raised the fees for work permits, new asylum applications and their yearly renewal. They constantly roll out changes that we have to deal with. Fortunately, we have a dedicated team of immigration lawyers who stick with us and teach us about these changes. We then take that new information and incorporate it into how we’re preparing the CM, or how the CM could respond in court.” “Volunteers who can roll with that kind of development stay in the program,” Dina and Dick explained. “The process is not static and we continue to tweak things here and there as needed. But what hasn’t changed since working with the Church Council are the values and principles that guide the way we interact with people, with each other, volunteers, and CMs, so that respect and love is communicated. We believe it is very important to truly listen to the CM and allow the CM to be in charge while we follow their lead, realizing and respecting the amazing pluck, courage and suffering that it took for them to get to where they are and to communicate that consistently. We spend a tremendous amount of time training new volunteers about cultural humility, allowing the voice of the CM to be first. And that will never change.” Bobby Righi is Co-Chair of PSARA's Climate and Environmental Commitee. Angie Bartels is PSARA's Membership VP Dina Burstein and Dick Stein are PSARA members. < Back to Table of Contents

The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents August 2026 S4886 Would Cap Out-of-Pocket Costs in Traditional Medicare Robbie Stern S 4886, the Medicare Cost Cap Act, introduced in late June by Senate Democratic leadership, with Senator Murray as an original co-sponsor, establishes a $5,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket costs for Traditional Medicare (TM) beneficiaries starting in 2028. Medicare would pay 100% of our health care bills once out-of-pocket (OOP) costs, including what a Medigap policy paid, reached $5000 annually. In a recent article posted by the Center for Health and Democracy’s Newsletter, HEALTH CARE uncovered , Wendell Potter, a former high ranking insurance executive, writes, “since traditional Medicare has existed, it has had a flaw so obvious and so consequential that it is understandable why many seniors have enrolled in private Medicare Advantage plans despite the many downsides of doing so; there is no limit on what a beneficiary enrolled in traditional Medicare can owe in a single year.” According to Potter, S4886 “counts both direct beneficiary payments and payments made by Medigap or other wraparound coverage toward the $5,000 threshold. In practice, this means the cap functions as a true ceiling on total cost-sharing liability, not just on what comes directly out of a beneficiary’s pocket.” Medicare Advantage (MA) is required to have an out-of-pocket cap. Despite the significant problems with MA, many Medicare beneficiaries choose MA because they do not want to risk financial ruin if they have a chronic condition or contract a serious illness like cancer. While many of us do purchase Medigap insurance with our Traditional Medicare (TM) coverage, for very many Medicare beneficiaries the cost of private Medigap insurance is too much for fixed income budgets. In his post, Potter goes on to say, “According to an analysis by Brown University’s Center for Advancing Health Policy through research shared with Senate Finance Committee staff, 3.2 million beneficiaries would benefit from the cap in 2028 alone. Over the next decade, more than half of beneficiaries are expected to exceed the $5,000 threshold at least once. On average, the cap is projected to save enrollees $1,024 per year.” PSARA and the PSARA Education Fund have promoted the goal of leveling the playing field between MA and TM. S4886 is an important step in that direction. While we would have preferred a lower cap (e.g. $3,000), short of Medicare for All, this legislation represents an important step forward in providing Medicare beneficiaries with a genuine choice between MA and TM. Potter writes: “The average Social Security retirement benefit in 2026 is about $1,900 a month, or roughly $22,800 a year. An uncapped medical event that generates $15,000 or $20,000 in Parts A and B cost-sharing — entirely possible with a serious hospitalization or cancer diagnosis — would be financially catastrophic for the median beneficiary in traditional Medicare. A $5,000 cap doesn’t make that event painless, but it makes it survivable without financial ruin. “For beneficiaries currently being pushed toward Medicare Advantage – not because they prefer it but because they cannot afford Medigap – this cap would change the calculus. Traditional Medicare with a $5,000 OOP limit is a meaningfully different product from traditional Medicare without one. For the first time, it would be a product that most seniors could choose on its merits rather than on the basis of financial fear.” In addition, the cost of Medigap insurance for those who choose to purchase Medigap, should decrease as the risk of loss to the insurer is less than it was with no cap. Those who purchase Medigap have experienced Medigap policy premiums increasing steadily. Sponsors of the Medicare Cost Cap Act made clear that one goal of the legislation is lowering the increasing Medigap premiums. S4886 is a stake in the ground for future sessions of Congress. It is not likely to be considered, much less passed, under the present leadership in Congress and in the White House. But we will do all that we can, working with our national partners and Washington’s congressional delegation, to have it reintroduced in the 2027 Congress. The idea of a reasonable out-of-pocket cap in Traditional Medicare has sprung to life as a necessary step in leveling the playing field between TM and MA. Medicare beneficiaries need to have a genuine choice and not be forced into MA because they cannot afford TM. Robby Stern is President of the PSARA Education Fund and a member of PSARA's Executive Board. < Back to Table of Contents

For more than a quarter century, Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action (PSARA) has been active in fighting for older Americans, retirees, their children and families through social justice activities. P uget S ound A dvocates for R etirement A ction Working across generations for social justice, economic security, dignity, and a healthy planet for all of us. From Wins to What’s Next – A Recap of the 2026 Legislative Session was presented May 27th If you missed the presentation you can watch the recording here The Trump Administration is closing Social Security Offices across the country. Click Here for More Perfect Union's report on this Tragedy Upcoming PSARA Events/meetings (Click Here for a complete list of Events and Meetings) Support our Federal Workers Friday Federal Building Rallies When: Every Friday, @ 11:00 am (2 hours) Where: Federal Building Plaza on 2nd and Madison, Seattle Click here for more details PSARA July Retiree Advocate Click here to read the Advocate online In this issue we feature an interview by Bobby Righi and Angie Bartels on the subject of accompaniments. Also in this issue: The Congressional Review Act makes WISeR repeal possible. An analysis of the 2026 Social Security/Medicare Trustees' report A report from Clallam County on Social Security Workers Visibility Day. A report on the latest US threats of was against Cuba. A personal story about WISeR. How to track the MAHA movement's funding. A short bio of National Lawyers Guild founder Mary Metlay Kaufman. And more! Health Secretary Kennedy is Attacking Traditional Medicare in Washington State In January, the Trump administration will be rolling out a new control on Traditional Medicare in six states, including Washington State. This program is called WISeR. It will affect Medicare benefits by requiring a new prior authorization for a number of medical decisions. This means your doctor will need to receive prior authorization from the Federal government before you get some medical treatments. C lick Here for more on the WISeR Program and what you can do to stop it. On December 6th PSARA Board Members Robby Stern and Anne Watanabe (hosted by Dan Grey and Evegreen State College) discuss the attacks on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Please listen to the interview and share with your friends: Click here to hear the interview. Download and Read PSARA’s Primer on Leveling the Medicare Playing Field Protecting our Assets Protecting our Asses In the last year PSARA’s Co-President, Jeff Johnson, wrote a series of articles for PSARA’s Retiree Advocate highlighting the need to move beyond fossil fuels and the responsibility of unions to insure that their retirement plans stop investing in fossil fuels not just because its good environmentally but also good economics. Unions can play a key role in jump starting our green future. These articles have been consolidated into a single publication: Protecting our Assets Protecting our Asses. Click here to download the pamphlet or read it online. DOWNLOAD JOIN PSARA in making a difference! Back to Top

The Retiree ADVOCATE The Monthly Publication of PSARA EDUCATION FUND “Uniting Generations for a Secure Future” Advocate Print Version July 1, 2026 Congressional Review Act Makes WISeR Repeal Possible Robby Stern The Congressional Review Act makes WISeR repeal possible. Read More We Remember Magdaleno "Leno" Rose-Avila Read More Social Security/Medicare 2026 Annual Trustees’ Report Released Steve Kofahl An analysis of the 2026 Social Security/Medicare Trustees' report Read More Clallam Seniors: “Save Social Security Workers’ Jobs!” Tim Wheeler A report from Clallam County on Social Security Workers Visibility Day. Read More No War on Cuba! Cindy Domingo A report on the latest US threats of was against Cuba. Read More JCIJ and the Incredible Accompaniment Program An Interview with Dina Burstein and Dick Stein, Part 1 Bobby Righi and Angie Bartels An interview by Bobby Righi and Angie Bartels on the subject of accompaniments. Read More Personal Story: A Sadder and WISeR Victim Katherine Hess A personal story about WISeR. Read More MAHA Tracker Katie Harris How to track the MAHA movement's funding. Read More Mary Metlay Kaufman: Anti-Fascist Hero Tim Wheeler A short bio of National Lawyers Guild founder Mary Metlay Kaufman. Read More PSARA's Juneteenth 2026 Thank you to all who helped make our Juneteenth event a success. Read More

The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents August 2026 WSLC Opposes Default Enrollment in Medicare Advantage, Will Ask Governor to Initiate Process to Prosecute Theft of Social Security Data Mike Andrew At its annual convention, held July 21 – 23 in Wenatchee, the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) unanimously passed two important resolutions initiated by PSARA. Opposing Default Enrollment in Medicare Advantage Plans Noting that “private Medicare Advantage insurance plans are, for the most part, profit-based and are estimated to overcharge the Medicare Trust Fund by $76 billion in 2026,” WSLC stated its op-position to default enrollment of new Medicare beneficiaries into such plans. Project 2025 calls for all Medicare-eligible beneficiaries who do not choose a plan to be automatically enrolled in private Medicare Advantage insurance plans, rather than in Original Medicare. The Trump-appointed Administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mehmet Oz, and Chris Klomp, the Director of Medicare, have also stated their support for default enrollment into private Medicare Advantage plans. In the resolution, WSLC promised to “send a letter to the state’s Congressional delegation urging them to oppose Administration plans to auto-enroll Medicare beneficiaries in private Medicare Advantage plans…” WSLC also committed itself and its affiliates to “help educate their members about the Trump Administration’s plans to auto-enroll beneficiaries in private Medicare Advantage insurance, and encourage them to carefully consider the disadvantages of enrolling in privately insured Medicare Advantage plans.” This resolution was submitted by PSARA and cosponsored by SEIU 775, AFT Washington, OPEIU Local 8, AFM Local 76-493, UAW Local 4121, MLK Labor, APALA Seattle, and AFSCME Council 28. Investigating and Prosecuting Elon Musk and DOGE for Theft of Our Social Security Data In a second resolution, the WSLC promised that it would “make a formal request to Governor Ferguson that he ask Attorney General Nick Brown to investigate [theft of Social Security data], so that Attorney General Brown can determine whether Washington residents were victims of state crimes and proceed accordingly.” Under state law, the AG can only begin criminal investigations when asked to do so by the Governor or by county prosecutors. In a January 16, 2026, court filing the US Department of Justice admitted that employees of the Department of Government Efficiency aka DOGE, while embedded at the Social Security Agency (SSA), transferred agency data to an unauthorized third-party server outside all SSA protocols. The filing further revealed that a DOGE employee signed a “Voter Data Agreement” with a political advocacy group seeking to match SSA records against state voter rolls to overturn election results in certain states. This resolution was submitted by PSARA and co-sponsored by AFM Local 76-493, AFT Washington, OPEIU Local 8, UAW Local 4121, MLK Labor, APALA Seattle, and AFSCME Council 28. Mike Andrew is the Editor of the Advocate and Executive Director of PSARA < Back to Table of Contents

The Retiree Advocate JCIJ and the Incredible Accompaniment Program An Interview with Dina Burstein and Dick Stein, Part 2 Bobby Righi and Angie Bartels Riverton Park United Methodist Church During the Biden administration, a huge number of immigrants were coming into the Seattle area to already overcrowded homeless shelters. Word got out that a church in Tukwila would accept immigrants and they would find them a place to sleep in a tent or on the floor of the social hall. Late one night, Jen, a Seattle police and community resource officer, found a couple in downtown Seattle wandering the streets with no place to go. She knew of the church, so she brought them there. People started appearing at the church seeking shelter. Some people had a scrap of paper with the church’s address scribbled on it, and they would just appear. The numbers of immigrants arriving at the Riverton Church grew and grew until there were tents set up all over the grounds and people were sleeping in every nook and cranny. There were hundreds of people on site and it developed into an unhealthy situation which was not sustainable. The City of Tukwila was not pleased with what was happening at Riverton and began passing ordinances limiting the number of people allowed on site. These ordinances did not name the church specifically, but it was obvious what they intended. The health department also got involved but basically did nothing. Volunteers from JCIJ (Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice) and other groups in the private sector stepped in and began providing resources to meet the migrants’ needs and prevent the situation at Riverton from being an absolute disaster. People in support of the church and the immigrants worked really hard and finally got money from the county and the state. Many volunteers, including Jen from the SPD, were working more than full time supporting the Riverton program, while doing their own full-time jobs. Pastor Jan Bolerjack was working day and night to make the community sustainable and healthy. JCIJ members helped pull together volunteers to enroll the children in school and help with homework. It was a massive operation. JCIJ tried to fill in wherever they saw needs arise. They recruited legal volunteers, some of whom were immigration attorneys, to provide free legal services to the hundreds of people living at Riverton. From that came a monthly asylum clinic and a weekly Monday clinic, for help completing immigration forms, all staffed and organized by volunteers. Riverton Church, all the while, was really kicking butt organizing for the community members (CMs) living there. Getting government support was a long and arduous process so several non-profit organizations and volunteers helped to fill the immediate needs. The makeup of the Tukwila City Council changed over time so JCIJ had some supporters there, as well as on the county council and in the state government. A massive organizing effort resulted in funding for housing so the hundreds of people living at the church could be relocated to hotel rooms and eventually apartments. It was an incredible community of people taking action to care for the immigrants and JCIJ was there through it all. JCIJ Grows Dick said he sometimes felt impatient at the slow pace but, “It was well-thought-out from the beginning, and we’ve been able to grow and develop as the program moves along”. About a year and a half ago, Dina was the sole Dispatcher, there was one person doing Intakes for Spanish speakers and Dina did all of the others - Angolan, Congolese, etc. As the number of accompaniment requests grew, it became clear that more people were needed for Dispatch and many more for Intake. “So we began defining roles,” Dina said. “We increased the number of Dispatch volunteers to five and Intake volunteers increased to five also. The number of volunteers in Intake has increased even more and our definition of each role continues to evolve as we get feedback from the volunteers and as ICE changes its strategy.” “Today we have a paid executive director, one half-time person and another person working 80%. The half-time person is acting as the lead Dispatcher and all of them are doing an amazing job,” Dina said. “We have non-profit status and the vast majority of our funding comes from private donations.” “We have to respond to changing ICE tactics”, Dina continued. “ICE agents used to come to court, now they don’t. They then instituted a program called pretermission which canceled asylum applications and sends immigrants to third countries like El Salvador to apply for asylum. El Salvador has no asylum program so immigrants may be sent to prison. Now DHS has stopped filing new pretermission cases, but they are prosecuting the cases already in process. DHS has also raised the fees for work permits, new asylum applications and their yearly renewal. They constantly roll out changes that we have to deal with. Fortunately, we have a dedicated team of immigration lawyers who stick with us and teach us about these changes. We then take that new information and incorporate it into how we’re preparing the CM, or how the CM could respond in court.” “Volunteers who can roll with that kind of development stay in the program,” Dina and Dick explained. “The process is not static and we continue to tweak things here and there as needed. But what hasn’t changed since working with the Church Council are the values and principles that guide the way we interact with people, with each other, volunteers, and CMs, so that respect and love is communicated. We believe it is very important to truly listen to the CM and allow the CM to be in charge while we follow their lead, realizing and respecting the amazing pluck, courage and suffering that it took for them to get to where they are and to communicate that consistently. We spend a tremendous amount of time training new volunteers about cultural humility, allowing the voice of the CM to be first. And that will never change.” Bobby Righi is Co-Chair of PSARA's Climate and Environmental Commitee. Angie Bartels is PSARA's Membership VP Dina Burstein and Dick Stein are PSARA members. Back to the Advocate Table of Contents

The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents August 2026 Defending Voting Rights in Tennessee Rick Harwood Wherever I see oppression and injustice, I have to help stop it.”Tennessee State Representative Justin Pearson, candidate for Congress As we enter the two-week primary voting period in Washington State, the attempt by the Trump administration to interfere and potentially block voting rights nationwide is becoming more real. In response, justice minded organizations and activists around the country are taking up the fight to defend voting rights, especially for people of color. In Trump’s rant to the nation on July 16, he continued to claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. Meanwhile, he and his staff have been preparing and putting into action, through executive orders, various tactics to block access to voting in the 2026 midterm elections. Most have been rejected in federal court because of legal efforts taken by a coalition of 23 state attorneys general. AG Nick Brown of our state is a leader in this effort. However, the attack on voting rights was given a significant boost when the US Supreme Court made their Louisiana v. Callais decision on April 29 (in a 6-3 vote, of course) to rule that the new map of Louisiana Congressional districts, which was drawn after the 2020 census and established two majority Black districts, was not supported by the Voting Rights Act. As a result, several state legislatures took quick action to change their Congressional districts to eliminate majority minority voter districts in time for the upcoming elections. Tennessee is one of those states. Within days of the Supreme Court ruling, Governor Bill Lee called the Tennessee legislature back for a special session to redraw Congressional districts. Despite opposition from civil rights organizations and a handful of Democratic state legislators, the action resulted in the elimination of the one district in the state that had a majority of Black voters and had elected the only Democrat to Congress from that state. Their 9th Congressional District (CD), which included all of Memphis, a city with a long and significant history in the civil rights movement, was divided up and combined with nearby mostly white Republican rural districts. The new district includes 15 counties and stretches almost 200 miles from Memphis nearly to Nashville. The leading candidate in the race for the seat prior to redistricting was State Representative Justin Pearson. Pearson, only 31 years old and a member of a family of several generations of civil rights and environmental justice activists, was ahead in the polls and on track to win the seat. In March I had signed up with Common Power, the Seattle based organization that “works to foster, support, and amplify a democracy that is just and inclusive,” to join a team of volunteers headed for Memphis to work on Justin Pearson’s campaign. We arrived at the end of May, more determined than ever to help Justin win the election despite the significant change in the 9th CD. Our task was to canvass door-to-door in the nearest rural county to test the reaction of registered Democrats who had never had the opportunity in their lifetimes to vote for a Black candidate for Congress. Our team of 12 managed to reach 1,000 doors in just five days. We met many Black residents who knew about the change and their inclusion in the new 9th CD and were clearly excited about the opportunity to vote for and help elect Justin Pearson. We met many white Democrats who were also willing to commit to voting for Justin but were more reluctant to have their racist neighbors know of their choice. In the canvassing we did in neighborhoods in Memphis that were part of the original 9th CD, voters were angry about the change and determined to work to get Justin elected. I felt the energy of voters who were not about to let Trump and his supporters take away their right to true representation in Congress. As we approach the lead-up to the midterm elections, we must take inspiration from voters in places like Memphis and the rural counties of Tennessee’s new 9th Congressional district to fight against the attacks yet to come on the right for all to vote in free and fair elections. Here in Washington State, Standing for Democracy has built the Voter Protection Alliance, consisting of 50 social justice, labor, immigrant rights and other organizations. The Alliance is developing strategies to ensure that voting by mail and at ballot drop boxes are protected from Trump’s attempts to obstruct our right to vote. To get involved, please send an email to standingfordemocracy053@gmail.com . Rick Harwood is a member of Standing for Democracy's Voter Protection Alliance and a member of PSARA. < Back to Table of Contents

The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents August 2026 We Need Engagement and Divestment Strategies Jeff Johnson and Greg Devereux On June 21, 2026 the Washington State Democratic Party passed a Resolution calling for the Washington State Investment Board (WSIB) to divest, within the next five years, “all direct and indirect holdings from fossil fuel companies.” The Resolution points out that “the scientific consensus is clear that the climate crisis poses an imminent and existential threat to human health, global ecosystems, and economic stability.” So far, the financial industry continues to invest in climate chaos. Since the Paris Climate Accord was signed in January 2016, the financial industry has invested over $8 trillion in the fossil fuel industry (oil, gas, and coal). More than $3 trillion of this investment is in new fossil fuel infrastructure and exploration. In December 2024, one month prior to President Trump’s inauguration, six major U.S. banks - JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs - withdrew from the United Nations-sponsored net zero banking alliance. The financial industry has doubled down on financing climate chaos. Even the WSIB, which manages $230 billion in assets, including 18 pension funds, 6 Labor and Industry funds, and 16 University funds, has about $8 billion in public equities invested in fossil fuel production and supply companies. Washington State law states that the WSIB’s “primary investment objective is to maximize returns at a prudent level of risk for the exclusive benefit of fund participants and beneficiaries.” Once blue-chip investments, fossil fuel assets have underperformed the returns of the non-energy Standard and Poor 500 equities for the past decade. Over this time, non-fossil fuel assets have performed four times better than coal, oil, and gas assets. Since 2022 the stock market, as measured by the S&P 500, has nearly doubled (92%) while the value of fossil fuel assets has risen only 17%. While past performance is not always an indicator of future performance, the fossil fuel sector is facing long-term competition from renewable energy and electrification, as well as growing regulatory, market and judicial risks from the damage caused by climate change. Fossil fuel assets no longer help the WSIB maximize returns on its portfolio. Continuing to invest in fossil fuels creates an imprudent level of risk for state employee pensioners, Labor and Industry, and University funds. Nonetheless the WSIB is reluctant to divest its holdings in fossil fuels. In January, the WSIB made two arguments, before Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee. First, they said “any restraint on an asset class (fossil fuels) will likely lower returns and raise transaction costs. But two major financial management firms, Blackrock and Meketa, independently concluded that investment funds have suffered no negative financial impacts from divesting from fossil fuels, in reports done at the request of New York City’s Comptroller for the city’s three pension funds. In 2021, the New York City pension funds, similar in size to the WSIB, divested $4 billion of fossil fuel assets. The recently appointed Chief Investment Officer for the NYC Comptroller’s office, Monte Tarbox, commenting on this divestment said, “people who come to the conversation for the first time assume there’s a tradeoff – that to do the right thing, you have to compromise on economics or financial returns. Our experience has been quite the contrary: you can do both…we’ve not only not seen a deterioration in returns, but we’ve seen improvements.” WSIB’s second argument against divestment was “corporate engagement is really the way to move the needle – you give up your voice if you give up ownership in these stocks.” Corporate engagement through shareholder proxy votes can indeed help accelerate renewable clean energy transition plans for non-fossil fuel companies. But for fossil fuel companies that have every incentive to continue to extract and market oil, gas, and coal, not so much. With global temperatures rising and climate disasters intensifying, we need both engagement and divestment strategies. Corporate engagement, without anything to back it up, is just a discussion. If the WSIB were to stop investing in new fossil fuel assets and divest from existing fossil fuel assets, it would send a strong, clear message that you can maximize pension and state returns, at prudent levels of risk, while helping to save the planet. This article was previously published as an op-ed in the Seattle Times. Jeff Johnson is a retired President of the Washington State Labor Council and the current Co-President of PSARA. Greg Devereux is a retired Executive Director of WFSE Council 28. < Back to Table of Contents

The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents August 2026 The Washington Supreme Court Election: Why Every Vote Counts Anne Watanabe and Pam Crone The Washington State Supreme Court race will arguably be the most consequential contest on the ballot this November, yet it has traditionally received little public attention. This year is different, with a record five of the court's nine seats on the ballot. The justices elected this fall will shape decisions that affect all Washingtonians for years to come. As the state's highest court, the Washington Supreme Court interprets laws passed by the Legislature and the Washington Constitution. Its decisions influence issues ranging from elections and voting rights to taxation, civil rights, and public policy. Two issues likely to come before the court illustrate the significance of this election. Millionaires’ Tax The court will likely review the constitutionality of the Legislature's recently enacted millionaires’ tax. The new 9.9% tax applies only to households with annual incomes exceed-ing $1 million. Opponents, including former Attorney General Rob McKenna and former Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge, have challenged the law in Klickitat County Superior Court. The case is expected to work its way through the courts before reaching the Washington Supreme Court. Previous court decisions have held that income taxes violate the state constitution, but supporters of the new law believe the time is right to revisit those precedents. For decades, advocates, including PSARA, have supported progressive tax reform, arguing that Washington's tax system has placed a disproportionate burden on lower- and middle-income residents. Supporters see the millionaires’ tax, together with the capital gains tax, as an opportunity to make the tax system more equitable while generating additional revenue for education, health care, housing, homelessness programs, and public safety. Initiative IL26-645 would repeal the millionaires’ tax. If approved by voters, its legality could also be challenged in court, with the Washington Supreme Court ultimately deciding the issue. Civil Rights and Equal Protection The court may also be asked to rule on initiatives affecting civil rights and protections for LGBTQ+ youth. Brian Heywood and Let's Go Washington are sponsoring two ballot measures that PSARA opposes. Initiative IL26-638 would prohibit transgender girls from participating in girls' sports in public schools. Initiative IL26-001 would modify current student privacy protections involving access to counselors and health care. PSARA has joined the No Hate in WA State Campaign in opposing both initiatives. If either initiative passes, legal challenges are likely. Washington's constitution and the Washington Law Against Discrimination provide broad civil rights protections, and our state Supreme Court could be asked to determine whether the initiatives are consistent with those protections. Even if the measures fail, recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions suggest that Washington's policies on inclusion and student privacy may continue to face legal challenges. The Candidates At press time, before the August primary, 16 candidates were seeking five Supreme Court seats in these nonpartisan elections. The top two finishers in each race will advance to the November general election. Three incumbents—Justice Melody, Justice Angelis, and Chief Justice Stephens—are seeking reelection. Questions for Voters The Supreme Court's decisions affect every Washington resident. As voters evaluate candidates, they may wish to consider whether each candidate: Has relevant judicial or legal experience. Has demonstrated fairness and impartiality. Shows a strong understanding of and commitment to the Washington Constitution. Understands how court decisions affect families, communities, and businesses. Has a thoughtful view of the court's role in reviewing laws enacted by voters and elected officials. Researching the Candidates Voters have several resources available to learn about judicial candidates. The Washington Secretary of State's Voters' Guide includes candidate statements, campaign websites, endorsements, and campaign finance information. The Northwest Progressive Institute's online Election Visualizer provides additional information about Supreme Court candidates, although some links may not always be current. Several bar associations also conduct judicial evaluations, for example: Washington Women Lawyers, Loren Miller Bar Association, QLaw, and the Latino/a Bar Association. Because these reviews are performed by volunteer committees, evaluations may not be available for every candidate or election cycle, but they can provide useful professional perspectives as Election Day approaches. This year's Supreme Court election will help determine how Washington's highest court addresses major legal questions involving taxation, civil rights, elections, and other constitutional issues. The initiatives on the November ballot may also lead to significant litigation, making the composition of the court especially important. This term’s dreadful US Supreme Court opinions have underscored the influence courts have on public policy and daily life. Washington voters have a unique opportunity to shape their own state's highest court because the state Supreme Court justices are elected rather than appointed for life. Taking time to learn about the candidates and voting our values is our privilege and responsibility. Anne Watanabe is Chair of PSARA's Race and Gender Equity (RaGE) Committee. Pam Crone is Chair of PSARA's Government Relations Committee. < Back to Table of Contents

The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents August 2026 The Tech Tools of ICE Katie Harris A recent report, The Tech Behind ICE: Oligarchs, Immigration Enforcement and the Threat to Democracy, (Mijente, Just Futures Law , Surveillance Resistance Lab, 2026), provides a sobering look into surveillance tools being developed with vast implications for our privacy and daily lives. But it’s not just that sophisticated tech tools developed for immigration enforcement are making their way into broader use; how they’re deployed rests increasingly in the hands of the very same tech oligarchs who benefit from their purchase by the US Government. This article is the first in a series on tech tools, used by ICE, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), and other government entities, that are creeping into broader use to surveil activists, journalists, and communities. I’ll describe which tools are in use, who is surveilling, who is being surveilled, and how this surveillance violates our rights. I’ll look at the revolving door and conflicts of interest between tech company leadership, tech sector leadership, and government leadership. There’s no question about it; the fox is definitely guarding the henhouse. Finally, I’ll explore the strategies needed to build the movement to dislodge the surveillance state. The events of September 11th, 2001 provided the pretext for the surveillance state to take root with minimal oversight or consideration of its implications. Congress passed the USA Patriot Act 45 days later, which provided for increased surveillance of both citizens and non-citizen immigrants. The following year, the Department of Homeland Security was created. Where-as the Patriot Act institutionalized mass surveillance, the Department of Homeland Security created the infrastructure to support surveillance. While some provisions of the Patriot Act have sunsetted, many others remain in force. For example, Section 412, which became part of the amended Immigration and Nationality Act, allows for the indefinite, mandatory detention of non-citizens if the Attorney General believes that “reasonable grounds” exist to believe that the person’s activities endanger national security. Section 411, which broadens grounds for deportation, remains active law. Section 411 also provides cover to label activists as terrorists. Against this background of demonization of immigrants and their allies, high tech companies consolidated their profitability by contracting with the US Government to produce the tools of surveillance. Predictably, they then have sought new markets for them. The technologies that monitor immigrants are being repurposed to surveil activists, journalists, event attendees, and whole communities, all in the name of security. Together, these tools form an increasingly interconnected web of data about our individual movements, habits, relationships, finances, priorities, and plans. That information is gathered without our knowledge or consent, eroding constitutional guardrails. It is used to develop the predictive capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI), which are then applied to decide who we are, what we have done, and what we will do in the future, often erroneously. The breadth and depth of this information gathering have accelerated to an un-precedented pace in the second Trump administration. In order to develop counterstrategies, we first need to understand the tools and how they’re deployed. The tools fall into ten categories: Cell phone and computer spying software and devices Cell phone tracking Data analytics Data brokers Automated license plate readers (ALPR) surveillance and driver surveil-lance Drones Detention and deportation tracking Bounty hunters Facial recognition and street-level tracking Web scraping and social media surveillance We’ll start by looking at how ICE uses our cell phones to gather information about us. ICE has numerous contracts for remotely hacking into phones, reading messages, accessing files and listening to conversations. For example, ICE had a contract with Paragon Solutions, an Israeli company, whose Graphite spyware hacked into the phones of journalists and activists. Another software, GrayKey, unlocks passwords and allows ICE and CBP officers to access photos, deleted files, and location. ICE also has numerous tools to track cell phone location. For example, “stingrays” mimic cell phone towers, gathering location data of every phone in proximity. They can then identify their target. CellHawk monitors activities of specific targets, flagging phones entering a specific area, monitoring how they relate to other phones in the area, and sending texts and emails to enforcement officials. GeoFence collects phone data on who is in a given geographic area through a Fourth Amendment loophole that allows phone and other location data to be purchased by the federal government from commercial data brokers. Originally used to zero in on suspects of unknown identity, its use is now contested on Fourth Amendment grounds, namely that it constitutes unreasonable search and seizure and that an individual has a right to privacy related to location. This case made it to the Supreme Court, which ruled 6 - 3 to return the case to the lower court for whether the search was reasonable. The case is now pending. TechOps Specialty Vehicles are specially outfitted vehicles that serve as mobile units to analyze that data, conduct surveillance, and coordinate missions. ICE and CBP also use so-called administrative subpoenas to request data from social media companies, internet providers and cell phone carriers. These companies assert that they own our data. However, these requests frequently violate first amendment protections. One concerning example relates to an ICE request to Reddit, Discord, and other platforms; ICE sought data for those who posted online about the surge in ICE enforcement operations in Los Angeles. CBP has even purchased data from makers of software that determines which ads pop up on our devices as we interact with our phones. In next month’s Retiree Advocate , we’ll look at the staggering reach of other tech tools that are growing the surveillance state and abridging the rights of immigrants and their allies. Katie Harris is the Retiree Advocate's copy editor and a member of the Advocate's editorial board. < Back to Table of Contents

The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents August 2026 Food and Song in Seward Park Karen Richter All PSARA members, families, and friends are invited to our September 1st summer membership meeting and potluck. The meeting is being held on Tuesday, September 1st, from 11:30 – 2:00 pm, in beautiful Seward Park on the shores of Lake Washington. PSARA will provide veggie, chicken and beef burgers, sausages, and drinks. Please bring something to share. If you would like something to drink other than still or sparkling water, please bring it along. However, alcoholic beverages are not permitted in the park. Mayor Katie Wilson and King County Council Member Teresa Mosqueda have been invited to join us and each has indicated they plan to attend. We are also delighted to have members of the Seattle Labor Chorus, who will lead us in song. Our grill masters, Carlos de la Torre and Robby Stern, will start grilling at 11:30 at Shelter #3. Directions for finding the shelter are below. There will be directional signage in the main parking lot, guiding you to the shelter. Access to the shelter is from a level parking lot to a level sidewalk that leads to the shelter. For those of you who attended last year, it is the same shelter. Seward Park is located at 5895 Lake Washington Blvd. S., Seattle. I-5 Northbound: Take the Swift Ave S/S Albro St exit. Turn left onto Swift Ave S. Turn right onto S Graham St. I-5 Southbound: Take the Swift Ave S/S Albro St exit. Turn left onto Michigan across freeway. Turn right at the light onto Swift Ave S. Turn left at S Graham St. Follow S Graham St to Beacon Ave S. Turn left on Beacon Ave S. Follow Beacon Ave S to S Orcas St. Turn right onto S Orcas St. Follow S Orcas St to the entrance of the park. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone in person for a great day in the park. For more information, email organizer@psara.org . < Back to Table of Contents