Thirty-one years, 5 months and 24 days

by Carissa Lovelace—Virginia

As I talk to people in Manassas, Virginia it is becoming clear to me that everyone, no matter what state they live in, is deeply affected by the issues that we fight for.

Last night was an especially eye-opening experience. I was talking to a woman on her porch about our issues and after taking the clipboard she pointed directly at “secure retirement,” saying “that’s the one that I care about.”

Before I could ask why, she began to tell me the story of her 62 year old husband who had worked for an airline for 31 years, 5 months and 24 days. The airline filed bankruptcy and laid off their most tenured employees, one of which was her husband. A government pension compensation program had taken up his plan and was paying him half of what his actual pension was. He was receiving half what he expected per month for the first 2 years, which dropped by $200 the next two year and is expected to drop by an additional $1,220.00 when he turns 66!

She has taken extra work around the neighborhood, and he has taken an evening job that pays 13 dollars an hour for a different airline. They pay double their mortgage payment so that when his pension sinks lower they will hopefully own their home. She could not stress enough the depression and anxiety that this scenario was causing both of them.

They had not envisioned their lives coming to this after they worked so hard. The last thing she told me was that the CEO of the airline was guaranteed a multi-million dollar salary during the time of the bankruptcy no matter what happened in the future of the company.

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