The Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA) is a labor-union sponsored advocacy group claiming to represent the interests of 4.3 million senior citizens. ¹ In practice, it promotes left-of-center public policy positions that favor government workers, retirees, and labor union interests. ²

The ARA’s board of directors is almost entirely made up of labor union senior leaders and local activists, including high-profile national union leaders such as Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Shawn Fain of the United Auto Workers (UAW), and Marc Perrone of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). ³

Background

The Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA) is a membership organization made up primarily of retired labor union members. ⁴ It was founded in 2001 as a continuation project of the former National Council of Senior Citizens (NCSC). ⁵

The ARA has state alliances in 39 states that focus on advancing left-of-center policy at the local and state levels while mobilizing retirees to be active in informing and activating their communities. ⁶ The ARA’s left-of-center advocacy reaches beyond issues specific to retirees and into topics including abortion, racial and ethnic issues, the U.S. Senate filibuster, broad tax policy, income inequality, and single-payer health care. ⁷

While anyone may join, members of the ARA’s sponsoring unions do not need to pay a membership fee to become ARA members. ⁴ Those unions are the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), American Postal Workers Union (APWU), Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM), Communications Workers of America (CWA), International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), International Union of Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), Industrial Division of the Communications Workers of America (IUE-CWA), Transportation Communications International Union (TCU), United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), and United Steelworkers (USW). The AFL-CIO labor federation is also an ARA sponsor. ⁸

Activism

The Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA) engages in activism at the federal and state levels to promote left-of-center public policy positions that favor retirees and labor union interests. ²

Its focus areas include Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, pensions, Social Security, and prescription drug prices. It opposed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 and has called for the rollback of the “Trump tax cuts.” ⁷  ARA has endorsed government-controlled single-payer health care under the banner of “Medicare for All.” ⁷

It supported the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid, and supports increased federal and state funding for Medicaid programs.  ⁷

During the Biden administration, the group supported the erosion of the filibuster in the U.S. Senate, calling for it to be used “only on extraordinary circumstances,” as well as a lowering of the number of votes necessary to invoke cloture from the 60 votes needed. ⁷

In 2016, ARA executive director Richard Fiesta said he was “horrified” by President Donald Trump’s decision to appoint an openly pro-life medical doctor, then-U.S. Representative Tom Price (R-GA), as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Fiesta said the appointment “would have a devastating impact on women’s health.”  ⁹

Medicare

The ARA’s predecessor, the National Council of Senior Citizens, was involved in passing Medicare in 1965 after lobbying and public demonstrations. In an August 1964 protest, busloads of NCSC members marched to the Democratic National Convention in New Jersey, demanding the implementation of Medicare into law. ¹⁰

Social Security

In 2025, the ARA held an event at the international Washington, D.C. headquarters of the International Association of Machinists labor union where ARA speakers warned of “right-wing plans to cut Social Security and Medicare.” ¹¹

In 2025, the ARA was one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit attempting to halt the transfer of data between the Social Security Administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) during the second Trump administration. The other plaintiffs were the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) labor unions represented by left-of-center litigation nonprofit Democracy Forward. ¹²

The ARA was a strong supporter of the Social Security Fairness Act of 2024, which benefited government employees who had not paid Social Security taxes on their government-derived income. ¹³ An analysis published by the left-leaning Tax Policy Center of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution criticized the legislation as an unfair “eternal giveaway” promoted using “misleading and distorted rhetoric,” and noted that it could end up costing taxpayers trillions of dollars over subsequent decades. ¹⁴ Then-President Joe Biden walked into the January 5, 2025 White House signing ceremony for the legislation holding hands with Bette Marafino, president of the ARA’s Connecticut chapter. ¹⁵

In 2016, ARA executive director Richard Fiesta prompted a response from then-U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) office after Fiesta claimed Sen. Rubio had voted against the “best interests for seniors in Florida” regarding Social Security. Sen. Rubio’s office replied with an outlined description of Rubio’s support for the program. ¹⁶

Political Advocacy

The Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA) operates a Congressional Voting Record scorecard that scores federal legislators’ votes on legislation supported or opposed by the ARA. ¹⁷

The ARA endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in 2020, and then “enthusiastically” endorsed him in 2024 for reelection. ^{18 19}

The ARA operates a political action committee, which in the 2024 election cycle gave $83,500 to Democratic candidates and nothing to Republicans. ²⁰

In 2016, the ARA endorsed Democratic nominee and former Obama administration U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for president. Roach commented that her support for Social Security and the reduction of prescription drug prices was in line with the ARA’s mission, leading to the endorsement. ²¹  During the 2016 election, the ARA targeted social media ads specifically in Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Missouri, all of which were U.S. Senate battleground states. ²²

Funding

The Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA) receives substantial funding from its labor union sponsors and the AFL-CIO union federation. ²³

In addition to the unions that are listed as ARA sponsors, other donor unions in previous years have included the Amalgamated Transit Union, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Office and Professional Employees Union, and Laborers International Union (LIUNA). ^{24 23}

The ARA has also received grants from third-party organizations such as the generic prescription drug manufacturer trade group Association for Accessible Medicines, ²⁵ pro-Affordable Care Act lobbying group Protect Your Care, ²⁶ and the left-of-center “dark money” lobbying and advocacy group Sixteen Thirty Fund. ²⁷

In 2024, the ARA reported receiving $2,477,279 in membership dues, $111,896 in revenues from its annual meeting, and $4,737,821 in grants. ³

Leadership

Robert Roach, Jr. is the president of the Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA). Prior to his appointment, Roach was the general secretary‐treasurer of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) labor union from 2012 through 2015, and had been employed as an aviation machinist before moving into union leadership roles. He was also a member of multiple executive committees of the AFL-CIO union federation. ²⁸

Former ARA vice president Liz Shuler succeeded to the presidency of the AFL-CIO in 2021. ²⁹

Richard Fiesta has held the position of executive director since 2013. Prior to his appointment, Fiesta was the director of government and political affairs at the ARA since 2001. He is also a vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee seniors’ council. Fiesta’s experience on Capitol Hill includes work as counsel to the House Subcommittee on Labor Standards, as legislative counsel to former U.S. Senator Harris Wofford (D-PA), and as communications director for former U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD). ³⁰

Board of Directors

The ARA’s board of directors is comprised largely of labor union leaders, including high-profile presidents of major national unions such as Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Shawn Fain of the United Auto Workers (UAW), and Marc Perrone of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). Other labor unions connected to the ARA board include the AFL-CIO, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), American Postal Workers Union,  Communications Workers of America (CWA), International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Unite Here, and United Steelworkers (USW). ³

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