Yonkers protest slams U.S. plan to slash Social Security workforce

YONKERS — A parade of speakers and a fired-up crowd let loose on the Trump administration on Thursday, April 3, over deep staffing cuts in the agency that handles a vital safety-net program.

The rally was staged outside a Social Security office in Yonkers to condemn plans to cut 7,000 Social Security jobs, about 12% of the workforce that helps 73 million seniors and people with disabilities get their monthly payments. Critics have warned that staffing cuts that severe will make it harder to apply for benefits and correct problems.

Angela Davis-Farrish, a Baptist minister and president of the Westchester Black Women's Political Caucus, wasn't buying the administration's insistence it won't touch Social Security benefits or the safety net. Nor was the crowd of about 50 gathered on the sidewalk on Broadway.

"Well you tell me today, how is cutting 7,000 jobs not cutting the net?" she demanded through a bullhorn as listeners cheered. "What is even more crazy is that we have billionaires making decisions on the vital resources for our community, that will never, ever need Social Security."

The protest was organized by a coalition of Yonkers groups, including local chapters of the progressive group Indivisible and the NAACP.

Among the speakers was Democratic Rep. George Latimer, the former Westchester County executive who joined Congress in January. He denounced the staff cuts rippling across all federal agencies, but also the new tariffs, potential Medicaid cuts and more. He predicted the combined actions would trigger a "MAGA great depression" if left unchecked.

"We have to show the other side that there's a political price to pay for this insanity," Latimer said. "And they have to pay that price in order for them to understand."

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Why are these changes happening at Social Security offices?

The job cuts are part of an aggressive effort led by billionaire Elon Musk to shrink the federal bureaucracy. They come as Social Security staffing is at a 50-year low, according to the union for those workers, and as new rules kick in that will increase office visits. Starting this week, applicants and current beneficiaries who don't have online accounts must go in person to verify their identities.

The Social Security Administration claims it can maintain service with 7,000 fewer workers by reorganizing its staff.

"These steps prioritize customer service by streamlining redundant layers of management, reducing non-mission critical work, and potential reassignment of employees to customer service positions," the agency said in its Feb. 28 announcement of job cuts.

The agency also will soon close a White Plains hearing office for disability claims, sparking bipartisan outrage from both Latimer and GOP Rep. Mike Lawler, along with New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. The agency refused to seek new space — or accept an offer from Westchester County government — as its White Plains lease was set to end on May 31.

Another Social Security office in Poughkeepsie, now closed for renovations, was originally listed for permanent closure on the website of the Department of Government Efficiency, the cost-cutting team that Musk leads. But officials have since announced that the office will reopen after the work is done.

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Trying to restore lost benefits for a 90-year-old mom

Rally speakers on Thursday included a Yonkers resident who has been struggling to recover Social Security benefits for her 90-year-old mother, whose payments abruptly stopped in February without notice or explanation.

The woman, who asked that she not be named for fear of retaliation, spoke to the USA Today Network about their ordeal before the rally. She had spent a lot of time on it, including a three-hour phone call and visit to a Social Security office in the Bronx, where her mother lives. She was finally told the payments would be restored, but so far they had not.

She warned that problems like theirs were sure to get worse once the Trump administration fires more workers. She had nothing but praise for those who had tried to help her, saying they were perplexed by what had happened and the sudden changes being made.

"It is an extremely well-trained, compassionate group of people, who have been given no tools and no reasons why things are happening to people," she said.

Two days earlier, a worker from another Social Security office in New York had testified before Congress about the dire impact he said the staff cuts and policy changes will have on beneficiaries.

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Rennie Glasgow, a claims technical expert in Schenectady, said seven workers in his office recently lost their jobs. That means longer waits for customer service, Glasgow said, but also a loss of valuable experience that cannot be restored.

"It takes a minimum of two years for an employee to be fully trained in our programs," Glasgow said in his written testimony to a panel of House Democrats. "And we have essentially thrown decades of collective experience out the door."

Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Social Security cuts: Yonkers rally slams federal plan to slash jobs