Washington Pension Union

Founded in 1937 under the name Old Age Pension Union, the group's name was changed to Washington Pension Union in 1944. It dissolved in 1961. It advocated adequate pensions for the elderly and public assistance for the needy. William J. Pennock was a founder and president of the Washington Pension Union until his death in 1953.

From the guide to the Washington Pension Union records, 1906-1965, (University of Washington Libraries Special Collections)

Washington State citizen action group advocating adequate pensions for the elderly and public assistance for the needy.

The Washington Pension Union (WPU) was formed in 1937 by Leaders of the Washington Commonwealth Federation (WCF), a group that worked within the democratic party to elect left-liberals. By 1940 the WPU was the largest left-wing organization in the state. It had two purposes: it helped people on public assistance by informing them of their rights and representing them in appeals cases if they were denied aid, and lobbied for more liberal eligibility criteria and benefit levels for public assistance. It had several successes in the 1940s, but the tide turned in 1948 when the implementation of an initiative to raise the pension level turned the state budget surplus into a deficit. The WPU and governor Langlie fought back and forth over minimum income levels and medical benefits, and Langlie accused the WPU of being a "communist front". The voters supported Langlie in the early 1950s, but despite budget cuts, Washington's welfare system was quite liberal relative to other states'. In 1953, U.S. Attorney General Harry Cain declared that the WPU was a subversive organization and ordered the WPU's president, William J. Pennock, to testify before the U.S. Senate Subversive Activities Control Board. Pennock admitted he was a communist in his testimony, and just days before he was scheduled to testify again, he committed suicide. The WPU spent the rest of its existence fighting government lawsuits aimed at dissolving it. It voluntarily dissolved in 1961.

From the description of Washington Pension Union records, 1933-1961. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 40459363