it wishes to work in cooperation with the much larger seniors' group. However, during the 2003 debate over the Medicare prescription drug benefit, the Alliance broke with AARP and publicly criticized AARP's leaders for being out of touch with seniors and caving in to financial incentives (AARP offers a number of health insurance products, some of which might have suffered had a more generous prescription drug benefit been enacted). Barbara Easterling, who had served as the first woman Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO in 1995, was the president of the Alliance from 2009 to 2015 when she was succeeded by Robert Roach. Structure and governance Membership in the Alliance is defined quite broadly. Members of NCSC were automatically made charter members of the Alliance, giving the new organization a sizeable membership base. Any retired union member is eligible for membership in the Alliance. Retired workers who were not union members may become full members as well. Member dues are $10 a year. The dues of retired union members are paid by each national union (with a cap of $100,000, which is adjusted annually). Some AFL-CIO unions pay the dues out of their budgets, rather than assess their retirees or members a special fee to pay the dues. Non-union retirees pay dues of $10.00 a year. Alliance members are the governing body of the organization. The membership meets in a national convention every non-presidential election year. The membership elects a president, a secretary-treasurer, a community-based executive vice-president, and six community-based board members. There is no provision for proportional representation within the Alliance; every member may attend the national convention and vote, and sponsoring unions may send as many delegates as they choose. The membership also discusses and approves policies; raises voluntary donations for the organization's political operations. Between conventions, the Alliance is governed by a national executive board. The Alliance has four executive officers as well. These are the president, secretary-treasurer, community-based executive vice-president, and an executive vice-president appointed by Alliance affiliates. These four officers oversee the day-to-day operations of the organization. The Alliance also has an executive director, who oversees the staff and implements the policies of the organization. In 2022, the Alliance's officers are: Robert Roach, Jr., president. Roach started his career as a ramp serviceman for TWA in 1975 and was a member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local Lodge 1056 in New York.