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(Submitted by Alison Grovo, Iowa Area Office)
Joyce Hermanstorfer, a Midwest Regional Board Member for the
National Alliance for Retired Americans and President of CWA Eastern Iowa
Retiree Members' Chapter 70901, chaired the morning session of the Founding
Convention of the Iowa Alliance. At the conclusion of the Founding Convention,
Iowa joined 29 other states across the country that have received their Charter
from the National Alliance for Retired Americans.
Attached is a picture of the Retirees attending the CWA Retired Members Council Meeting in Las Vegas on June 20, 2008:
Front row from left to right: Helen Rector, Virginia Busch, Lorraine Miller, Peggy Dewey. Second row, Jeanne Carpenter, Harvey Hoffman, Bruce Smith, Judy Fries, Arnie Schenck, Sandy Glover, Dee Cantoni, Charlie Riker Attached is a
picture taken by Steve Pittman, Director of
Illinois Alliance, at Congressman Loebsack's
District office in Cedar Rapids. Steve is
instrumental in establishing the Iowa Chapter
for the Alliance. In July, the Iowa Alliance
will be holding our Charter Convention.
Attached is a picture of RMC 70901 President
Joyce Hermanstorfer with Retirees from Waterloo, IA. who were 100% in signing
the Employee Free Choice Act Card.
From Annie Hill, Previous Vice President: At the beginning of the year, over 128,000 CWA retirees who were not CWA Local Retiree chapter members were sent a letter and brochure announcing the new Lifetime Council membership program and inviting them to sign up. It’s easy for retirees to join –they can go to the Council’s website www.CWAretirees.com and join on-line. I would also like to echo this invitation. I would also encourage you to join and participate in your Local’s Retiree Chapter. The purpose of a CWA Retired Members' Chapter is to bring retirees into an organization for the betterment of themselves and their Union. Chapters provide retirees with a vehicle to protect and fight for the issues that affect them as retirees and family members. Through the CWA retiree chapters, our members are able to speak out with a united voice. The establishment of the chapter also provides advantages for the sponsoring Local. The chapter provides a wealth of experienced, knowledgeable and available members for picket lines, rallies, organizing and legislative activities. All retirees who were members in good standing of CWA or its merger-partner unions at the time of their retirement and who are Life Time Members of the CWA Retiree Members Council are eligible to join the chapter, regardless of their home local.Spouses of these retirees are eligible to join as "associate members” of the Retired Members' Chapter and enjoy all privileges except voting. Some of the advantages of being a member and participating in your Local’s retiree chapter include: A. To Unite CWA retired members in a cohesive organization that can, in conjunction with the CWA Retired Members Council, other unions, church, and community groups, develop effective support for programs on federal, state-wide, and community levels to bring a better life for older people. B. To foster fraternal ties of CWA members into the years of retirement. C. To assist retired members secure housing, medical care, drugs and other consumer goods and services at prices they can afford to pay. D. To inform retired members about useful, social and recreational opportunities. E. To keep CWA informed on any special problems of our retired members. F. To keep retired members informed of CWA programs, policies, and objectives. G. To promote active support of retired members for CWA objectives. H. To affiliate with the Alliance of retired Americans. In CWA District 7 we have established a District 7 Retiree Committee. This committee provides a direct link to CWA District 7 on issues and concerns of our CWA retirees. The District 7 Retiree Committee is responsible for developing plans and programs to establish Local Retiree Chapters in Locals and areas where there is an interest from retirees, as well as recruit volunteers to actively participate in Local chapters and other activities that may be determined as necessary to maintain the lifestyle each retiree expected when they retired. CWA District 7 has also added this retiree page to our CWA District 7 web site. While this page is still new and a work in progress we hope to provide information of interest to our CWA retirees. The following are the names and contact numbers for our CWA District 7 Retiree Committee: Keith Peters, Local 7019 I have attached to this correspondence a
section for you to indicate your desire to participate in your Local chapter.
Once we have received your information, I will forward your information to the
appropriate Local chapter or Local to contact you and invite you to the next
meeting. (Please
download the letter.)
To help retired members stay connected to CWA, and to harness their energy for protecting key retiree issues -- pensions, health care, Social Security and Medicare -- CWA is now offering a special Lifetime Membership in the Retired Members' Council for a one-time payment of $25. "We must do a better job of realizing the tremendous potential that CWA retirees can play in our employer and legislative campaigns to maintain and protect the hard-won benefits we all count on when we retire," said CWA's national officers in announcing the program to locals. The Executive Board created the lifetime Council memberships in response to CWA's Ready for the Future convention resolution calling for doubling the number of Council members to 50,000 by 2009. Previously Council membership required payment of annual fees. Under the program, the 20,000 current members of CWA local retiree chapters will automatically be enrolled in the program. CWA last week mailed a brochure and application form to 128,000 retirees who don't now belong to local chapters outlining the new program. To become lifetime members of the Council, retirees can either return the form with a check or credit card information or else join directly online at a new website -- www.cwaretirees.com . On the website, retirees will find information about the activities of the Retired Members' Council as well as money-saving discount programs available to Council members through the CWA Union Privilege program.
In Addition,
CWA/Qwest
Health Benefits Coordinators are available to assist the
Locals, Members and Retirees with any health care problem or
issue: Do not hesitate to use the HBC's if you need assistance.
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