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CWA Heros: Members Risk Lives to Save Others
Whether police officers sworn to protect and serve or telecom technicians with an alert eye and genuine concern, CWA members save lives.
On May 24, two SBC technicians in Ohio saw smoke billowing from a burning house in North Toledo. The Local 4319 members, Randy Carpenter and Tim Guimond, rushed to the scene, climbed to an upstairs window and carried a 2-year-old boy to safety.
"People see their trucks come and go all the time," said Jeff Rechenbach, CWA District 4 vice president, "but many don't realize that for our members, it's not just business. They really care about people. Randy and Tim are two outstanding examples."
Before the technicians were distracted from their assigned task nearby, the parents had managed to get three of their kids out of the burning building, and Battalion Fire Chief Gerald Abair told the local NBC affiliate they did the right thing.
The mother, Evelyn Hines, tried to go back in for the toddler but was overcome by the smoke. Carpenter also tried to go up the steps but found the smoke too intense. That's when he and his partner thought to use the ladder from their truck.
Fire crews were on the scene within five minutes of the call, but said Abair, every second counts. The two CWA members, he said, "were very modest and felt they did what any man would have done."
On May 14, West Virginia state trooper D.R. Herdman, a member of the West Virginia Troopers Association/CWA Local 2019, responded to what he told Charleston Daily Mail reporter Drew Smith was "by far the worst car accident I've ever seen."
Driving on Interstate 77 near Ripley, Melanie Mistich, 43, of Washington, W.Va., lost control of her Pontiac Grand Prix at about 9:50 p.m. The car drifted across the median and plowed head-on into a minivan occupied by five members of the Wickersham family from Salem, Ohio. Two other family members traveling in a second car managed to swerve and avoid the accident.
Witnesses said Herdman risked his own life and organized bystanders to help him get the victims away from the burning crash and watch over them. He performed CPR on the seriously injured Mistich and Ray Wickersham, 72, though both died at the scene. He credited those who assisted him with helping save the others. "If they hadn't been there it would have been a lot worse."
CWA District 2 Vice President Pete Catucci praised Herdman's courage and ability to take charge to save lives.
Noting that Gov. Joe Manchin (D) will shortly call the State Legislature into session to consider a pay increase for state police, corrections officers and other public employees, Catucci said: "Our state police and corrections officers are putting their lives on the line every day, and they really are not getting paid what they should."
On May 24, two SBC technicians in Ohio saw smoke billowing from a burning house in North Toledo. The Local 4319 members, Randy Carpenter and Tim Guimond, rushed to the scene, climbed to an upstairs window and carried a 2-year-old boy to safety.
"People see their trucks come and go all the time," said Jeff Rechenbach, CWA District 4 vice president, "but many don't realize that for our members, it's not just business. They really care about people. Randy and Tim are two outstanding examples."
Before the technicians were distracted from their assigned task nearby, the parents had managed to get three of their kids out of the burning building, and Battalion Fire Chief Gerald Abair told the local NBC affiliate they did the right thing.
The mother, Evelyn Hines, tried to go back in for the toddler but was overcome by the smoke. Carpenter also tried to go up the steps but found the smoke too intense. That's when he and his partner thought to use the ladder from their truck.
Fire crews were on the scene within five minutes of the call, but said Abair, every second counts. The two CWA members, he said, "were very modest and felt they did what any man would have done."
On May 14, West Virginia state trooper D.R. Herdman, a member of the West Virginia Troopers Association/CWA Local 2019, responded to what he told Charleston Daily Mail reporter Drew Smith was "by far the worst car accident I've ever seen."
Driving on Interstate 77 near Ripley, Melanie Mistich, 43, of Washington, W.Va., lost control of her Pontiac Grand Prix at about 9:50 p.m. The car drifted across the median and plowed head-on into a minivan occupied by five members of the Wickersham family from Salem, Ohio. Two other family members traveling in a second car managed to swerve and avoid the accident.
Witnesses said Herdman risked his own life and organized bystanders to help him get the victims away from the burning crash and watch over them. He performed CPR on the seriously injured Mistich and Ray Wickersham, 72, though both died at the scene. He credited those who assisted him with helping save the others. "If they hadn't been there it would have been a lot worse."
CWA District 2 Vice President Pete Catucci praised Herdman's courage and ability to take charge to save lives.
Noting that Gov. Joe Manchin (D) will shortly call the State Legislature into session to consider a pay increase for state police, corrections officers and other public employees, Catucci said: "Our state police and corrections officers are putting their lives on the line every day, and they really are not getting paid what they should."