CWA Offers Broad Range of Scholarship Programs

CWA assists members and their families in numerous ways to help pay for higher education. Visit the websites listed below for complete information and applications for the following scholarships:

Joe Beirne Scholarships
Each year, CWA's Joe Beirne Foundation awards 30 partial college scholarships of up to $3,000 each to members and their spouses, children and grandchildren, including dependents of retired, laid off, or deceased members.

The scholarship — renewable for a second year depending upon satisfactory academic progress — is named in honor of CWA's founding president, who served for more than 30 years. It is made possible by funding from CWA locals.

Applications require a short essay on the importance of unions in the applicant's life. The deadline for applying is March 31. Applications are available solely online for completion and submission to the foundation's website: ga.cwa-union.org/members/beirne.

Morton Bahr Scholarships
Each year Empire State College, State University of New York, awards several scholarships for distance learning to assist union members and other workers in furthering their educational goals. The scholarship is named in honor of CWA President Emeritus Morton Bahr, an Empire State graduate.

Union workers, family members or domestic partners interested in registering for degree studies with Empire State are eligible to apply.

Scholarship awards fully cover tuition, fees and special services along with an allowance for study materials and books up to $130 per course, per term.

June 1, 2006 is the deadline to apply for the 2006-2007 academic year. Complete information and applications are available on Empire's website at www.esc.edu/Bahr.

IUE-CWA Scholarships
IUE-CWA offers 17 scholarships for 2006-2007 worth between $1,000 and $3,000 to members and their children and grandchildren. Some scholarships are also available to IUE-CWA employees or family members.

Applications are taken solely online, with a deadline of March 31. For complete information and to apply, visit www.iue-cwa.org and follow links.

David S. Barr Awards
TNG-CWA each year recognizes the journalistic effort of one high school senior and one college student. The awards — $500 to the high school student and $1,500 to the college student — are named in honor of a highly esteemed past TNG-CWA general counsel. They are intended to promote the pursuit of justice and fairness in journalism and to promote issues of importance to working people.

Eligible students must submit a published or broadcast work that helped to right a wrong, correct an injustice or promote justice and fairness. Entries must be received by January 31. The awards are presented May 3 at the Heywood Broun Award banquet in Washington, D.C.

Complete information and applications are available online at www.newsguild.org. Click on "Info" in the bar at the top of the home page, then on "Awards" in the menu that drops down beneath it.

Flight Attendants' Scholarship
The AFA-CWA Scholarship Fund offers a highly competitive scholarship worth up to $5,000 for one year. Recipients may reapply each year until graduation, for a maximum of four years.

Dependents of AFA-CWA members in good standing are eligible to apply, with a deadline of April 10.

Complete information and applications can be found on the website at www.afanet.org. Scroll down the blue column on the left side of the home page and click on Scholarship.

Union Plus Scholarships
The Union Plus Education Foundation each year awards union members, spouses and dependent children numerous scholarships ranging between $500 and $4,000.

Judged by an independent committee of post secondary educators, applications and complete information are available at www.unionpriv.org. The deadline to apply for the 2006-2007 school year is Jan. 31.

The Union Plus website also features a college planning guide and database of $4 million in scholarship funds available through unions throughout the nation. Visit www.unionscholarships.com.