Power in Numbers for CWA Retirees

By James Starr, CWA Retired Members' Council Chair

As the new chair of the CWA Retired Members' Council, I am excited about our growth and the power we have collectively to affect the lives of retirees, our younger union brothers and sisters and, in fact, all working people.

For most of five decades, I have been a member of CWA and Local 3204 in Atlanta. I started with Southern Bell as a switchman and retired from BellSouth as an electronics technician. I served as vice chair of the Council for four years as well as president of the Council's District 3, a post I still have. As chair, I join CWA Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling in representing the union on the Executive Board of the Alliance for Retired Americans.

I had the privilege of signing up new union members in my working days, and few things now bring more joy to my heart than signing up CWA retirees as lifetime members of our Council.

The Council is on its way to the CWA goal of 50,000 lifetime members in local retiree chapters throughout the union by 2009

Mobilizing our members is the other half of the battle. We did good work in the 2006 elections, and we need to build on that. Our voices are critically needed in the battle for universal health care and in the fight to stop the assault on working families. Politicans are still eager to dismantle Social Security and employers are stepping up their attacks on pensions and health care, especially retiree health care. We have to support the bargaining process every which way we can, from writing letters to showing up in force for rallies and shareholder meetings.

Retirees are a vital part of the "Stewards Army" program that was launched last year. CWA is setting the standard for open and two-way communications among members, stewards and officers at every level of the union.

The Council is taking that to heart. We want to strengthen communication with our leaders and members, and the union at large.

Council Vice Chair Bobby Brown and Secretary-Treasurer Addie Brinkley join me in affirming the words of our late Council chair, Ed Creegan. "Our main objective will be not only to keep retirees informed of the issues affecting them but also to keep active members informed of retiree concerns. It is critical that retirees and active members understand the problems affecting each other."

Visit www.CWAretirees.com for more information, including joining the Council online.