Retired Members' Council A Growing Force for CWA

You retire from your job, but CWA hopes you'll never retire from your union.  More than 21,000 retirees are already part of CWA's Retired Members' Council, and now the organization is making its biggest push ever to expand.           

Currently, 134 CWA locals have retiree chapters. The goal by 2009 is to add at least another 150 and bring the number of retiree members to 50,000,

From letter-writing to protests and picket lines, CWA retirees work to resolve health care, pension and other issues vital to seniors, while also giving time and energy to organizing, bargaining and political campaigns.

"Our Retired Members' Council is one of the jewels in CWA's crown," CWA Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling said. "The combination of enthusiasm, experience and wisdom that our retirees bring to the table is invaluable. As the RMC grows, so does its power and clout, and that benefits all of our members and retirees."

Mailings are about to go out to all retirees explaining that they can now become lifetime members of the RMC for a one-time fee of $25.

Retirees who already belong to local chapters will be grandfathered in at no cost. Special Programs Administrator Helen Gibson said locals are being encouraged to give the $25 lifetime memberships as a gift to their members as they retire.

Meanwhile, council and sector officers are working hard to build new chapters. District 13 RMC President Ray Myers has helped created six new chapters in Pennsylvania in just the past two months.

"This is a win-win situation for locals and for retirees," he said. "We hope everyone will join with us. Together we can be an unbeatable force."