Retiree thanks for health care "we" fought for

A retiree I know , just diagnosed with prostate cancer (his prognosis for cure is very good) sent me an e-mail thanking me for the health care "we" fought for, I guess meaning the "we" being union officers, and CWA in general. Of course we appreciate that thanks but the truth is we all, including him, fought for our health care and continue to fight for it. This particular member would not want me to say this but he was always a really good union guy, and still is, and he walked picket on strike and did all that was asked of him, and as a retiree he still does. I remember, during one of the strikes in the '80's, I was picket captain and called him up in the middle of the night to take someone's place on picket duty, and he did it without a grumble. We have a lot of retirees like that. I appreciated their help and continue to get their help in our ongoing fight with Alcatel/Lucent over retiree health care. We have some damn good active employee union members as well. The point is, we all fought for and continue to fight for the rights of working men and women. Some participate more than others, sure, but we've just got to spur all retirees and union members in general to keep fighting for universal health care and all the other issues that face working people. So to the retiree I mentioned in the first part of this message, your welcome and thanks right back at you for your part in fighting for our rights and health care in particular!!!

AL MUMM