For the first time in two years, your Association of BellTel Retirees was able to host its in-person annual member meeting on Long Island, New York. It happened on October 19, 2022.
We’ve had our annual member meeting all over the country. This year the meeting was held in Woodbury, Long Island, at the very same venue we planned for back in 2020.
When the pandemic hit, your Association mobilized for the safety of our members, taking our membership meeting fully online. For two years we worked to create a meeting that would be accessible to all members while we hunkered down at home.
We were elated to see more than 100 members in-person, to reconnect with old friends and colleagues, while staying updated on the happenings of our great organization. We also livestream the event live, though there were some broadcast technical difficulties.
Our Chairman, Thomas Steed, addressed members on many different topics. He detailed the 2022 Verizon proxy campaign and our successful results and a request, made on behalf of all Verizon retirees, for a COLA increase from the company. Mr. Steed also spoke on the Sickness and Death Benefits that are made available to some Verizon retirees.
Pension Rights Center Executive Director Karen Friedman spoke to the members on the many initiatives the PRC has enacted to support and protect retirees rights. The Pension Rights Center and the Association have a long history of collaboration to protect our rights as retirees.
Laura Whitlock, Interim Executive Director of the Pioneers, spoke and urged those who are not Pioneers to join or become reengaged. She pledged the Pioneers would join forces with our Association to boost both organizations and support each other’s initiates.
Our Association’s special counsel and Retirees for Justice Executive Director, Edward Stone spoke on the activities of Retirees for Justice which is focused on legislative and government issues and causes important to retirees. It is free for BellTel Retirees to sign up for Retirees for Justice.
Retired New York City Firefighter Danny Noonan, the leading historian and advocate on the 1975 New York Telephone Company Fire also gave an informative presentation. He spoke to the health issues that have emerged in the wake of that terrible event, and a recent and upcoming plaque dedication ceremony to memorialize the events.
We also heard from 9/11 legal advocates, Retired FDNY Chief Richie Alles and Attorney Michael Barasch. They spoke about the telephone company workforce retirees and consultant retirees who worked near the World Trade Center on or after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, who may be at risk of developing 68 types of cancers from the 9/11 toxins.
If you missed the event live, you can watch an edited version of the event on the Association’s YouTube now.
This article was first published in the 2022 Winter Newsletter.
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