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To my fellow BellTel Retirees and Active Employees,
In 1996, I was among the NYNEX retirees who recognized that commitments made in our working years were not being kept. As my portion of the employment agreement, I gave 30 years to the company, working alongside an amazing group of 3,000 hardworking and wonderful colleagues, in return for a guarantee that the pension and retirement benefits offered by Ma Bell would last for MY LIFETIME! About five years after I retired as Division Manager of the Buildings Engineering and Real Estate Department, I started to realize the company I devoted a career to was not living up to those commitments. It’s exactly why seven of us co-founded the Association of BellTel Retirees in 1996, because if we don’t stand up for ourselves, who will? Over the past 30 years, it has been a great honor to watch this organization grow, succeed and continue to bring about results. I salute countless volunteers and members for their role to protect our collective earned retirement benefits. But our job, and the mission, is far from over! Some might recall that in 2010, Verizon sold 7 million access lines to Frontier Communications, transferring 11,000 employees and many retirees within that transaction. Fast forward to January 2026, as the company just reacquired all of Frontier Communications, just weeks after laying off 13,000 from Verizon. As company leaders continue to move people and corporate divisions around like pieces on a chess board, retirees and employees need to be as vocal and engaged as ever. We also need to continually monitor the state of our earned health and pension benefits. The issue of your pensions being converted into group annuities is serious business, as is the trend of private equity buying up and offshoring pension assets. Not to mention the collapse of a large insurance and annuity provider, reported in recent weeks. The Association of BellTel Retirees continues fighting for us. Its leaders have testified to Congress, initiated litigations rising to the U.S. Supreme Court, and authored victorious shareholder proxy campaigns. BellTel remains a consistent and vocal advocate for retirees in the news and as a source of insight for us all. As we mark 30 years of results, I say with certainty that retirees being of one voice has made us a more formidable force. Let’s keep that going and get behind BellTel’s efforts in 2026! I ask my fellow retirees and active employees to step up and serve as a volunteer leader and make a generous donation today. Visit our donation page on our website or use enclosed donation card to contribute. In addition to your typical generous donation, consider your Association during your current and future planned giving. This includes estate planning, your annual required minimum distribution (RMD) to a qualified charitable distribution (QCD), and adding the Association as a beneficiary. Each contribution supports BellTel’s mission to serve as an information pipeline to retirees and current employees through the quarterly newsletters, annual member meetings, our YouTube channel, podcasts, and social media. We need everyone to play a role. Become a dynamic part of a winning team focused on protecting you! Many Thanks,
Bob Rehm  |
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