BellTel Retiree Fall 2016 – President’s Report

Jack Brennan’s President’s Message – This Association Rests on your shoulders 

We are now in our 20^th summer, marking yet another year of achievement on behalf of Verizon retirees.

Our mission has broadened and is more complex than ever before. The issues facing retirees are more difficult than what anyone could have envisioned in our early days.

I first joined the Association as a board volunteer and then later as Chairman.  All throughout, I was truly inspired by the organization’s professionalism, winning attitude and quite remarkable and constant achievements and results.

Now, as president of this great organization, I am still in awe of our ability to fight for retirees and to win significant victories that protect our increasingly threatened earned benefits and pension. It is certainly not easy being locked in a continual struggle to maintain our retirement security.

The front page of the newsletter chronicles our results at the U.S. Supreme Court. It also documents the collective impact of the CWA-IBEW negotiations (pg. 12), in which the union had the steadfast support of our retirees, many of whom walked the picket lines in solidarity.   With Prudential, we’ve built and carried on dialogue with that company’s leaders.

Throughout the year, BellTel is also generating news all across the U.S. (pg. 6), spotlighting the plight of our retirees, which has a truly significant impact.

On pages 8 and 9 you will read a continuing feature about BellTel’s history of success. It’s something we all – I repeat, we all – should be proud of.

The Association represents you, it represents me, and keeps us together and cohesive, fighting for Verizon retiree economic justice and equity in our retirement years.  Without BellTel, retirees would very likely not still have what we have today.

Just as your retirement security depends upon many of the actions BellTel has taken on your behalf, the very future of the Association also rests on your shoulders, and we need your steadfast support.

I understand our mailboxes and emails are jammed with solicitations from non-profits asking for contributions to help pets, kids, the environment or some faith-based causes. These are all very worthy. But for those of us who truly depend on BellTel advocacy, not taking action and to support the Association– a volunteer army fighting for you – is simply  penny wise and pound  foolish.

I ask each of you to do your part now and in the future by supporting the Association. It exists only and exclusively to protect you.

Please contribute today.  Also ask two or more Verizon friends to also contribute for your good and the good of all their fellow retirees.

We need to be strong and we need to be together.

Thank you for what you will do today and in the future to support for the Association of BellTel Retirees.