Fall 2022 Chairman’s Report

The following is Thomas Steed’s Fall 2022 Chairman’s Report:

My Fellow Retirees & Current Employees,

I hope you and your families have had a wonderful summer. In many ways, due to COVID, some of us feel we have lost or been deprived of so much over the last two years. Perhaps, we more keenly appreciate that family is most important.

My wife and I were blessed to welcome three grandchildren in a 40-day period this year. Being a grandparent is among the greatest honors and joys one could have. Similarly, our Association is about family and our support of one another.

We may not be blood relatives, but we share a heritage through MaBell, AT&T, Verizon, Western Electric, Lucent, Directory Operations, Empire City Subway and many other branches of our family tree.

Your Association’s mission is laser focused on supporting our family.

2022 Thus Far:

We started 2022 with a major win. Verizon agreed to accept our demand that they broaden the mandate of their HR committee to include workplace issues of employees up and down the ranks, instead of exclusively senior executive compensation.

Our Golden Parachute proxy achieved 44 percent of the vote, putting it very close to reaching the winner’s circle. We will continue our unrelenting efforts on your behalf and with your support.

In collaboration with our partner, Retirees for Justice, we welcomed the Pension Risk Transfer Accountability Act of 2021 (HR 5877) in the US Senate, a companion bill to one introduced in the House of Representatives. If passed, it will create a stronger safety net and accountability for retirees whose pensions have, or might still be, spun off to other financial institutions.

In May, I also had the privilege of speaking at a dedication ceremony honoring the 699 firefighters and thousands of Telephone Company employees who responded to the 1975 NY Telephone Company Fire. You can read more about the ceremony in this issue or watch it on the Belltel YouTube channel.

BellTel Annual Meeting, Oct. 19, 2022:

I look forward to seeing many of you on October 19th in Long Island, NY when your Association holds its first in-person annual meeting since 2019. It’s time to get together again in camaraderie and to discuss our critical ongoing mission to protect our retirement security.

Call some work friends and make it a reunion, or just show up as an important member of our extended family.

We Need You Now:

The Association survives on the generosity of your donations. We know how precious every dollar that you have saved means, but the fact is we are in a fight with a powerful foe with enormous corporate financial resources. I ask each of you to donate today to support our mission.

If you have already contributed in 2022, kindly consider doing so again. Also, smaller recurring donations could make a huge difference. Instead of writing a check or making one (large) donation, you could set up smaller recurring donations online with a credit card or with your bank checking account.

You can make a single donation and/or arrange recurring donations.

Imagine the power we will wield with even greater support from our entire membership community!!

 

This article was first published in the Fall 2022 BellTel Newsletter.