Telecom News - Retiree Health Care Committee Looks Toward '08 Qwest Talks

Anticipating that retiree health care could once again be an issue during bargaining with Qwest next summer, District 7's Retiree Health Care Advisory Committee is helping develop strategies for the talks.

Established a year ago, the committee's mission is "to increase retiree activism through education and communications with District 7 retirees" and to direct that activism to "support the retiree bargaining agenda in 2008 and to push for health care reform at the state and national level."

The district only had nine retiree chapters when the health care committee was formed, and set out to double that number. Today they have 28 chapters, well beyond their goal, District 7 Vice President Annie Hill said.

Hill said Qwest pushed for aggressive health care cuts at talks in 2005, proposing caps on retiree benefits that CWA successfully prevented.  The district estimates that the caps would have doubled premiums for retirees with family coverage, costing them $500 to $600 a month by 2009.

"Affordable health care is an issue for every retiree," Hill said.  "We need to educate retirees that their benefits are in jeopardy and we need to mobilize to protect access to health care."

Noting that CWA's Ready for the Future program seeks to double retiree membership in local chapters and build a retiree-activist database, Hill said, "We need to tap into the potential of 1 million retirees and capture their energy and support.  We need to get active and send messages to politicians at all levels about the importance of making health care available to all Americans."

The District 7 committee is chaired by Louise Caddell, assistant to the vice president, and Reed Roberts, administrative director. Members include Lorraine Miller,  president, Retired Members' Council District 7; Keith Peters, Local 7019 retiree chapter; Judy Fries, Local 70901 chapter; Larry McCormick, Local 7716 chapter president; Phyllis Dionne, Local 7810 chapter; Helen Rector, Local 7901 chapter; Alton Mum, Local 7290 chapter president, and Arnie Schwenck Local 7750 retiree.