This month, AT&T transitioned the annuity payments of 96,000 retirees and beneficiaries from
the AT&T Pension Plan to a life insurance company called Athene.

We have serious concerns about transactions like this. Annuity benefits transferred to life
insurance companies lose protection under the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
and are instead covered by the various state insurance guaranty associations, whose protection
levels can vary.

In addition, we have specific concerns about the business practices of Athene, which is owned by a private equity firm called Apollo Global Management.

We have created this online survey in order to better ascertain the impact of this
transaction among our retirees and to identify and connect with affected retirees.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSerQ58lv-cB8pYEVg2zUHiaaVO8ANASGYEw0TpIlrH-_AXWeQ/viewform

In response to AT&T’s announcement that the company would be closing multiple call centers in CWA District 4, CWAers across the District and beyond are mobilizing to call on the company to cancel the closures, stop the terminations, and treat their loyal employees with the dignity and respect that they deserve. Over 45 call centers have been closed by AT&T in the United States since 2011, with thousands of employees, their families, and the communities they live in being devastated by this alarming trend. Workers who have given years, even decades, of their lives to help AT&T succeed are being unceremoniously terminated. Many of these centers have been recognized as top performers, making their shutdown even more unreasonable and unjust.

Effective January 1, 2023 (retroactively) through December 31, 2024, employees who are enrolled in an AT&T self-insured medical program will have the member cost share waived for all virtual healthcare visits offered through Your Personal Healthcare Team by Included Health.

Union Plus Scholarship
Deadline: 1/31/23

https://1unionplusscholars.communityforce.com/Funds/FundDetails.aspx?3974434C474C374F385A79754C674C566349303967446A484F715951696265626A5363597A6B6545396C78444178726338512B73664F506A636B577251445746

Robert D Johnson Memorial Scholarship (CWA District 4)
Deadline: 4/15/23

https://collegenowgc.org/cleveland-foundation-scholarship-listing/the-robert-d-johnson-memorial-scholarship-fund/

Joe Bierne Scholarship Program
Deadline: 4/30/23

https://cwa-union.org/pages/beirne

The Robert D. Johnson Memorial Scholarship Fund, administered by the Cleveland Foundation who is partnered with College Now Greater Cleveland for scholarship management, is now accepting applications for the 2023-2024 academic year. Application deadline is April 15, 2023. Awards will be announced by June 15, 2023.

So, you've slugged away at your job for a few years and your role and responsibilities haven't changed. No one seeks your input and most important meetings and work happen around you without you being involved. Where and how do you kick your career back in gear?

Let's get one thing straight...

Employers and Corporations did not feel generous and decide to give you two days off every week to have a social/personal life. (We now call them weekends). Corporations did not just feel like being nice one day and give their employees paid vacations. CEOs didn't get together in a board room and say "Let's give our employees more rights at work" or "Maybe there should be laws to limit our power over an employee".

Under the Supreme Court's Weingarten decision, when a investigatory interview occurs, these rules apply:

The employee may request union representation before or during the interview. After the request, the employer must choose from among three options:

1.Grant the request and delay questioning until the union representative arrives.

2. Deny the request and end the interview immediately.