TELCO
RETIREES ASSOCIATION, INC.
In
November 2002 a one page article appeared in the Business
Week Magazine, entitled RETIREES' REVENGE. The one page
article featured an interview with Mr. C. William Jones,
President of the BellTel Retiree Association (an organization
at that time made up of over 90,000 members! (The organization
began in 1995 when 1400 former New York Tel (NYNEX)
managers challenged the CEO because there had been no
retiree pension increases for a number of years. When
their organization failed to receive any response from
the NYNEX Corporation, they began organizing a full
blown retiree association.
Intrigued
with the concept of an independent retiree organization,
Mr. Sumner K. Emery (Retired Division Manager) made
contact with Mr. Jones and immediately began forming
a Pacific Bell/Nevada Bell retiree organization.
Critical
issues to be resolved were A CORPORATE NAME, A MISSION
STATEMENT, THE ACQUISITION OF A POST OFFICE BOX, THE
FILING WITH THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR INCORPORATION
AND NON-PROFIT STATUS, THE FILING WITH THE U.S. INTERNAL
REVENUE SERVICE FOR NON-PROFIT STATUS, THE SELECTION
OF OFFICERS (PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT, TREASURER, SECRETARY
AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS) REPRESENTING
THE FORMER PACIFIC BELL/NEVADA BELL TERRITORIES.
Federal
and state authorities required an extensive set of Bylaws
prior to any approvals. A SET OF BYLAWS WAS DEVELOPED
AND APPROVED MARCH 29, 2004 BY OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
THE BYLAWS ENCOMPASSED THE FOLLOWING: NAME AND PURPOSE
OF THE ORGANIZATION, MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS, ELECTIONS
AND TERM OF OFFICE, ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, OFFICERS/BOARD
OF DIRECTORS DUTIES, BOARD ELECTIONS AND ANNUAL MEETING,
MEMBERSHIP DUES AND ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE, MANAGEMENT
OF FINANCES, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND A STATEMENT OUTLINING
DISSOLUTION.
Following
months of negotiations with state and federal authorities,
the TelCo Retirees Association, Inc. was approved for
corporate status on January 7, 2004. We received U.S.
Internal Revenue approval of our non-profit status on
April 28, 2004 and non-profit approval from the California
Franchise Tax Board on September 8, 2004.
THE
TELCO RETIREES ASSOCIATION, INC. IS DEDICATED TO PROTECT,
ENHANCE AND ASSURE THE CONTINUATION OF RETIREES' PENSIONS
AND OTHER BENEFITS PROMISED BY THE COMPANY AT THE TIME
OF THEIR RETIREMENT.
THE
TELCO RETIREES ASSOCIATION, INC. WILL STRONGLY ENCOURAGE
THE COMPANY TO RECOGNIZE THE CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY ITS
RETIREES THROUGHOUT THEIR YEARS OF LOYAL AND DEDICATED
SERVICE.
THE
TELCO RETIREES ASSOCIATION, INC. WILL CONDUCT ONGOING
ACTIVITIES TO INFORM AND EDUCATE FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL
REPRESENTATIVES AND ALL FORMS OF OUTSIDE MEDIA ON THOSE
MATTERS AFFECTING ITS MEMBERS.
Currently,
there are over 2100 former Pacific Bell/Nevada Bell retirees
who have committed themselves to membership. (Annual dues
were established at $34.) This amount was arrived at following
discussions with other major Bell System retiree organizations
(U.S. West, Southern New England Tel, AT&T and Lucent).
Based
upon statements made by SBC corporate officers, there
are approximately 30,000 plus retirees from the former
Pacific Bell/Nevada Bell companies. MEMBERSHIP GROWTH
HAS BEEN GIVEN A TOP PRIORITY BY THE TELCO RETIREES ASSOCIATION,
INC.
The
following Officers and Board of Directors represent a
cross section of the "Old Bell System" - Plant,
Commercial, Marketing, Directory, Accounting Administration,
Traffic. We have also recognized geographical areas in
California and Nevada in the selection of our Board members.
OFFICERS:
President/CEO
-Charles Gilbert, Retired 1983,
29 years of service.
Vice President
- Monte W. Baggs
Retired 1991, 31 years of service, Salinas
Treasurer - Shirley Croson
Secretary - Muriel Wick,
Retired 1981, 37 years of service.
Board of Directors
Lee Brown
31 years of service, Anaheim
(IBEW Directory Executive)
Charles H. Muller
Retired 1979, 31 years of service, San Diego
Larry Love
Retired 1984, 37 years of service, Lincoln
Donna Portzer
Retired 1991, 30 years of service, San Ramon
Sandy Keel
20 years of service.
All TelCo Retiree Officers and members of the Board of
Directors are serving without compensation.
A Website (telcoretirees.org and telcoretirees.com)
was established by the Association to improve communications
with our membership as well as all prospective members.
In addition, a Quarterly Newsletter is being mailed to
those members without internet access.
MEMBERSHIPS
Membership in the TelCo Retirees Association, Inc.,
while not "exclusive", is primarily limited
to retirees from the former Pacific Bell and Nevada Bell
Companies (SBC). Membership is also open to any former
Bell System Company retiree who would like to affiliate
with our Association.
Click here for details on our
Membership information page
SPECIAL PEOPLE
In every organization there are those
individuals who can be counted upon, the people who always
do more than they are asked to do, the ones who never
consider failure and whose membership in an organization
makes the job of leadership so personally rewarding.
During the early formative months of our
TelCo Retirees Association, the need for start-up funds
became critical. When the need became known, a number
of retired friends and associates immediately offered
assistance and within a week or two our fiscal crisis
was resolved.
Because of their willingness to step forward
at a critical moment in our organizational planning, I
would like to share their names with our membership.
Jack Forman
Donald Lively
Donald Nydam
William Stovall
James Gere
Charles Love
John Parkhurst
B. L. Schaeffer
Robert Hinshaw
L.T. Marracci
Bruce Overson
Linc Ward
Robert Hoffman
Charles McAvoy
Chris Quartly
Mrs. O. Lee Williams
Richard Reid
Larry Love
The TelCo Retirees Association, Inc. gratefully acknowledges
your support at a critical moment in time.
Charles Gilbert, President
