Union Plus: Green Programs Give You Back Some ‘Green’
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Union Plus has expanded its “Green” programs that not only help protect the environment, but can put a little “green” back into your pocket through savings on home heating oil, energy-efficient vehicles, home energy audits and more.
The newest green program from Union Plus is the Green Scholarship program. Union Plus is providing $5,000 in scholarships for the National Labor College’s (NLC’s) Green Workplace Representative Program, to teach union activists how to convert individual workplaces to sustainable environments.
Union Privilege President Leslie Tolf says:
With these programs and others, union workers can lead the way forward in a thriving green economy, embracing change and overcoming challenges to protect our families, our environment and our future.
Vote for Your Favorite Union Plus Scholarship Video
Each year, hundreds of college students from union families get a boost toward financing their education through the Union Plus Scholarship Program. Now you can check out some of the scholarship winners in a new Union Plus Scholarship Video Contest. Among the entries are an Actor’s Equity member and an 18-year-old who’s “100 percent union made” with both parents belonging to a union. There’s also a young woman who wants corporations to understand the difference between “management” and leadership.
Check out the videos and vote for your favorite here.
Since 1991, the Union Plus Scholarship Program has provided more than $2.8 million to help fulfill the educational dreams of 1,813 students who represent millions of working families across the nation. This year some 133 students won $200,000 in scholarships. The winners represent 41 unions and will be attending colleges, universities, trade and technical schools across the country.
Taking a Break at the Convention
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When delegates to the AFL-CIO Convention take a break from the serious business on the floor, they’ve had a wide choice of interesting things to do and see in the lobby outside the hall.
The hall outside the David L. Lawrence Convention Center offers balconies overlooking the impressive skyline above the Allegheny River, which runs alongside the David Lawrence Convention Center. Inside, our Union Shop has set up a booth with union-made buttons, T-shirts and books, and the lines of delegates and guests often has been long, as many delegates take advantage of the opportunity to buy a worker-related book or labor pin to take back home after the convention.
Another exhibit that’s drawing a lot of interest is the Union Plus “Tell Your Union Story” booth, where union members are videotaped as they tell how and why they got involved with union activities and what a union means to them. The booth is sponsored by Union Privilege, which provides consumer benefits to members and retirees of participating unions. “We want to help tell the union story,” says Jon Ross, vice president of Union Privilege.
So many people don’t know the union story. We want to help spread the word. Every union member has a story about why they became a union activist or how unions help their community. We wanted to capture that.
Union Plus Story Booth: Union Members Tell Their Stories
One exhibit that’s drawing a lot of interest at the AFL-CIO Convention is the Union Plus “Tell Your Union Story” booth, where union members are videotaped telling how or why they got involved with union activities or what a union means to them.
The booth is sponsored by Union Privilege, which provides consumer benefits to members and retirees of participating unions.
“We want to help tell the union story,” says Jon Ross, vice president of Union Privilege.
So many people don’t know the union story. We want to help spread the word. Every union member has a story about why they became a union activist or how unions help their community. We wanted to capture that.
We serve union members all the time and the booth is another service.
Union Plus Launches Online Health Care Help
The just-launched Union Plus Health Care site helps union members save on health care costs and provides consumer advice for better health-related decisions.
The new Union Plus Health Care site includes:
• Updated Union Plus programs, including a free prescription card.
• Links to information for health-related financial hardship.
• Top 10 health-related websites.
• AFL-CIO health care legislative reform updates.
Here’s a look at some of the specific benefits.
You can save up to 40 percent on prescription drugs at participating pharmacies with the free Union Plus Prescription Card. Click here.
Union Plus: Helping Financial Hand for Union Members in Tough Times
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The good folks at Union Plus want to remind union members the program offer a wide range of financial helping hands for union families facing hardships, including layoffs, in this staggering economy. Here’s a look.
Mortgage Assistance
* The Union Plus Save My Home Hotline may be able to help you avoid foreclosure. Call 1-866-490-5361.
* If you are a Union Plus mortgage holder and you are laid off, you can also apply for an interest-free loan from the Union Plus Mortgage Assistance Program. See details here.
Budgeting Assistance
- Receive a free budget analysis when you call Union Plus Credit Counseling at 1-877-833-1745. If you want additional help, you can enroll in a debt management plan (DMP) with no set-up fee and full reimbursement for the first year’s monthly fees.
- Be sure to take advantage of other consumer advice, tools and calculators at UnionDebtHelp.org.
- More budgeting tips and credit education 101 are available here.
New Financial Help from Union Plus for College
Union Privilege’s Jennifer Wright Dorr sends us the latest on a new Union Plus College Savings Grant for working families.
With the economy in a seemingly endless free fall, the rising cost of a college education is putting working families in a bind. However, if you open a new college savings account, your union may be able to help.
The new Union Plus College Savings Grant offers $500 to qualified union members who open a new tax-free “529″ college savings or prepaid tuition plan by June 30, 2009. You are eligible for the $500 grant if you have had a Union Plus credit card, mortgage or UnionSecure insurance policy for one year and contribute at least $1,000 dollars in the account by Nov. 30, 2009.
Union SAFE Helps Workers During Hard Times
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Working families in financial distress can turn for help to Union Plus, which provides consumer benefits to union members and retirees of participating unions.
The $3 million Union SAFE program—which stands for Security, Assistance and Financial Education—demonstrates the union movement’s answer to President Obama’s call for a new era of responsibility to help those who have fallen on hard times, says Leslie Tolf, president of Union Privilege, provider of the Union Plus benefits.
We are all hopeful today because President Obama is working to help middle class Americans struggling in this worsening recession. America’s unions and Union Plus are doing what we can right now to assist members in trouble—especially those who participate in a Union Plus program.
New Union Plus Benefits Build SAFE Harbor
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Union Privilege Vice President Jon Ross sends us the latest on initiatives by Union Plus to help union members survive the stormy economic seas that are threatening jobs, homes, health care and financial survival.
With many working families in financial distress as a result of the sharp downturn in the U.S. economy, Union Plus is launching a program of new and enhanced benefits to assist eligible union members facing hardships.
Union SAFE expands the Union Plus Safety Net by providing a wide array of benefits targeted to Union Plus program participants including help for those suffering from layoffs to soaring hospital costs to problems paying their mortgage to help saving for college.
New Look, New Features at Union Plus Online
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The good folks at Union Plus have a brand-new look on their website, where union members can find discounts on everything from automobile insurance to zoo outings. The new UnionPlus.org offers a better way for union members to find the information they need to save with the wide range of Union Plus benefits offered from their unions.
Jennifer Door at Union Plus tells us:
Union members can visit the new UnionPlus.org to learn about the Union Plus benefits that stretch your paycheck and provide a safety net in times of financial hardship. When you first visit the site, select your union name from the drop-down menu in the right-hand corner to find out what benefits you are legible for and get started.
