Union Plus Lets You Say It with Flowers for Valentine’s Day
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There’s still time to show your love to the special someone who Occupies your heart on Valentine’s Day, and Union Plus and Working America members can get a 20 percent discount on flower arrangements through Teleflora. (Click here to join Working America and get your flower discount.)
Earlier this week, Union Plus posted a few labor-inspired messages on its Facebook wall the union lover in you might want to include with the flowers.
- My love, like a union contract, gives you a feeling of security.
- My heart skipped a beat…I need workers’ comp.
- They might withhold my paycheck, but I’ll never withhold my love.
Click here for more or to add your own.
Important Note for Recent Union Plus Scholarship Applicants
Tom Chiancone, Union Plus Scholarship Program Manager, sends this report on recent problems some people had applying online for a Union Plus scholarship.
If you tried to complete the Union Plus Scholarship application prior to the Jan. 31 deadline, please accept our apologies for any problems you may have experienced submitting your application in the past couple of days. Our partner’s online application system had trouble handling the recent extremely high volume of activity, but we’ve worked with them to resolve the issues.
We have a record of all applicants who logged in or attempted to log in to the application system since Jan. 29, 2012 and our provider sent an e-mail to all applicants at 12 pm ET on Feb. 1, 2012. This e-mail noted that your application has been re-opened and you have until 5 p.m. (EST) Friday, Feb. 3 to login to complete and submit your application. NOTE: E-mails were sent to the email address provided during the set up your scholarship login ID. Read the rest of this entry »
Union Plus Scholarship Deadline: Jan. 31
Eleanor Trice at Union Plus sent us this.
Union members and their children can apply for the Union Plus Scholarship, offering scholarship awards from $500 to $4,000. This year’s scholarship deadline is soon: Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012.
“During a time when the labor movement is under attack, helping union members and their children achieve their educational goals is critical. That’s why we offer $150,000 in scholarship money every year and encourage union families to apply and pursue higher education’s path to achieve the American Dream,” says Leslie Tolf, president of Union Privilege, the organization that provides an array of Union Plus benefits for union families, including the scholarship program.
Union Plus Mortgage Helped Striking Verizon Workers
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Jennifer Wright Dorr of Union Plus reports on the Union Plus Mortgage Assistance program.
This past August, thousands of Communications Workers of America (CWA) members, from Virginia to New England, went on strike against Verizon to protect their jobs, pay and benefits. Thanks to Union Plus, workers on the picket line didn’t need to worry about missing a home payment when their paychecks stopped.
Sixteen CWA members at Verizon received $36,640 in interest-free loans and grants to cover their September mortgage payments during the August strike. Nearly $16,000 was grant money that never needs to be repaid.
Mitchell Jakuboski, a member of CWA Local 1101 in of Brooklyn, N.Y., was one of the Verizon strikers helped by Union Plus.
As Jakuboski grabbed his picket sign, he also picked up the phone to request aid from the Union Plus Mortgage Program. Jakuboski has been a CWA member for nearly 29 years. He recalled all too well his last strike in 1989, which lasted 17 weeks. He’s proud to stand with his union, but also remembers the financial strain he endured.
I started having flashbacks, only it was going to be even tougher this time around because I now have both a home and family to protect.
Get Education Rebates with Union Plus Credit Card
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Jennifer Wright Dorr of Union Plus reports on the Union Plus Credit Card’s education rebates.
Sharon Wallace, of Ewing, N.J., a 32-year member and activist of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1036, recently learned that being a Union Plus Credit Card holder pays—$250, in fact. Wallace, a state government environmental engineer, received a $250 rebate for paying her college expenses with her union credit card as part of the Union Plus Education Rebate program.
Rebates of $250 are available until Dec. 31, for union members using their Union Plus Credit Card to pay for $1,000 in higher educational expenses—tuition, school supplies, books, test preparation and tutoring. Smaller rebates also are available to those who incurred fewer expenses.
The education rebate helped Wallace defray the cost of attending the New Jersey Institute of Technology, where in May she received a Master of Science Degree in Civil Engineering. Says Wallace:
It’s expensive to go to college, so whatever you can do to save money really helps. The process is easy and the rebate comes quickly—so fast, in fact, that I really wasn’t expecting it. I hope card holders take advantage of the program before it ends at the end of this year.
3 Reasons to Buy Your New iPhone 4S from AT&T
Jon Ross of Union Privilege sends us this.
The new iPhone 4S will be available from AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint on Oct. 14. Here are three reasons why you should buy your new iPhone 4S—or any wireless device—from AT&T:
1. AT&T is the one and only unionized wireless carrier. Some 45,000 members of the Communications Workers of America work as AT&T technicians, customer service representatives and retail store personnel. Both Verizon Wireless and Sprint are nonunion.
2. 15 percent union member AT&T discount. Union members save 15 percent off the regular monthly rate for individual and family wireless plans with the Union Plus AT&T discount. That means you could save $116.98* annually on an AT&T iPhone plan (based on a monthly $39.99 Nation 450 individual talk plan and $25 DataPro 2 GB data plan).
Visit UnionPlus.org/AT&T to save.
Union Plus Offers Prepaid Card
Jon Ross of Union Privilege lets us know about the new Union Plus prepaid debit card. And check out the great coverage on the card by the New York Times here.
Union Plus, the consumer benefits arm of the AFL-CIO, is helping union members make the most of their savings while avoiding hidden fees with the new Union Plus prepaid Visa card.
For union members with a checking or savings account, the Union Plus prepaid card does not charge insufficient funds or overdraft fees. It also offers a savings account featuring an annual percentage yield (APY) of 5.10 percent on account balances, compared with 0.15 percent nationally.
Union members without a bank account can use the card anywhere debit cards are accepted to buy gas, rent a car, shop online or make any purchase. Since the prepaid card is not a credit card, there’s no credit check and a bank or checking account is not needed to apply.
Add Your Name to Union Plus Solidarity Map
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This Labor Day, it is more important than ever to show the strength of working families.
Union Plus, part of Union Privilege, the consumer benefits arm of the AFL-CIO, is inviting all working people to come together online to show America our strength and solidarity. If you support American workers, join other working people and be counted on the Union Plus Solidarity Map. The goal is to have 10,000 participants on Labor Day, Sept. 5.
Click here to show support for all workers in North America by adding your name to the Solidarity Map and here to view the map, which is updated every 15 minutes.
And the Worst Boss in the Country Is…
Christian Norton at Working America announces the winning employees in this year’s Bad Boss contest.
Working America’s Bad Boss contest exposed more than 700 horrible bosses and after thousands of votes, we’ve got our three winners.
Bad Barista garnered the most votes to win the People’s Choice Grand Prize with the story “Boss with No Heart.”
My boss called me several times, threatening to fire me because I was unable to do my job. She continued to keep calling me, specifically harassing me about how my health problems were causing scheduling problems for the business, until my mother picked up my phone in the ER and told her to leave me alone. (She didn’t.)
Traumatized Tracy’s story “Please Put Your Granny Panties Away!” won the Most Shared Online Grand Prize after having the most shared story on Facebook.
Is there a polite, professional way to ask your boss to put away her undies? This is the question I have been asking myself for the past six months….
Union Plus Helps Pay Union Families’ College Costs
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With the already high cost of college growing each semester, working families are finding it hard to afford higher education for their children. Union Plus, part of Union Privilege, the consumer benefits arm of the AFL-CIO, is helping union members reach their education savings goals with Union Plus college savings grants.
Gary Rothman of Laguna Niguel, Calif., a member of Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU) Local 277, received a $500 college savings grant to help pay for his son’s college education.
He says:
The $500 Union Plus education grant is just one more way my union is helping my family. To get this extra money is a big help and it’s one more reason to start saving now. ‘Do it for your kid,’ I tell people.
