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Get Ready to Picket

Lucent Technologies workers were still going to work under a 1-week extension when the Communications Workers of America (CWA) retirees met on November 4. They are resolved to join the picket lines if a strike is forced on them. Lucent apparently wants to break their agreeements with thousands of retirees on providing health care coverage. They want the retirees, whose average pension is in the $900 range, to start paying up to $700/month for their healthcare.

Discussion at the retiree meeting included a comment that Lucent outsourced 90,000 jobs in 5 years. The active employees gave the union a 90% strike authorization vote, but no strike date had been set.

There are not a lot of active Lucent members remaining in North Texas, consequently the retirees and everybody else who is concerned about the degeneration of health care benefits in America are needed on the picket lines. A number to call for info is 214-824-6290.

A phoney "seniors coalition" is calling people to try to get them to oppose House Bill 3767, which would allow the government to negotiate drug prices against drug companies. The Medicare prescription drug "benefit" passed in 2004 would prohibit this process of lowering prices, essentially because the drug companies want to keep prices high. Retirees should be warned about the phoney coalition.

A retiree applauded the decision of Golden Corral restaurants to feed veterans on November 15.

Retirees were not discouraged by the election results announced the day before. One said, "Let's start getting ready for 2006!"

for more on CWA retiree actions, click here