ATTENTION EARLY OUT EMPLOYEES BEFORE 9/27/05!

[usairgirl]

I have been trying to inform folks about this and no one seems to want to help. I was part of the Customer Service/Club/Reservations Early Out Program that was presented to us back in Jan. 2005 to take effect April 2005 through June 2006. Our CWA president at the time, James Root told me there were 1600 that took the Early Out. The company released us by seniority starting in April 2005 and ending in June 2006. My date was originally October 2005 and they never gave me a specific day and then in August asked me if I wanted to leave then. So I left on Aug. 21, 2005 and then on Sept. 27, 2005 they changed the retiree policy to 50 yrs old with 10 or more years of service and anyone that left after 9/27/05, under the Early Out Program would get a Retiree Travel Card for free for Life! By Dec. 12, 2005 , due to America West Employees complaining that they were not 50 yet with lots of years of service, the company changed the policy to years of service plus age equal 65, you could retire!

Now they do not have to pay taxes of any kind and we do. I was 52, with 19years and 3 months of service when they released me. And my co-worker with 16 years of service under the same Early Out Program was released early in November and received a Retiree Card in the mail with free travel for life! She is classified as Retired and I am classified as Terminated!!

There has to be more people like myself, however the company nor the Union will not give out any names! It is not fair what they have done to us and I have been trying to fight it now for almost a year!

Hemenway, says that travel benefits are not taxed by the government when they are part of a Retirement Package, but are taxed for Early Out Packages! However, a former Utility Employee called me to tell me that he was furloughed last March 2005 and he had 16 years with the company and he was 47 years old and he received free travel with no tax for life! And when I asked Hemenway if USAirways pays retiree tax, he said no, it is not taxed! So why are they making it so difficult for us. It will not cost the company any money to change this policy. Why am I not classified as Retired when I had more time than some of these other America West Employees that are called by the company as Retiree Hopefuls, because they are young with lots of years of service. I have gone to one attorney so far, and he suggests that I get others together to write to the company and address these issues and maybe they may change the policy.

Please call me and try to get this information out to others that may not know what has happened over the last few months.I was talking to a SAR in CLT and he retired from the Post Office and is over 55 and now you only need 5 years to get free travel benefits that is why he came to work for USAirways, just for the free travel after 5 years!

I never wanted to leave the company, but after so many years of major pay cuts, I could not wait 6 more years until I reached 25 years of service to get my travel benefits. I could not do it financially, with the pay cuts and being single with no other income!

Please help me..... Call 980-297-2404

Thanks,
Francesca Locastro
Francesca31@aol.com






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[usairgirl]

🙁

[color=#FF0000]WE NEED TO GET TOGETHER TO GET OUR RETIREMENT STATUS AND FREE TRAVEL CARD! IF YOU WERE PART OF THE EARLY OUT PROGRAM FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE/CLUB/RESERVATIONS, PLEASE CONTACT ME AT 980-297-2404 TO HELP GET THE WORD OUT AND CONTACT THE COMPANY! DID YOU KNOW THAT THOSE EMPLOYEES THAT WERE RELEASED AFTER 9/27/05 ON THE SAME PROGRAM GOT RETIREE STATUS AND FREE TRAVEL FOR LIFE WITH "NO INCOME TAXES, WHILE OTHERS THAT WERE MORE SENIOR AND RELEASED BEFORE 9/27/05, GOT CLASSIFIED AS "TERMINATED" AND HAVE TO PAY HIGH INCOME TAXES AT THE END OF EACH YEAR!

EMAIL ME AT FRANCESCA31@AOL.COM OR CALL ME!!

 

[kicked2curb]

I have been trying to inform folks about this and no one seems to want to help. I was part of the Customer Service/Club/Reservations Early Out Program that was presented to us back in Jan. 2005 to take effect April 2005 through June 2006. Our CWA president at the time, James Root told me there were 1600 that took the Early Out. The company released us by seniority starting in April 2005 and ending in June 2006. My date was originally October 2005 and they never gave me a specific day and then in August asked me if I wanted to leave then. So I left on Aug. 21, 2005 and then on Sept. 27, 2005 they changed the retiree policy to 50 yrs old with 10 or more years of service and anyone that left after 9/27/05, under the Early Out Program would get a Retiree Travel Card for free for Life! By Dec. 12, 2005 , due to America West Employees complaining that they were not 50 yet with lots of years of service, the company changed the policy to years of service plus age equal 65, you could retire!

Now they do not have to pay taxes of any kind and we do. I was 52, with 19years and 3 months of service when they released me. And my co-worker with 16 years of service under the same Early Out Program was released early in November and received a Retiree Card in the mail with free travel for life! She is classified as Retired and I am classified as Terminated!!

There has to be more people like myself, however the company nor the Union will not give out any names! It is not fair what they have done to us and I have been trying to fight it now for almost a year!

Hemenway, says that travel benefits are not taxed by the government when they are part of a Retirement Package, but are taxed for Early Out Packages! However, a former Utility Employee called me to tell me that he was furloughed last March 2005 and he had 16 years with the company and he was 47 years old and he received free travel with no tax for life! And when I asked Hemenway if USAirways pays retiree tax, he said no, it is not taxed! So why are they making it so difficult for us. It will not cost the company any money to change this policy. Why am I not classified as Retired when I had more time than some of these other America West Employees that are called by the company as Retiree Hopefuls, because they are young with lots of years of service. I have gone to one attorney so far, and he suggests that I get others together to write to the company and address these issues and maybe they may change the policy.

Please call me and try to get this information out to others that may not know what has happened over the last few months.I was talking to a SAR in CLT and he retired from the Post Office and is over 55 and now you only need 5 years to get free travel benefits that is why he came to work for USAirways, just for the free travel after 5 years!

I never wanted to leave the company, but after so many years of major pay cuts, I could not wait 6 more years until I reached 25 years of service to get my travel benefits. I could not do it financially, with the pay cuts and being single with no other income!

Please help me..... Call 980-297-2404

Thanks,
Francesca Locastro
Francesca31@aol.com






[/font]

I feel your pain, I worked in res for 20+ years, but not not old enough to retire when our office closed post 9/11.
There was not enough employee concern about flight/retirment inequities because the majority of workers were old enough to retire and their reality wasn't being impacted. So unless there is united front, I don't see it happening. Frankly, I think employees who have invested 20 years or more of employment should have flight benefits as retirees. I wrote letters to the local and national, but if there are just a few employees concerned about an issue, then it not going anywhere. Res (in my office) was never cohesive on issues, at least the important ones. They were more concerned about VTO and having their swapping privieges curtailed, than their benefits and pay being taken away.

 

[AIRMAIL]

Have you heard anything from CWA? I heard CWA filed a grievance over this issue. I agree with you that anyone accepting the early out should be treated equally. If one person recieved the retirement status then everyone that qualified that left before 9/27 should also get it. The company dictated when a person was to leave on the early out. The company should step forward and do the right thing for a change.

 

[noname]

Have you heard anything from CWA? I heard CWA filed a grievance over this issue. I agree with you that anyone accepting the early out should be treated equally. If one person recieved the retirement status then everyone that qualified that left before 9/27 should also get it. The company dictated when a person was to leave on the early out. The company should step forward and do the right thing for a change.

Any employees that took EO that would have qualified for retirement status should write and express their opinions. Francesca has been trying to organize the former employees and will be more than glad to email-talk to you about this. We shouldn't let it go. Management doesn't think enough care about this..that it is only a few former employees. Let's let them know.