Union membership was our safety net
Regarding the opinion of Dianne McGuire on the need for more union support, I can't agree more.
My husband of 53 years was a member of Local #134, IBEW until he suffered a stroke that left him permanently disabled at 54. Without his union membership and many benefits we would have lost our home and so many other things.
A value can't be put on the annuity, pension and medical benefits that covered both of us and are still supporting me now that he has passed, not to mention the life insurance.
His union membership allowed us to send our three children to college and live the life we had before his stroke. Without his medical coverage we would have lost everything and he would not have had the exceptional care he received throughout the 20 years following the stroke.
People who are opposed to unions want to portray them as a worker giving up his rights, but the reality is that it gives the worker power over his work conditions, his hours on the job, salary, benefits and someone to fight for all these things.
The generations that fought long and hard to get these benefits for American workers must be turning over in their graves to see what has happened to union membership in this country.
Be informed! Read anything and everything relating to the benefits of belonging to a union. The Daily Herald is running the ad for the IBEW apprenticeship program. It will give you, a family member or friend a good life! Check it out!
Maureen Marzano
Schaumburg