Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1912-11-19
FOR Benefit
Of EMPLOYEES
Telephone and Telegraph Company
Workers to Get Pensions,
Life Insurance, Sick
Benefits, Etc.
INCLUDES LOCAL EMPLOYEES
INCLUDES LOCAL EMPLOYEES
Bell System Makes Plans-Fund Of
$1o,ooo,ooo Available for
Purpose.

A fund of .$10,O00,0OO for pen
sions, sick benefits and life insur-
ance will be available on January
first, for the 175,000 employees of
the Bell telephone system and asso-
ciated interests, and their families
and dependents, amounting alto
gether to more than a quarter of a
million people. e. H. Martin has
just received notice of the new plan
and it includes the employees of the
Martin Telephone company.
This $1O,OOO,00O fund will be
made good from year to year by am
nual appropriations on the part of
the American Telephone & Tele-
graph Company and associated Bell
companies, and the Western Union
Telegraph Company and the Western
Electric Company.
The plan for the distribution of
this fund has been characterized as
the most liberal, comprehensive and
ideal ever inaugurated and is GER
tainly worthy of high commenda
ton. President T. N. Vail has pro-
vided combined benefits for super
annuation, sickness, accident and
death, for an industrial army more
than twice as large as the standing
army of the United States.
This provision is made entirely at
the expense of the various compan-
les interested, without contributions
of any kind from the employees
themselves. The application of these
varied benefits will be strictly demo-
cratic and will be for the benefit of
all employees of every rank. The plan
will provide for free change of en-
ployment from one company to an
other, with full credit for combined
terms of service.
Male employees who have reached
the age of sixty years and who have
been twenty years or more in SER
vice, may retire on pensions. They
may be retired at the option of the
company when they have reached
the age of fifty-fve years and have
been twenty-five years or more in
service. The pension age of female
employees is in each case five years
younger than that of male employees
Any employee who has been thirty
years in service, regardless of age,
may be pensioned on the approval
of the president of the company.
The amount OF the pension is au-
tomatically based on the years of
service and the amount Of pay, and
will be / per cent of the average an
nual pay for ten years, multiplied by
the number of years of service.
Therefore, a man who had been thir-
ty years in service would get 80 per
cent of the average salary which he
had been receiving during his last
ten years of service. No pension
will be less than $40 a month.
In the case of accidents occurring
in and due to the performance Of
work for the company, the employe
will receive for total disability, full
pay for thirteen weeks and half pay
for remainder of disability, up to six
years.
If the disability is temporary, he|
will receive full pay for thirteen
weeks and half pay until able to
earn livelihood, not exceeding six
years.
Employees who are disabled by
sickness or accident outside of the
regular course of. duty after ten
years or more in service, will receive
full pay for thirteen weeks and half
pay for thirty-nine weeks; If from
five to ten years in service, full pay
for thirteen weeks and half pay for
thirteen weeks; II from two to FIVE
years In service, full pay for four
weeks and half pay for nine weeks.
In the case of employees who have
not been two years in service, heads
of departments will be permitted the
same discretion as heretofore, In
continuing pay during temporary
illness.
In the case Of death resulting
from accident in and due to perfor-
nance of work for the company an
insurance amounting to three years
pay will be paid to the dependents
of the employee, the maximum pay
ment being $4,000.
In the case of death resulting
from sickness or from accident out
side the business, the payment will
be one years pay for employees who
have been ten years or more in SER
vice, and one-half Of one years pay