Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1912-11-13

PENSIONS FOR
ITS employees
INAUGURATED BY COMPANY
Bell System Provides Fund
Of Ten Million

1 in the details of its plan for pensions,
! life insurance and disability benefits
/ for all the employees of that tremend-
/ GUS corporation.
A fund of $1O,OOO,00O for pensions,
sick benefits and life insurance will
be available on January first, for the
$4,000 employees of the Bell system
and associated interests and their fam
lilies and dependents, amounting alto
gether to more than quarter of a
million people.
This $1OOOO,0OO fund will be made
good from year to year by annual APP
preparation upon the part of
the American Telephone and Telegraph
/ Company and Associated Companies
and the Western Union Telegraph
Company and the Western Electric
Company.
More than 1880 telephone employees
in the South will be directly benefited
{ by this plan. OF these $500 are emf
ployes of the Southern Bell Telephone
Company, which operates in North and
South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and
Alabama, and $3.50 are employees of
the Cumberland Telephone Company,
which operates in Tennessee, Ken
lucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Mis-
souri,.
Officials and employees of these two
companies are enthusiastic over the
plan They regard it as another pro-
gressive step for the futherance of the
interest of telephone employees which
will result in cementing even closer
the cordial relations now existing be-
tween. these companies and their
thousands of employees.
/ The plan for the distribution of this
fund has been characterized as the
most liberal, comprehensive and ideal
! ever inaugurated President T. n.
Vail has provided combined benefits
for approximation, 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 companies
! interested, without contributions of
any kind from the employees them
selves. The application of these varied
benefits will be strictly democratic and
will be for the benefit of all employees
of every rank. The plan will provide
for free change of employment from
one company to another, with full
credit for combined terms of service.
The Bell system and associated inter-
ests provide employment for about
$4,000 people; of this number 10000
are employees of the Bell Telephone
System. The total yearly pay for the
whole group is about $115,000,000.
something over $S0,000,000 being paid
ut in wages by the Bell telephone
system alone.
The terms by which provision is
made for the needs of age, illness, &C
2idents and death, may be summarized
as follows
Pensions.
Male employees who have reached the
age of sixty years and who have been
twenty years or more in service, may
"etire on pensions. They may be re-
tired at the option of the company when
they have reached the age of fifty-five
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 en-
ployes.
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 auto
matically based on the years of service
and the amount of pay, and will be I
per cent. of the average annual pay for
ten years, multiplied by the number OF
years of service. Therefore, man
who had been thirty years in service
would get 30 per cent of the average
salary which he had been receiving
during his last ten years of service
No pension will be less than $4,000 a
, month.
IN the case of accidents occurring in
and due to the performance of work
for the company, the employee will re.
ceive for total DISABILITY. full nay fol
, thirteen weeks and half pay for the
, remainder of disability, up to six years
If the disability is temporary, he viii
/, receive full pay for thirteen weeks anl
half pay until able to earn a livelihood
, not exceeding six years.
Sickness Disability Benefits.
Employees who are disabled by sick.
ness or accident outside o. the reg In
| course of duty after ten years or more
in service, will receive full pay fol
, thirteen weeks and half pay for thirty,
nine weeks; if from five to ten years in
! service, full pay for thirteen weeks and
; half paw for thirteen weeks; If fror
= 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