Five CWAers Win Union Plus Scholarships

Union Plus, which has been providing scholarships to union members and their families for 20 years, has announced that this year, five winners representing CWA have been selected: one CWA member and four family members of CWAers.

Teresa Albano and her husband both are members of TNG-CWA Local 34071 in Chicago, Ill. Teresa was awarded a $1,000 scholarship to help her reach her dream of completing the college education she began more than 30 years ago. Throughout her working life, Teresa has "participated in many picket lines, strikes, marches and rallies, door-knocking and phone banks."

Clarissa Lin's mother, Carmela Ip, is a member of CWA Local 1040 in Belle Mead, N.J. Clarissa has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship and plans to study biology and become a doctor. Clarissa says her mother's CWA membership meant that her mother could earn a fair wage without working long into the night. "The union is the one responsible for creating my tight-knit family."

Fiona Chalmers, whose father John is a member of CWA Local 1101, has been awarded a $500 scholarship. Coming from a union family in Brewster, N.Y., — her mother is a member of SEIU — Fiona plans to earn a degree in education and teach in an underprivileged area, and become a proud union member herself.

Alexis Smith's father Richard is a member of CWA Local 2106, in Delmar, Del. She has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship. Alexis has been a longtime community volunteer who believes, like her father, that a union is "like having a full-time warrior fighting on my team for justice and equality." She plans to become a pharmacist.

Spencer Wilson, whose father Kevin is a member of CWA Local 59051, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship. Growing up in Walnut Creek, Calif., Spencer learned from his father that caring for others was a big part of what unions do, and he's put that into action as a longtime Boy Scout and volunteer at a camp for special needs children. He plans to study electrical engineering.

It's not too soon to think about applying for a scholarship for the 2013 academic year. Click here for more information (pdf).

Union Plus and Union Privilege, created by the AFL-CIO in 1986, use the collective buying power of unions to offer home mortgages, health care savings, legal assistance and other discounted products and services exclusively to working families. This year's scholarship program awarded grants to 129 students representing 44 unions.