CWA
7102 is proud to represent the Police, Fire Dept., Public Works, etc. in
the City of Waukee. See
news about these members in the Local News section.
Click above for road conditions and live
road cams. This
winter we need all the help we can get. Be safe out there.
Election
of Local CWA 7102 Officers Ballots were
mailed out Feb. 18 Candidates for
office: For President:
Don Dawson, Mark Rocha, Wes Enos
For VP: Rachelle
Long, Doug Grahm
For Sec/Treas:
Kristi Carman, Kim Campbell
This
is the order the names will appear on the ballot.
Counting
of ballots on March 11th prior to the Local meeting that evening.
Candidate
flyers as received by Jerry Uhlman Election Chair
Executive
PayWatch Database Edward A. Mueller
Chief Executive Officer Qwest Communications International Inc.
In 2008, Edward A. Mueller
raked in $11,407,264 in total compensation.* In the previous year the CEO
of this company made $18,513,578. Total CEO compensation has decreased
by 38%.
An
article in the Des Register about Barb Harrington who
for many years was a big part of this union. First
career leads to new job BY
PATT JOHNSON • FEBRUARY 1, 2010 Des Moines Register
Barb
Harrington took advantage of a company benefit during her 34-year tenure
at Qwest, the metro's telephone company. And it paid off in the form of
a new career for the 59-year-old Pleasant Hill woman.
Harrington
left Qwest in 2004 and now teaches English as a Second Language and Spanish
classes at Des Moines Area Community College and through the Des Moines
Public School's adult education program.
"I
always wanted to be a teacher," she says. "I have control over what I do
every day. Teaching is a very brain-draining job, but really a challenge.
It's a different kind of challenge from my other job and it's very rewarding."
She
enjoys teaching mostly adults. "There's a difference between students who
have to be in class and those who want to be in class," she says.
And
she is learning from her students, too.
"I
have students from Africa, Afghanistan, Thailand, Burma, Ecuador, Mexico,
Sudan, Bosnia, Iran and Rwanda," she says. Meeting them she has given her
a chance to "see the world through other people's eyes."
Harrington
started her career with Qwest (which went by several other names over the
years) as a central office and customer service technician. "We built trunk
and translation (lines) for 14 states," she says.
One
of the benefits the telephone company offered workers was subsidized education.
Harrington began taking night classes at Drake University, eventually earning
an undergraduate degree in history and Spanish. Then she started on a master's
degree. When Qwest offered a voluntary separation package six years ago,
Harrington did some soul searching. She was already teaching some continuing
education classes for DMACC and was financially able to retire.
"There
was also the threat that at any time you could be laid off," she says.
She left the telephone company with plans to enjoy retirement with her
husband, Merrill.
She
was teaching Spanish when the opportunity arose to teach the ESL classes.
"It
doesn't really feel like a job," she says. "It doesn't pay as much as I
used to make but I am just really enjoying it."
She
works about 25 hours a week at DMACC and six hours at the public schools.
That leaves time for her other passions - being a grandmother and gardening,
genealogy and traveling. She also works as travel agent, and dabbles in
writing and photography.
Her
advice to others considering career changes: Explore jobs and careers you're
interested in.
"I
volunteered years ago at a Spanish clinic at Guadalupe Chapel to see if
I would like it and could do it," she says. "It's always better to find
jobs that incorporate what you like to do."
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