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Public
Employee Press Union
gets EMS retiree an $8,000 life preserver
In a powerful show of solidarity and selflessness, co-workers
in Local 3621 rallied to the side of EMS Lt. Theo Wells and donated sick and vacation
days worth $8,000 to help their ailing co-worker.
They came through
right in the nick of time, Wells said of the generous effort by members
of Uniformed Emergency Medical Service Officers Local 3621.
Wells, who
began his career in 1977, was forced to retire in September for health reasons.
Before he retired, his illness had exhausted his sick and vacation time as well
as a two-week vacation advance and a one-time 90-day leave grant.
The recipient
normally gets the cash value of half of the contributed sick leave and all of
the annual leave time. The donations for Wells added up to $8,000, but somewhere
along the line the paperwork was lost and he had to retire without getting his
co-workers contributions. Worse, being retired made him ineligible to receive
the money, and he was left with no income at all as he waited for his pension
payments to start. With a son in college who needed money for books and tuition,
Wellss debts began to pile up and bill collectors started to call.
Thats
when Local 3621 President Tom Eppinger intervened. He met several times on the
case with Donay Queenan, assistant commissioner of personnel at the FDNY, who
straightened out the problem and got Wells his money.
We have to
give her a lot of credit. She really came through for us, said Eppinger.
It
was like they threw me a life preserver, said Wells when he heard of the
decision in October. He soon began receiving his retirement funds and Social Security
benefits and is now back on his feet.
Just make sure you tell everyone
how much I appreciate what they did for me, said Wells. Im very
grateful. | |