The organization's business affairs are conducted by a board of directors which holds  meetings four times a year in or near the Western Union headquarters in northern New Jersey.  Its major activities consist of publishing a newsletter that is distributed free to all members, fostering a system of regional organizations similar to that of RWUEA, maintaining this web site, and sponsoring luncheons held in northern New Jersey twice a year.  The newsletter is the only one of its kind published for Western Union retirees.  A membership directory is printed and distributed every two or three years.  

The newsletter is published quarterly.  It contains a message from our President discussing topics of immediate concern to members and news of the organization and of the members.  Accounts of luncheons and other gatherings of retirees throughout the country are published when they are made available, including pictures taken at them if provided,  and reminiscences, answers to inquiries from the members, listings of deceased former employees and of new members, obituaries, and other information typically found in an alumni newsletter.  See About the Newsletter for additional information  

The organization also sponsors this website.  It is intended that the site compliment the newsletter by making some news available on a current basis and provide on-line access to members' names and addresses, in addition to performing other functions typically available on alumni websites.  It is organized around five topics: information about the organization itself and the membership, news of the members and the company, and a record of organizational matters. It also serves as a vehicle through which the websites of other Western Union retirement organizations, Western Union Alumni and Autodin, can be reached.  This website has been inactive in recent months and is undergoing renovation, as is discussed in the page About this Website. 

The present organization began can be traced back about twenty five years to a group of retired Telegraph Company employees living in Florida who had established a club called the Snowbird Group.   The organization kept a roster of members on index cards showing mailing addresses and dues paid. 

Another group of retirees living near the Company's computer development laboratory in northern New Jersey had begun gathering on a fairly regular basis for lunch.  This group initially consisted primarily of retirees who had worked at Company headquarters at 60 Hudson Street in lower Manhattan and lived in northern New Jersey.   This group had been organized by a pleasant and outgoing middle-management retiree from the Company's marketing department, Bob Fults, when he retired in the early 1970s.  At first Bob conducted a one-man show, doing the job of president, secretary, treasurer, and social director.  Then Ike Varner, who had been a senior marketing executive at the Company, joined Bob in running the organization, and others followed, including Jim Barone, from the Company's employee relations department , and Al Bianco, Frank Taylor, George Strunz, Jack Caldwell, Jack Lowney,  and Gerry Walsh, all of who had worked in the Company's headquarters. 

The present organization took shape in 1983 when representatives of the Snowbirds turned their index cards over to Jim Barone.  The group then formed two committees, both chaired by Frank Tayler, to establish a method of keeping financial records on a systematic basis and to write by-laws under which the organization would function.  Officers were elected with Ike continuing as Chairman, Bob Fults president, Jack Lowney recording secretary, Jim Barone corresponding secretary, and Jack Caldwell  as treasurer.  Most of these founders long remained active in the organization, with Al Bianco and George Strunz still on the board.  Jack Lowney resigned in April, 2004 after having served 21 years. most recently as the by-laws chairman. 

At about that the time the organization was formally established, the Company began to lay off technical and middle management employees in northern New Jersey, as well as other places.  Many of those furloughed joined the organization, and its ranks began to swell.  A newsletter was started to facilitate communication.  Dues were levied.  Al Bianco, became president.  Jack Caldwell developed a computerized directory of members, and a formalized accounting system was adopted.  Board meetings were held four times and year, and members in the northern New Jersey area began meeting twice annually for formal luncheons.  Ike Varner usually served as toastmaster, and became somewhat notorious for his off-color jokes.  

In its early years, the organization’s activities were primarily focused on the needs of the retirees living in northern New Jersey.  However, a philosophy of collegiality and inclusion was soon adopted, and membership was extended to all retirees and to current Company employees wherever they lived and whatever their occupation.  Jack Lowney was appointed as Vice President of regional organizations.   He succeeded in establishing other formal organizations and luncheon groups similar to that functioning in northern New Jersey.  About 130 of these local organizations are currently operating, some of which function under the acronym KIT, for Keep In Touch, Clubs.  Membership peaked at about 3500 in the 1990s, but has been declining slightly in recent years as our membership ages, and now stands at about 3000.  About ten percent of the present membership lives in California, compared to about 15 percent in New Jersey.  

In 1998 the organization created a web site with RWUEA.com as its address under the leadership of board member Harold Mills and with the assistance of Richard Utz, a Western Union employee working in Rochester who had earlier created a site with WesternUnionAlumnis.com as its address.  Because of various problems, the RWUEA site could not be adequately maintained and is now being recreated.   

Participation in organizational affairs and the day to day work necessary to keep the organization functioning has always been voluntary.  Dues were set at a level calculated to just cover out-of-pocket expenses such as the cost of printing the newsletter and maintaining computerized membership records. 

Members of the board have worked to improve the pensions and benefits of all retirees, including trying to protect and improve medical, hospital, dental, and life insurance coverage provided by the Company.  Because of the unfortunate financial circumstances the Company was in before it was acquired by First Data Corporation in early 1995, little success was obtained from these efforts.  However, when the Company was in the last stages of financial decline, members of the board testified before the Bankruptcy Court to protect retiree’s interests.   And the Company was induced to distribute a million dollars to members of the various medical plans in 1995, and contributions of the same amount were obtained in l996 and 1997 after having been acquired by First Data. 

In addition to the positions usually found in formal organizations such as president and secretary, some members of the board have been given executive responsibility for activities of particular importance to the organization such as publishing the newsletter, maintaining the database, and operating the website.  Some of these activities are very demanding of members' time.   

The organization's activities have been supported through assessing dues of $5.00 per year for those who retired before January 1, 1980, and $7.00 for those who retired later.  Dues were established at those levels with the intention of just covering the out-of-pocket expenses of running the organization on an ongoing basis.  The fees were adequate to cover those expenses for many years, but no longer do so.  In recent years Income has been supplemented by an annual donation from the Western Union company, a subsidiary of the First Data Corporation. 

As with any organization, this organization must fight to maintain its vitality or fade away.  Accordingly, one of its goals is to bring in as many new members as possible.  By one estimate, only about a third of those qualified to join have done so.  We are therefore trying to reach out to retirees and employees who may be unaware of the organization and tell them who we are and what we do and invite them to join.  Joining is inexpensive and worthwhile.  It is therefore respectfully requested of the viewers of this page that they help maintain the health of the organization by becoming a member if you qualify but have not joined and by encouraging others who qualify to join.

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