Newspapers / Firestone News (Gastonia, N.C.) / Dec. 1, 1972, edition 1 / Page 1
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GASTONIA BENNEnSVILLE NORTH CAROLINA SOUTH CAROLINA PERSONAL PROBLEM-SOLVING DECEMBER • 1972 BOWLING GREEN 1 Assistance Program Deveiopine KENTUCKY ” r O BOWLING GREEN UGF Gift: $17,710 The Firestone Textiles Company plant at Bowling Green reported an additional $1,310 late this year to the Bowling Green and Warren County United Givers Fund. This amount added to the earlier major report of contri butions brought the total to $17,710. The Firestone pledges in the 1972 campaign went toward the $160,000 goal set by the overall UGF effort. Firestone contributions ex ceeded last year’s plant figure by $1,646. Of the 1972 gifts, plant man ager Ralph King said the money pledged averaged around $24 among contributors. The plant manager is a UGF vice presi dent. vided in the Social Security reform bill signed by President Nixon in October. Mrs. Eula Wilson, payroll supervisor at Firestone in Gas tonia, points out that the maxi mum annual earnings against which the tax is paid ($9,000 this year) will increase under previ ous law to $10,000 in 1973. And it will be $12,000 starting in 1974. The maximum tax, $468 each for worker and employer this year will be raised to $631.80 be ginning with 1973. Under previ ous Social Security-Welfare law it would have been $594. The taxes pay for Social Security cash benefits and Part A of Medicare. Mrs. Wilson calls attention to other points of the SS reform bill enacted in October. • A person who has reached • Alcohol out of control. • Drug abuse. Two big human problems that bring grief and loss, and that are almost never solved without outside help. Now, an Employee Assistance Program to help people with these and other behavioral prob lems is operating within the Firestone company. The pro gram which went into service at Akron, Ohio this fall, eventu ally will be extended to all Fire stone domestic facilities, and program representatives will be made available to Firestone em ployees nationwide. S. s. Tax Up: More Benefits Up goes the tax, and with it, increased benefits and im provements. Beginning this January, the tax rate on Social Security each for an individual wage earner and an em ployer will be hiked to 5.85 per cent. By 1978 it will be 6.05 per cent; and in the year 2011 it will be 7.3 per cent. These rate changes are pro- retirement age can earn $2,100 in a year without loss of bene fits (it has been $1,680). Above the $2,100, he will lose $1 for each $2 of earnings. These bene fits apply to some 1.6 million persons, effective Jan. 1, 1973. • Persons who work beyond age 65 will receive a 1 per cent increase in benefits for each year between ages 65 and 72, beginning in January. • Men who receive Social Se curity benefits in future will benefit from the same retire ment payment formula that ap plies to women. Under present law a woman with an earnings record identical to a man gets $10 more a month if both are entitled to the maximum pay ment. • After Jan. 1 upcoming, ah Americans will be issued Social Security numbers when they enter school in first grade. The three production plants of Firestone Textiles Company will share in the program. The director, Edward L. Johnson, recently outlined the help plan In a supervisory meeting at Gastonia. Johnson is a member of the Firestone medical department and a consultant to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a division of tr*e Nationwide service planned within Firestone Company Ed Johnson talking with an employee • Waiting period for disabil ity payments will be 5 months, beginning with 1973 (it has been 6 months). The recent Social Security re form bill has many provisions additional to what are outlined here — including Medicaid and Welfare. Complete details on the provisions are available at your local Social Security office. Men and Women of Firestone Textiles Company, and Members of Your Families: THE PROMISE OF CHRISTMAS In the friendly spirit of Christmas Time, I extend my heartiest good wishes that you and your loved ones will share the riches of this Joyous Season. May the Shining Light of Christmas remain with you to crown your blessings throughout the New (V.g. I / Firestone Textiles Company U. s. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Raymond C. Firestone, com pany chairman, points out the stated purpose of the help pro gram is “to retain employees and help them return to pro ductive living. Our goal is to eliminate people problems be fore they become problem peo ple. “We recognize that many in fluences may detract from a person’s effectiveness on the job — particularly personal prob lems which affect him or his family. These problems may be caused by a crisis in the em ployee’s life; alcoholism, drug abuse or other behavioral medi cal disorders which result in absenteeism or deteriorating job efficiency.” MAIN THRUST of the pro gram is abuse of alcohol and drugs, but other problems which may be affecting employees’ lives also are dealt with. Fire stone added. Johnson, program director, notes that an estimated 8 per cent of the total problems will be drug-related, so a large per centage of problems are ex pected to involve persons who misuse or abuse wet and dry More on page 2 • UA Pledges • photo, pace 2 Firestone people at the Bennettsville plant had 100 per cent participation in the Marlboro County United Appeal campaign this fall. Frances Fletcher and David Coleman, leaders in the in-plant fund effort, reported that 70 per cent of the Fire stone employees made “fair-share” pledges. All contributions represent 7 per cent of the overall Marl boro goal of $49,900. In late November, about $30,000 of the total sought in the county had been pledged and reported. A class in industrial arts at Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, heard a talk by Raymond E. Mack in November. The Firestone, Gas tonia plant, safety mana ger spoke on industrial safety, dealing with such topics as workmen's com pensation, eye and hear ing protection in indus try, and provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Nature Trail A nature trail memorializing the founder of the Firestone company is scheduled to be es tablished on the 1,000-acre cam pus of the University of West Florida. The walk, a nature study lab oratory, honors the memory of Harvey S. Firestone Sr. It is being made possible by a $5,000 gift from Firestone’s niece, Mrs. Mary Firestone Baars of Pensa cola. The trail will be knbwn as the Baars-Firestone Nature Walk. IT MEMORIALIZES COMPANY FOUNDER Besides Firestone, it honors Mrs. Firestone’s late husband, Theo dore Dunwoody Baars, a Florida lumber exporter, shipping ex ecutive and real estate develop er. The trail will be open to the public, as well as being avail able for science students as an outdoor laboratory. A guide which will identify the flower ing plants and explain the suc cession of vegetation will be published and made available to those using the trail. A Discount And A Refund There's a big advantage for Firestone pec- FIRESTONE pie in buying Firestone tires. PEOPLE 1) You get an employee discount of 30, RIDE ON 20 or 10 per cent (depending on type of tire) FIRESTONE when buying from a Firestone store or, you TIRES get a negotiated price from a Firestone dealer. 2) You get a cash refund in addition to the employee discount—$1 to $5 per tire (depending on type of tire.) You get this refund when buying from either a Firestone Store or a Firestone Dealer. See the supervisor on your job for details, or call any Firestone Store.
Firestone News (Gastonia, N.C.)
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Dec. 1, 1972, edition 1
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