Safety Net For Members With Financial Hardship

	HELPLINE
	Call Lifeline Trust/Natural Disaster  Helpline: 1-877-761-5028 The Lifeline Trust assists members with long-term illness or long-term disabilities, while the Disaster Relief Fund helps union members affected by natural disasters.

The Union Plus Credit Card Program has expanded the safety net designed to assist union member cardholders facing financial hardship. With unique protections like these designed especially for working Americans, Union Plus offers a credit card unlike any other available to union members.

• Lifeline Trust provides grants to cardholders who experience a significant loss of household income due to a long-term illness or prolonged disability
• Disaster Relief Fund provides grants to members affected by a natural disaster
• Layoff Helpline assists members who have been laid off with reduced rates or fixed payment plans
• Skip Payments assists members on strike or facing other economic crises
• Secured credit card helps build and repair credit.
• Free credit counseling helps members get control of their finances and develop a budget
• Consumer credit education helps members understand and manage borrowing, spending and credit

Lifeline Trust—launched in May 2005—has already provided more than $260,000 to over 175 Union Plus Credit Card holders. 

To qualify for a Lifeline Trust grant:

The union member cardholder must:

1. Have their credit card account for at least 12 months and it must be in good standing.

2. Have experienced a significant loss of household income within the past 12 months, caused by personal illness/disability that has kept him/her out of work for at least 90 days, or the illness/disability of the joint cardholder or authorized-user, which has kept him/her out of work for at least 90 days.

3. Verify the income loss, date of illness/disability and duration by supplying documentation such as: pay stubs prior to the date of disability, evidence of disability income, physician's statements or work status reports.

To apply for Lifeline Trust grants :

Call the Lifeline Trust Helpline at 1-877-761-5028 to speak directly with a specially trained Lifeline Trust representative. Representatives in the United States handle all customer service calls to the Union Plus Credit Card Program.

The Lifeline Trust is a $3.7 million fund administered by Union Privilege, which brings member benefits to members of AFL-CIO unions. Union Privilege and HSBC, the company providing the credit card program, established the fund.

Some 3.1 million union members carry the union-endorsed Union Plus Credit Card, making it the largest membership credit card program in the world. To apply for the credit card, click here.

How grants have helped union cardholders

IATSE credit card a “lifesaver” for injured member

Kevin Bacon, Carlos Santana, Paul Newman, Jewel, Quincy Jones, Kevin Spacey, Alec Baldwin and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith.  IATSE Local 798 member and makeup artist Maria Scali worked on all of these famous faces and many more. But since a debilitating injury put her out of work in February 2006, another face has become even more important to her: the one on her IATSE Union Plus Credit Card.

After the Manhattan resident’s “painting hand” was badly injured in a car accident, the Union Plus Credit Card’s Lifeline Trust came through with a cash grant and a credit to her account of $2,250. Union members like Scali who have lost income due to a recent illness or disability have access to financial help thanks to a unique benefit that comes — at no cost — with every Union Plus Credit Card.

Scali “still can’t believe how easy and fast it was” to get a $2,000 grant and an additional $250 to lower her credit card balance last summer, when she was in a serious financial squeeze. Already quite pleased with the Union Plus Credit Card she has carried for a decade because “the interest rates are great,” she read the information about the Lifeline Trust that arrived with her monthly statement, called, applied, and got her money quickly.

“I’ve been dealing with all sorts of bureaucratic stalling and lots of red tape—including with other credit card companies from whom I bought insurance,” says Scali, who is still undergoing treatment and hopes to be back at work soon. “There were hassles with everyone else, but the response from Union Plus was unbelievable.  It was so easy and so simple and it was a lifesaver.”

“What I’d really like to do is cancel all my other credit cards and transfer the balances to Union Plus,” she adds.