Western Electric Merrimack Valley Works @) February II, 1982 Special Edition Robert Cowley Jr. named General Manager During the disability of General Manager engineer and was promoted to department Wayne L. Hunt, Robert E . Cowley Jr. has chief in 1956. Two years later, he was been assigned as general manager of the transferred to the Omaha Works where he Merrimack Valley Works. H is appointment became assistant manager of engineering in became effective on January 15. 1962 . Cowley comes to the Works from Service Cowley was awarded a Sloan Fellowship Lines Planning and Management, Material in 1963 and was placed on special ass ign­ and Account Management Division in Mor­ ment by the company to attend Stanford ristown, N .J ., where he was general University's ni ne-month program for manager. Having been an assistant manager business executives. Upon completion of here, however, he is not unknown to many the program, he was placed here at the Mer­ at the Merrimack Valley Works. rimack Valley Works as assistant manager He began his Western Electric career in of operating until he was named manager of 1943 as a stock handler at the Point Breeze electronic swi tching systems manu facture at Works (now the Baltimore Works) . Upon the Columbus Works in 1965. his release from the Army in 1946, Cowley He was promoted to director of engineer­ He became general manager of the Bell rejoined the company as a sorter at the ing and manufacture at the Oklahoma City System Sales Division's Northeastern Hawthorne Works in Chicago but resigned Works in 1967 and was named general Region in 1973 and assumed his most recent to attend Cornell University. manager of the Dallas Plant in 1969. In position in 1980. After graduation in 1951 with a Bachelor 1971 he was appointed associate general He and hi s wife, Anne, now live in of Mechanical Engineering degree, Cowley manager of the Oklaho ma City Works and Berkeley Heights, N.J ., but plan to move to returned to the Hawthorne Works as an became general manager in 1972. this area soon. A closer look at the AT&T Consent Decree What will probably be called the" 1982 The Decree will result in a reconfigura­ court, will replace, "in its entirety" the Consent Decree" is a 13 -page document tion of the present Bell System operating 1956 Consent Decree. That 25-year-old that is likely to bring about the most radical companies into a new company or group of Decree li mited AT&T to providing com­ transformation of any business corporation companies that will provide "exchange munications services, the charges for which in modern history. telecommunications and exchange access" are subject to public regulation, and it had That Decree requires AT&T to divest it­ services. This new company or group of been a bar to the Bell System's entry into self wi thin 18 months of the local telecom­ companies will give the same local other fields. In this regard, the 1956 Decree munications and exchange access functions telephone service the present operating had become an impediment to the speedy now a part of the Bell Systems's operating companies now provide to customers, but introduction of advanced technologies and, companies. It allows six months for the sub­ with three major changes. (continued on page four) mission o f a plan that will be developed The first major change relates to jointly by AT&T and an operating com­ customer premi ses equipment and was FOLLOWING ARE THE DECEMBER pany planning group that will detail how already on the horizon before th e Consent RESULTS FOR THE BELL SYSTEM the Bell System wi ll reorganize itself to ac­ Decree was agreed to. The local access com­ SA VINGS PLAN AS RELEASED BY complish this divestiture. The Decree per­ panies wi ll not be permitted under the THE TRUSTEES mits complete flexibilit y to reorganize the Decree to offer customer premises equip­ BSSP local access companies into "any particular ment. This equipment will be retained by num ber of entities. " AT &T and includes everything ranging Units While divesting the local exc hange net­ from standard telephones to sophisticated Unit Credited works, AT&T will retain ownership of all PBXs that, accoring to the language of the Value per Dollar Decree, is "employed on the premises of a customer premises equipment a nd all Bell AT&T 2.7243 0.3670 person (other than a carrier) to originate, System facilities used to provide "inter" ex­ Government Obligations 2.5379 0.3940 change services . Long Lines would continue route, or terminate telecommunicitions, but Equity Port foli o 1.8611 0.5373 to plan and operate the nation's long does not include equipment used to multi­ Quaranteed In teres t 1.2276 0.8145 distance network in conjunction with the plex, maintain, or terminate access lines." independent telephone companies and the The second major change is that AT&T SS P divested local exc hange companies. AT&T will be lim ited only by its ski lls and re­ would continue to exercise its ownership of sources, in the lines of business it chooses to AT& T 1.2723 0.7859 Guaranteed Interest Bell Laboratories and Western Electric. pursue, The Decree, when approved by the 1.3219 0.7564 Suggestions Richard Farr receives $4,000 award for packing suggestion Single cover merits $1,670 award Some of the largest awards are given for suggestions that are not very complicated but result in big savings. Gennaro D' Ambrosio suggested replacing two covers with a single cover on the Richard L. Farr (center) accepts his suggestion award of $4,000 J68450L-1 frequency control units. He received a $1,670 award from Director of Manufacturing Jack Driscoll (right). On the left for his idea. Gennaro (center) accepts his award from Director of is Richard's section chief Bob Mead. Richard had already re­ Manufacturing Jack Driscoll (right). Adding his congratulations ceived a preliminary award of $100 for his idea to replace Fiber­ is section chief Jack Hoelzel (left). board boxes for shipping with corrugated cartons using the In­ stapack "foam-in-place" method. Investigation revealed that the original designs requiring fiberboard boxes were no longer necessary. His suggestion also eliminated mounting problems such as screw not properly tightened, wood blocks of the wrong height and extra shimming. December suggestions awards In December the sum oj $8, 705 was awarded to 40 employees jor their suggestions. Three employees received two awards each jor a total oj 43 awards last month. $4,000 Edward E. Mannion Peter P. Ciapinsky Richard L. Farr Bruce T. Baril Dana A. Buyck Albert St. John $1,670 Philip A. Demarco Gerry D'Ambrosio Ellen M. Bickum $50 Howard F. Channell $975 for reducing duplication $975 Accepting his suggestion award of $975 is John J. Howell Sheri M. Ellis John J . Howell $25 (center). Ron Lindquist (right), Manager, Manufacturing, Gregory J. Lessard Transmission Systems, presents the award with section chief Joe Michael A. Deloge $235 David A. Riopelle Welch (left). John's idea was to use the same mounting bar on Frank E. Verdolotti Paul J. Begin Al J. Senuta two different frames. One mounting bar was substituted for Michael E. Costas John P. Suzedelys another. His suggestion eliminated duplication of parts and $150 Richard E. Dickey Jan A. Giles reduced procurement problems. Lynne R. Hunkins Robert E. Laroque William C. Deramo $100 Robert E. Laroque Richard L. Farr Richard G. Kane Gordon H. Hamilton Francis X. Dugan Thomas A. Lacroix James C. Pace $75 Edward J. Russo Ronald A. Ferris @~~~ Donald W. Hancock Richard l. Goodwin Thomas E. Grzejka Western Electric's Richard W. Merrill David L. Greelish George E . Sanborn Merrimack Valley Works Richard B. Carty Scott D. Arena North Andover, MA 01845 617 /681-2307 Tim Donovan In Memoriam Editor Correspondents: Steve Jaskelevicus x3616 Jennie Balukiewicz, retired Florence C. Mathews, re­ Colleen Collins x4287 Kathy Peterson x6778 layout operator, Dec. 6 tired machine operator, Jan. 6 Charlie Cote x4155 Ruth Sapienze x2704 Albert DeSantis, machine Melvin C. Murch, bench Ed Crespo x3811 Bob Zingali x3629 operator, Dec. 4 hand, Jan. 14 Bob David x2663 Pioneer correspo ndent: Benjamin Gruber, retired Annie M. Rutledge, retired Mike Deloge x2748 Pauline Sullivan x5241 stock selector, Dec. 16 assignment clerk, Dec. II Claire Faucher x4311 Artists: James B. Keith, tester, Dec. Peter F. Stone, section chief, Bob Grieco x3827 Denise Stewart 23 Dec. 3 Bonnie Haley x4898 Peter Nizza Raymond W. Martineau, Hubert H. Wilder, retired Jim Hajjar x5212 Andrew Gaunt retired electrician, Dec. 6 inspector, Dec. 28 Alice G. Samia, 24 yrs Mary K. Olson, 21 yrs Lottie H . Burnes, 25 yrs Jesiph G. Kozdra, 29 yrs Daniel S. Daly, 30 yrs James J. Gardella, 34 yrs Retirements Mary P . Grosse, 20 yrs Joseph L. Leduc, 21 yrs January 81800 82300 Mary G. Hassey, 10 yrs Margaret A . Yerian, 23 yrs 85100 Lucille M. Neault, 24 yrs Genevieve W. Sweeney, 30 yrs Doris M. Blouin, 25 yrs The following employees Henrietta E . Zaikowski, 25 yrs Herbert J. Hargraves, 25 yrs Doris B. Dow, 25 yrs elected to retire under the SIPP Dorothy A. Ryan, 25 yrs Peter R. Sturk, 34 yrs Theresa B. Feugill, 24 yrs offered by the company. The Arthur McAllister, 30 yrs Claire M. Burnham, 21 yrs Etiennette M. Zekis, 25 yrs listing is by organization. John J. Salamanca, 21 yrs William L. Cook, 26 yrs William H. Dickey, 25 yrs Maurice A . Berube; 28 yrs Minnie C. Murray, 21 yrs Claire Garant, 23 yrs 02300 Evelyn T.