New York Times. 20 September 2001. Money for Families of Attack Victims Could Vary Widely. Excerpts. NEW YORK -- Although financial relief for survivors of those who died in the World Trade Center attack may total in the hundreds of millions of dollars, some families now stand to receive no more than $30,000 in direct aid, according to officials involved in government and private relief efforts. Across a vast landscape of need -- from those supported by dishwashers and bond traders, firefighters and security guards -- the flow of death benefits for survivors, so far, looks jaggedly uneven. Millions in public and private funds are streaming to the relief effort, with large parts of it channeled to unique categories of victims, like firefighters or the children of airline passengers who may have fought with hijackers. Because of the dangers of police and fire work, a well-established net of benefits was in place long before Sept. 11 for the families of uniformed workers who die in the line of duty. A federal program provides a lump sum of $151,635 to the family of each "first responder" -- firefighter, police officer, or emergency medical worker -- who died in the catastrophe. At the other end of the spectrum, kitchen workers at Windows on the World have $15,000 life insurance policies, and their families' union health insurance will end in November. For two widows, Ann McCarthy and Mary Jean O'Leary, the gaps could not be more stark. The women are sisters-in-law. They live in Stony Point, N.Y. Their husbands worked on the floors occupied by Cantor Fitzgerald, the bond trading company in 1 World Trade Center. Mrs. McCarthy, whose husband, Robert McCarthy, worked directly for Cantor Fitzgerald, can count on insurance worth two years' salary, up to $100,000. Supplemental insurance, if employees purchased it, would increase that benefit to $1 million. Cantor is providing health insurance for at least one year. By contrast, Mrs. O'Leary's husband, Gerald O'Leary, was a chef in the Cantor Fitzgerald corporate dining room, which was operated by Forte Food Services. Mr. O'Leary, 34, had no life insurance from the company. The only communication the O'Leary family has had from Forte has been an envelope with Mr. O'Leary's last paycheck, said Patrick McCarthy, the missing man's brother. No note was included. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews _______________________________________________ Leninist-International mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
