Applications Open for the Joe Beirne Scholarship

Applications are now being accepted through April 30th, 2024, for one of sixteen Joe Beirne Scholarships of $4,000 each for the 2024-2025 school year. Click here to apply.

CWA members, their spouses, children, and grandchildren (including dependents of laid-off, retired, or deceased CWA members) may apply. Applicants must be high school graduates or at least high school students who will graduate during the year in which they apply. Undergraduate and graduate students returning to schooling may also apply. 

The CWA Joe Beirne Foundation was established in 1974 by the CWA Executive Board to honor the founding President of CWA, who served the union for more than 30 years. Beirne grew up in Jersey City, NJ and went to work in 1927 for Western Electric, the Bell Telephone System's manufacturing arm. With the New Deal labor reforms and passage of the Wagner Act in 1935, Beirne and others were inspired to begin organizing the nation's phone workers.

In his capacity as the first CWA President, Joe Beirne took great pride in the roles he played in education and other areas of social concern. Following his death on Labor Day in 1974, the Joseph A. Beirne Foundation has worked to honor his lifelong commitment to education and progressive social causes.

Click here for more information on the scholarship, eligibility, and application process.