General Motors National
Retiree Association
Over The Hill Car People,
LLC
Established 2003
Summary of our Meeting in Washington with the Auto Task Force
April 24, 2009
Hello to the members of Over The Hill Car People, LLC - General Motors National Retiree Association and all GM retirees!
We did attend a meeting with President Obama's Auto Task Force Team in Washington on April 24, 2009. Mr. Ron Bloom, a senior executive on the Federal Automotive Task Force, was present for this meeting. He is one of the leaders of the Presidential Auto Task Force Team selected by President Obama to assist with the restructuring of the American Auto Industry. He has spent 25 years of his career helping reorganize companies near bankruptcy.
The Presidents of four salaried retiree organizations attended this meeting:
Don
Whitehouse, President
FAIR Alliance Inc.
Ford Actions Impacting Retirees
Jack Dickinson, President
Over The Hill Car People, LLC
General Motors National Retiree Group
www.overthehillcarpeople.com
Den Black, Interim Chair
DSRA (Delphi)
Chuck Austin, President
National Chrysler Retirement Organization
This was a ground-breaking effort by the Presidents of these four retiree groups to form a united effort to represent the concerns of the salaried retirees from all of the retiree associations listed above. We have agreed to continue our united efforts to represent the concerns of our respective salaried retirees.
The retirees made a presentation, outlining the sacrifices made by salaried retirees, and asked that all retirees (salaried and union) be treated equitably in the auto industry restructuring efforts. We also emphasized that our first concern was the survival of the companies and the domestic auto industry.
Mr. Bloom, stated that President Obama wanted the American Owned Auto Industry to not only survive, but also to remain a viable industry. He stated this could not happen without sacrifices from everyone involved. The retiree Presidents pledged to offer workers (time and talent) to assist the companies and Task Force as they deemed beneficial to accomplish the task at hand. One proposal we suggested was for retirees to volunteer to return to work part-time to assist where manpower shortages existed. Ford retirees had previously suggested this concept to the company, but it was rejected. Mr. Bloom, said this was worthy of consideration, but must have approval of all parties concerned.
The retirees suggested that the Task Force investigate a super-VEBA for salaried retirees in the auto industry. This should only be done as a last resort and is just one instrument that may permit all retirees to receive Health Care Benefits. Again, Bloom stated this is something he would take to the table for consideration, but no commitment was given.
The retirees also requested that the Task force put a stipulation in the Auto Loan Program that the companies could not cut benefits further during the program, and would increase benefits to an equitable level when the companies returned to profit. We made a strong suggestion that should a bankruptcy occur consideration be given to ensure that salaried retiree pensions are Funded and Protected! We stated that every effort should be made to assure that our pension funds do not go to the PBGC for payments to the salaried retirees (GM's salary pension fund is 95% funded as of December 2008). A large part of our discussions were related to the protection of our pension funds! The truth is, NO one knows how these funds will be treated until a bankruptcy is actually declared if one ever has to become a reality. Bloom understood our concerns and advised many options were under review.
We pointed out that 50% of the population is over 50, and 88% of workers are non-union. Many other companies (Prudential, ATT, Boeing, Detroit Edison, SBC, Lucent, etc.) have lost retiree benefits as well. But, the auto industry is the largest and most recent one in the country. If auto retirees lose benefits, there will be a “ripple effect” with all other American industries throughout the country. All Americans will be either personally affected or will have a friend or relative who is affected. This is a message we all must work diligently to help the average American understand
We are encouraged to report Mr. Bloom was sympathetic to our concerns. He was thoroughly familiar with all the details of retiree benefit losses and had a good working knowledge of the Automotive Industry in general. He indicated that the Task Force is concerned with all parties involved with this restructuring process. We made certain he knew the details of the benefits of both salaried and hourly retirees and requested he include the interest and concerns of salaried retirees in all plans of the restructuring process. He knows and understands the pain salaried retirees have experienced with the loss of our Health Care Benefits!
He listened attentively to our presentation and asked many insightful questions. But, he also emphasized that all stakeholders must sacrifice. He did not make any promises to us other than we could rest assured all concerns of the salaried retirees would be considered. He did indicate that recent press reports were not true--the UAW has not reached an agreement to protect the unions’ health and pension plans as reported in a news article. He stated negotiations were ongoing and they were attempting to shape a solution that would be equitable to as many parties as possible. He emphasized again that this would not be accomplished without sacrifices from all.
Mr. Bloom thought what we were requesting for the salaried retirees was fair, but that many of the issues were of a legislative nature and the laws could only be changed by the congress. He suggested we keep up our efforts to pursue these changes by working with our groups to continue to contact our congressional and local leaders and make our voices heard.
After the meeting, the retirees handed out a Press Release, and had interviews with several news organizations (Bloomberg, NBC, ABC, Washington Post, etc.) several TV appearances were granted and we all made our voices heard.
We followed our Automotive Task Force Meeting with visits to the Offices of Senators:
--Sherrod Brown- Ohio - United States Senator
--Carl Levin-Michigan - Co-Chair of the Senate Automotive Caucus
–George Voinovich - Ohio - Co-Chair of the Senate Automotive Caucus
Our message requested urgent and immediate legislative actions to correct the obvious deficiencies in the current laws that govern the protection of Salaried Retirees! We expressed our appreciation to these Senators for writing letters of support to President Obama and the Auto Task Force concerning our request for the salaried retiree groups to meet with the Auto Task Force. Please consider writing these gentlemen to thank them for supporting you!
This was a very informative and productive trip! Next week we will continue our united retiree group effort with GM, Ford, Chrysler and Delphi retiree groups with a conference call requested by Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, on April 29, 2009.
Regards,
Jack
Dickinson, President
Over The Hill Car People, LLC
General Motors National Retiree Association
www.overthehillcarpeople.com
E-mail:
spoacdc1@aol.com
Please forward this to all of your GM & Delphi friends
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