Retirement benefits for GM salaried workers take a hit
Reporting by ABC Local 12, Bay City, Michigan.Read more...
Thousands of GM Salaried Retirees Feeling the Pinch
...after big changes to Health Care coverage this year. But that's not their only concern for 2010 ...
GMRA Letter to Whitacre 1/13/10
GMRA notifies GM of an escalating situation among members that could have a negative impact on GM business. Read the letter...
Does the Government Owe You Money? 12/11/09
In the early days of employee savings plans at
General Motors, U.S. Savings Bonds and GM Stock were the only available options. If there is a possibility that you still own Series E bonds issued in or after 1974 that have been misplaced or destroyed, visit www.treasurydirect.gov and go to the "Treasury Hunt link" under "Individuals" on the left side of the page.
You will be able to enter your Social Security number and locate information on bonds under your ownership record. Note that Treasury Hunt includes records for only those Series E bonds that have reached maturity and were issued in 1974 and after.
GMRA Position on Preferred Pricing Program 12/9/09
General Motors recently announced a new "Preferred Pricing" program that will go into effect Jan. 5, 2010.
Under the new program, the pricing discounts available to GM employee and retiree vehicle purchases will be eliminated. The new program will involve one formula that will apply to purchases by GM employees, retirees and suppliers. Although a new added incentive referred to as an Employee Vehicle Allowance may be available on some vehicle purchases, it is GMRA's position that the new formula will reduce buying power of retirees and represents one more benefit loss.
Details of the program are available at the gmfamilyfirst.com site
Bankruptcy claim loss calculation and filing guidance has been emailed to GMRA members. View the sample Proof of Claim form here. 11/8/09
General Motors 2010 Salaried Retiree Health Care Plan contains major plan changes and cost shifting to retirees. 10/20/09
General Motors has begun the roll out of the 2010 Salaried Retiree Health Care Plan. The plan pertains to retirees, surviving spouses and their dependents eligible for GM-paid health care. As announced previously, those eligible for Medicare are no longer eligible for GM-paid health care (under 65 effective 1/1/10). GM will mail detailed information to affected participants on Friday, October 23. Please note: Until Open Enrollment begins October 28, the GM Benefit Center will be unable to answer retiree questions.
GMRA Advises Retirees to Consider Filing Claims in GM Bankruptcy. 9/29/09
The GMRA Plan for Non-UAW Retirees 7/7/09
Letter to Henderson - Protect GM Retirees 7/20/09
Letter to President Obama 7/11/09
GMRA Announces Results of Benefits Committee Hearing 6/25/09
Following a lengthy hearing on June 25, the New York bankruptcy court denied GMRA's application for benefits committee. Read the press release here. At a press conference immediately following the decision, John Christie, GMRA President, called for fairness in the treatment of salaried retirees. Read John's statement here.
GMRA's Law Firm Files Request In Bankruptcy Court 6/4/09
The law firm hired by the General Motors Retirees Association has filed with the judge in charge of the GM Chapter 11 Bankruptcy a request to appoint a Retiree Committee to represent GM salaried retirees, their spouses and survivors regarding their protected benefits. Click here to read the Application.
GM Retiree Club Leaders 4/19/09
Attached (click here) is a letter from John Christie, Interim President of the General Motors Retirees Association. Please give this wide distribution within your retiree clubs and amongst your retired friends.
Additionally, GMRA would like to establish a contact list for each club containing club name, officers, address/phone number(s) and number of retirees. We are receiving media inquiries and requests for retiree interviews from across the country and will use club contact information to quickly reach the appropriate clubs, as well as to ensure we communicate effectively. Please send a return email as soon as possible with your group's information to communications@gmret.org .
If you have any questions or would like a GMRA representative to speak at one of your meetings, please contact John or me. Our volunteer leadership team has members across the U.S. Where a personal visit is not feasible, we will send you presentation materials and copy masters upon request. Thank you in advance for your anticipated support.
Best regards,
Karen DeOrnellas
GMRA Communications Director
GM Retirees Association – Join Us Now
I want to share with you the following first three paragraphs from an article in The Financial Times on April 3, 2009.
Fritz Henderson, the new chief executive of General Motors, gave his most forceful message yet to debt-holders and unions, saying a clean balance sheet was “not negotiable” and could “very well happen” through bankruptcy.
“There were many people saying ‘well, the government would never let that happen’ – well it’s pretty clear that’s not the case,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times.
“And if you have any doubts still then listen to me: we’re going to get the job done one way or the other and I think therefore people who were maybe sitting back and saying well that won’t happen – it may happen, it may very well happen, but the company will achieve its goals.”
The Delphi Salaried Retirees Association was able to convince the judge to appoint a Limited Section 1114 Committee of retirees to negotiate with Delphi. As a result, on April 2, the court's and Delphi's creditors committee approved an agreement providing $8.75 million in subsidies to establish a sustained VEBA (Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association) that will help those with the greatest financial hardship due to the loss of benefits. The bigger gain accomplished was that retirees also became eligible to file for Health Care Tax Credits which will a allow them to get over 60% of their future health care premiums back in the form of tax credits. Delphi’s salaried pension plan is underfunded and may be taken over by the PBGC; another bankruptcy committee, called an 1113 committee, will be formed to deal with pension matters.
THE DELPHI RETIREE ASSOCIATION CANNOT REPRESENT GM RETIREES!
If GM were to suddenly declare bankruptcy the GMRA would have to take action as a retiree committee on your behalf but without your help we will not have the key people or the financial resources to establish the legal representation required to stand up for retirees. None of us will be prepared to deal with this unless we WAKE UP NOW! Register through this GMRA website. Click on the "Join Us" link at the top of this webpage. I ask you to select the "print this application" option on the "Join Us" page and mail it to Wayne Williamson, GMRA Treasurer, with your $25 check or more. Print copies of the membership form and give it to friends to complete and mail in NOW!
Toward the end of The Financial Times article, Mr. Henderson was quoted as saying: “If we have to resort to bankruptcy then we’re going to do it fast . . . there are non-traditional ways to do this but it requires a fair amount of force, will and leverage and we have force, will and leverage.”
Please join the GMRA and also become a volunteer. Share this message with GM retirees you know and GM Clubs you may be a member of or know about and tell them you have become a GMRA member.
John Christie,
Interim President
General Motors Retirees Association
GM Retirees Urged To Join The NRLN's Grassroots Network
We are part of the National Retirees Legislative Network (NRLN). You can do your part by joining the NRLN as an individual and/or becoming a member of the Grassroots Network. Click on the NRLN logo at the top of this page for more information.
PRESIDENTS CORNER
February 1, 2010
Three representatives of GMRA, Angele Shaw, Richard Knoth, and I recently returned from the annual National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN) Conference in Washington DC.
The NRLN leadership team met the first day to review and approve 2010 legislative initiatives. You can check out the entire legislative agenda by clicking here . We have a considerable number of legislative issues to address in 2010, with "Bankruptcy Reform" and “Protection of Defined Benefits during Mergers and Acquisitions" at the top of the list.
The next day, representatives from the Department of Labor, the Senate Finance Committee and the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) joined the conference as speakers to review the status of legislative initiatives in their respective areas, and field questions and concerns from conference participants.
The following day we split into teams and spread out to meet with members of Congress and their staff. More than 40 NRLN members, representing 17 retiree associations, visited with 51 Senators, Representatives and their staff members on the Hill that day. We made our case at each stop, briefing them on the challenges we are facing as retirees and soliciting their support in pushing for legislative reform that will protect our retirement future. Overall, there was a good basic understanding of the issues we raised. We left packages of information detailing our concerns and our recommendations for new legislation that would address the issues.
The one thing that impressed me most as I interacted with retirees from other large companies, most of whom you would recognize, is the trend toward U.S. companies to use bankruptcy as a way to shed their legacy costs and obligations, leaving non-represented retirees with an inequitable share of the burden. It has become a far too common and recurring story, and a cycle that must be broken.
In the interest of doing just that, we are happy to be able support the NRLN in developing White Papers on “Bankruptcy Reform" and “Protection of Defined Benefits during Mergers and Acquisitions,” as a first step toward getting new legislation passed.
John Christie, president