My thanks to all of you who are taking the time to stay in touch and get involved in GMRA activities. Thanks to you, we are turning the corner in a couple of areas.

Last week, the White House invited members of the National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN) to a one-on-one meeting to talk through NRLN’s primary health care priorities.  This meeting is significant!  It is evidence that your letters and contacts with your Congressional representatives are being heard, the issues we are facing are gaining attention, and NRLN is recognized as the go-to point for retiree concerns.
 
At that meeting, we learned that many of the issues that are important to us as retirees still are not included in the final, pared-down health care bills. NRLN representatives at that meeting used the opportunity to urge the White House staff to pass our proposals independently, if they are not written directly into the national health care bill proposal. The NRLN priorities for health care, which GMRA also supports, are listed on the GMRA site at:  http://gmret.org/LEGIS-AGENDA.htm.

Our Grassroots activities are working, so don't give up. Right now, there is an "Action Alert" concerning pension protection on the NRLN site. If you haven’t already, take the time to jump in with a letter or contact with your congressionial representatives. The NRLN system makes it easy. Go to http://nrln.org/ for sample text and instructions. Our pensions are a priority we should not leave to fate.

On one last front, we are in communication with GM to resolve a number of issues many of you have brought to our attention. Thank you for staying close, and sharing your concerns with us. It helps us prioritize our work, and identify the issues of highest concern to our members. We are hopeful that we will have some positive news to share with you sometime soon.