GENERAL MOTORS RETIREES ASSOCIATION NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release June 1, 2009 Retirees Respond to GM Bankruptcy Detroit, Mich. (June 1, 2009) - As General Motors files for bankruptcy, the GeneraMotors Retirees Association expects and insists on a legal and political process that willprovide fair treatment for all GM retirees, both union and non-union. "We at GMRA look forward to a bankruptcy process that treats all stakeholders fairly,said John Christie, GMRA President. "Whether in bankruptcy court or in the work of theU.S. Congress, all parties should remember that 122,000 salaried retirees and theirsurviving spouses are not part of the UAW agreement." "These retirees, who worked hard for decades and have done nothing wrong, deserve fulland fair consideration as the courts work to create a new General Motors," said Christie.The GM leadership has had extensive negotiations in the past few weeks withbondholders and the United Auto Workers. However, salaried retirees thus far havereceived no assurances regarding the pensions and healthcare benefits they earnedthrough years of loyal service. "Imagine a city larger than Peoria, Illinois, or Abilene, Texas. Now imagine that everysingle person in that city might lose catastrophic health insurance, prescription drugbenefits, life insurance, and her or his hard-earned pension," said Karen DeOrnellas,Director of Communications for GMRA. "This is the situation today for GM salariedretirees." "We want a reorganized GM to succeed, but bankruptcy shouldn't push tens of thousandsof retirees and their families into poverty or endanger their health when those people didnothing wrong," said DeOrnellas. GMRA shortly will announce its legal response to the GM bankruptcy filing. The General Motors Retirees Association is a national advocacy organization devoted tothe preservation of pension, health care, and other benefits earned by GM retireesthrough their years of labor and loyalty to GM. GMRA stands for the fair treatment of allGM retirees, including the salaried retirees not already represented by the United AutoWorkers. GMRA collaborates with the National Retirees Legislative Network (NRLN).
