Published: June 02, 2006 07:47 am      

Anderson retirees protest cuts

ANDERSON — Two retirees from United Auto Workers Local 662 picketed its office for cutting off their pension.

The UAW local, which represents workers at Delphi Corp., cut off benefits and pension supplements for its 10 retired maintenance men and secretaries Wednesday. Only one part-time maintenance person still works at the union hall.

Two of the retirees — Bob Harris, 59, and Rubion Isbell, 67, began picketing outside the union hall Wednesday.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” said Harris, who lost his health insurance and half his $1,500-a-month pension.

The union hall employees are unionized with Local 357 of the AFL-CIO.

“When the UAW treats you like this, what are you going to do?” said Isbell, who lost half of his $800-a-month pension.

UAW local president Rick Zachary said rising health care costs and declining membership made the cuts necessary. The local had as many as 17,000 members in the 1950s but plant layoffs have reduced that to 700, with 300 set to retire this summer.

“If we were a business, we’d be out of business a long time ago,” Zachary said.

The local is selling the union hall and plans to use the money to reach a settlement with the workers.

Still, Harris, who worked at the hall for 26 years, said he believes in the union.

“There are a lot of members still there who do,” he said.