Published: October 29, 2009 11:02 pm      

Retirees pleased with hearing

Senators question why company was able to eliminate pensions, benefits.

The meeting went a lot better than planned. Now the Delphi Salaried Retirees Association wants to know how the problems with members’ retirement plans will be fixed.

Thursday, the 15,000-member group, which has been fighting Delphi Corp. to restore its members’ pensions and health care benefits, had an audience in the U.S. Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee in Washington D.C.

The committee conducted a hearing to examine possibilities to help workers preserve retirement security through a recession.

To aid in its bankruptcy emergence, Delphi terminated its 70,000 salaried and hourly retirees’ pension plans in July and gave them to Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

The transaction was first reported to cost $6.25 billion, but according to the Government Accountability Office, the cost is now more like $6.7 billion — the second-largest PBGC takeover in history.

When General Motors Co.’s largest supplier spun off of the parent company in 1999, an agreement was made with the United Auto Workers that GM would “top off” hourly-retirees’ pensions.

No such agreement was made with salaried retirees. As a result, DSRA members have no benefits with their former employer.

The group has filed a suit in U.S. District Court in Detroit against PBGC to protect and restore the pensions, and Thursday, it had the first opportunity to tell its story to a Senate committee.

Although, discussing DSRA situation wasn’t the only item on the agenda, earlier this week, Den Black, the DSRA’s interim chair, said having the hearing with the committee was “way better than nothing.”

Black, however, discovered it was even better than that, as several high-ranking senators inquired how the Troy Mich.-based company was able to eliminate pensions and benefits as well as other issues related to its four-year bankruptcy.

“We are very pleased with the receptivity committee and for their understanding and outrage of this situation facing the retirees,” said Black. “We are very encouraged.

“Sen. [Mike] Enzi, [R-Wyoming] is sending a letter to the U.S. Treasury calling for all documents related to General Motors and Delphi’s bankruptcies to be turned over. Sen. [Richard R-North Carolina] wants to know who authorized the PBGC to give up its liens for assets and trade off penny-on-the-dollar on Delphi’s assets. He is calling for a full disclosure. That money belonged to our pension plans.”

According to Black, for $70 million, the PBGC waived its 3.4 billion in liens on Delphi’s foreign assets. The difference in the amount is the money Black believes belongs in their pension plans.

Therefore, the DSRA and others want to know who in the Obama Administration’s Auto Task Force allowed the transaction to occur.

While no action was taken at the hearing, Black is hopeful there will be another hearing with the House’s Education and Labor committee where “the laser will be on us.”

“No date has been set,” he said. “But we do have a firm promise there will be a hearing. Delphi will receive plenty of focus and be the centerpiece of the hearing. Today, they were pretty focused on us, but there were others on the agenda.

“... We need this to be resolved. It’s still not fixed, but I am hopeful. We want fairness and equity.”

However, fighting for the rights of Delphi salaried retirees isn’t the only fight on Black’s list.

Watching what has occurred to non-union salaried retirees, an organization representing union salaried retirees of Chrysler Group LLC plans to meet with Chrysler officials to ensure — in case of another bankruptcy — their benefits will be secured.

During Chrysler’s bankruptcy emergence, the 5,500-member National Chrysler Retirement Organization was not mentioned; union members were. The fear is that if Chrysler filed bankruptcy again, they would lose everything.

“I am deeply involved with that,” said Black. “I am up to speed with it. I was a member of the National Automotive Coalition that started it. I reached out to them and I am in close contact with what is going on.

“I think one way or another, Chrysler is on its way out. [NCRO] are doing what they are doing by being proactive. They have watched what has happened to us and they want to stop a crisis before it occurs.”

• K.O. Jackson is the Kokomo Tribune’s business writer. He can be reached at 765-854-6739 or via e-mail kirven.jackson@kokomotribune.com