Delphi retirees invited to game

By JORDAN COHEN

news@vindy.com

NILES

A spokesman for the Delphi Salaried Retirees Association says the group won “a major victory” in federal bankruptcy court this week and wants to celebrate at a baseball game.

The association, which is fighting to save pensions slashed during the General Motors bankruptcy last year, has invited all Delphi salaried and hourly retirees to attend the Mahoning Valley Scrappers game at Eastwood Field on July 12.

“The last 15 or 16 months have been very intense for us, and now it’s time to take a night off and enjoy a game,” said Bruce Gump, chairman of the Warren Legislative Group of the retirees’ association during a news conference Friday afternoon at Eastwood Field.

General Motors, which had spun off Delphi as an independent company, terminated the salaried pensions, which were turned over to the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. Gump said the PBGC is paying only from 30 percent to 70 percent of the pensions that association members earned through their years with GM and Delphi.

“If these cuts are allowed to stand, the average salaried retiree will lose between $300,000 and $500,000,” Gump said.

The chairman said a federal bankruptcy judge in New York ruled against motions filed by the PBGC and the Justice Department that would have kept the retiree issue tied up in bankruptcy court indefinitely. “We’re done with that now,” Gump said, “and we can move on to the next step [in federal district court in Detroit].”

No date has been set for that hearing.

Gump said the retirees are armed with additional information that shows PBGC understated the amount of money available in the pension fund.

As for the game, a Scrappers representative said special ticket prices are available starting at $5 that covers the admission price and $10 and $20 that will include various food and refreshments.