Sunday, February 19, 2012
Make all Delphi retirees equal
It is not too late to right a wrong that was set in motion nearly three years ago, one that was inherited in part by former Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams when he took the job of Executive Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers
Williams’ title is often shortened to auto czar. If he had a czar’s power he could fix the problem single-handed. He can’t, but he can use his influence in Washington to get a fair resolution.
The problem we’re referring to is the short-changing of one employee group in the 2009 bankruptcy of General Motors, which also involved picking winners and losers at a former GM division, Delphi. Locally, Delphi workers included those who had worked at the Packard Electric Division of GM for generations.
The 2009 restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler saved the American automobile industry from disaster and saved tens of thousands of jobs. The Obama administration also preserved the pension, ancillary pensions and health benefits of tens of thousands of members of the UAW, the IUE and even the USW. Workers left conspicuously out in the cold were the salaried employees of Delphi, who numbered about 21,000. Many lost 50 to 70 percent of their expected pensions and their health coverage.
Williams met with representatives of the Delphi Salaried Retirees’ Association during a recent visit to Youngstown. This injustice has been dragged out for too long. That’s the message Williams should take to President Barack Obama.