Delphi salaried retirees fight benefit cuts

[Bozita]

Source: Associated Press

Sunday, February 22, 2009
Delphi salaried retirees fight benefit cuts
Bree Fowler / Associated Press


NEW YORK -- Nancy Shade's father and grandparents had enjoyed the security of General Motors' benefits before they helped draw her to a job there, too. Now, the five-year breast cancer survivor is wondering how she'll afford her own health coverage if GM's spun-off parts maker, Delphi, terminates medical and life insurance benefits for salaried retirees.

Delphi Corp., which has been under bankruptcy protection since 2005, has asked a judge to allow it to cancel the benefits as soon as April 1, so the Troy, Mich., company can save more than $70 million a year and take more than $1.1 billion in liabilities off its balance sheet.

More than 75 Delphi Corp. retirees like Shade have written directly to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain, begging him to keep them from joining the ranks of the uninsured. Attorneys representing at least three groups of retirees have filed formal objections to the plan.

A hearing on Delphi's motion is scheduled for Tuesday in New York.

Read more: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090222/AUTO01/902220329/1148

[GoesTo11]

1. It's funny how failing to pay what you promised is called "saving" money

Then aren't people who don't pay their mortgages and walk away from foreclosed homes just saving money?

[Vincardog]

2. How would Universal Single Payer Health Care be bad for America?

[pattmarty]

3. Because it's "Socialist" and probably "Islamofascist" also.

:sarcasm:

[Jackpine Radical]

4. Because, umm, wait, wait, I know..

It would be bad because it would cut insurance company profits, and, umm, oh, yeah, it would let all kindsa freeloaders get health care, and there would be these huge waiting lines, and, um, Hannity thinks it's a bad idea, so that's good enough for me.

[shanti]

8. me too

if universal health care can relieve the suffering of our citizens, i don't care how long i have to wait in line for a doctor! i'm really tying my hopes on President Obama getting this thru!

[Jackpine Radical]

9. Well, every once in a while the Canadian provincial systems start bogging down.

That almost always happens just after the conservatives get in power & cut funding.

[FarCenter]

5. For a starter, the law should be changed to allow retirees over 55 to buy into Medicare

[raccoon]

10. The law should be changed to allow citizens over 55 to buy into Medicare.

Lots of us over 55 are working and don't have group medical insurance.

[D-Lee]

6. Shifting the costs of retirement and health to the government AGAIN

and then the Repugs complain about the costs of Social Security retirement and health benefits.

It's that old "race to the bottom" -- how badly can you treat workers?

Gets us to our current cliffhanger: how long will ordinary people survive when reduced to the minimum economic sustenance?

[Kolesar]

11. I expect that Nancy Shade won't get gov't coverage & cannot buy into any health care insurance/plan

eom

[whathappened]

7. talk about traders to our country

all these corperations have over sea's operations going on while they are cutting work for our workers of this country , all of them should be held accountable for heath care and pensions promissed , i worked in these dirty plants for buick , and after u retire u need the health insurance , just to cope with the bad air , and many other conditions u work in well employed

[Myrina]

12. Why aren't Executives and CEO's being slashed and burned?

Instead of the clear-cutting of the hourly wage workers, get rid of all those layers of bloated bloviating beurocracy which do nothing but go to meetings, lunches, and think of creative ways to screw the floor worker?

I've said it a thousand times: eliminating 10 Executives at $500,000 a year saves $5 MILLION dollars: that money could instead
be used to keep 125 hourly workers employed @ $40k/yr, and employed workers meet their mortgages and SHOP, which will in turn
get the rest of the economy moving again, thereby creating MORE jobs.

Does no-fucking-body in Washington understand this??!?!?!?!?

[sarcasmo]

13. The real reason behind the Bankruptcy of GM, legacy costs.

Dirty rotten FUCKS. The Bankruptcy is going to happen, Saab was just the start. If they can't sell Saturn by 2011 they are going to shut Saturn down.