|
Just finished reading
the January report that arrived in the mail today. I must say
I am pleased that there are some retired folks making an issue
regarding our eroding benefits. Perhaps this is the time for
all of us to speak out and demand what was promised to us at
the time we all agreed to accept the Early Retirement
package. Free, company paid Health care was part of those
packages. This has been an extremely difficult situation for
me personally. As the Benefits Administrator, I was the one
who presented the Corporate "promise" to those individuals who
were eligible for Early retirement. At that time there was no
hemming and hawing, no what ifs, and no equivocation from GM's
corporate office. I was specifically instructed to pass this
message onto every eligible candidate for early retirement.
My personal integrity has always been first and foremost and
has surely been diminished in the eyes of my fellow retirees.
Throughout the last several years there have been many
retirees who have called me to complain about this issue while
implying that I had lied to them. In fact, I am quite
surprised I have never been asked to testify in court about
this. During a conversation with a gentleman in the Corporate
Pension office (Joe Ryan or Dick Brewer) I made it very clear
that if subpoenaed to testify, I would not lie to protect GM's
interest. I was instructed to make the promise of free Health
care for life, and also for the life of the spouse. I am
positive that many employees were reluctant to take the Early
retirement and were definitely swayed by my assurance of the
continuance of company paid health care. Following is a
situation most retirees are probably not aware of. Just prior
to Roger Smith's retirement he rammed through the Board a new
Retirement Supplement for himself and the several others in!
his salary bracket. It amounted to an additional 1 million
dollars a year for life. I found it extremely interesting to
discover that it was just about the same time that salaried
employees began to suffer reductions in their benefits
package. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I believe we are all
paying for this "extra" goodie for Roger and his pals. Has
this Wall Street Journal reporter spoken with any of the
Lansing retirees? For what it is worth, I too would be happy
to speak with him. He can reach me by phone at (813)
779-0047. My address here in Florida is: 5804 Apache Street,
Zephyrhills, FL 33542. |
