GM Pensions Are Fully Funded

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I retired from GM in 1997. I looked at what was offered and made a decision that I could survive on the amount of money that I was to receive each month. I was a good loyal union member who paid union dues every month and still pay union dues and do so with great pride. My early memoirs of working at GM was in the sixties. I remember many salary workers would order a new car every six months and at the end of six month they would sell it to some family member, friend are maybe even a union worker and they always made money. That is only one of the many perks that salary workers enjoyed. You can bitch and moan and blame the unions for the down fall of the auto makers if you want to. I blame the high cost of gasoline and the Bush administration who set the policies that have us in this situation we are in today.

Edward Leveridge of IN 7:26PM January 31, 2009

Competition is the bottom line. If you cannot compete with a competitor you lose. If you don't do something about it you continue to lose. This is simple commone sense.
Can one UAW member explain the reason for the following
FACTS:
In 2007 Toyota sold 9.3 million vehicles. GM also sold 9.3 million vehicles. Toyota made 13 billion dollars. GM lost 30 some billion. NOW no matter what excuse you come up with the bottom line is if you can't compete you lose..........period. I can guarantee you all that GM will again, before 2009 is over be asking the government for more money and if they don't get it they in-fact will declare chapter 11. Without re-negotiation of a contract nothing will change. End of story, like it or not. You folks have a choice; accept a drastic change or lose your pensions, benefits, jobs and one of the greatest auto companies that ever existed. Sad but true.

Wally of OH 12:40PM January 09, 2009

In the 80's GM agreed to the job bank demand. This was an absolutely outrageous demand and yet our financial people (the condescending jackasses that they are) agreed to this travesty. During the same time they took cost of living from the Salary work force which never came back. Every time there was a downturn in the industry they took more from the salary people, but never the UAW. After 40 years working with GM I learned a lot. I would say that 50% of the UAW people were hard working, caring individuals and yes the other 50% lazy slackers who got away with murder. I can assure you that if the truth be told thousands upon thousands of salary and union workers would agree with me. So yes maybe I am a salary whiner but many of you should be ashamed to even take a pension.
To those of you auto workers that made the once great corporation great, thank you.....to the other half grow up before the end of your life...you may be surprised.

Victor Cummings of OH 2:45PM January 08, 2009

Until the Credit Market improves, it does not matter what Car Company that makes autos in USA, they will all go broke, because most people can not get loans to buy them. Also, without jobs in America all large and small companies are at risk to go belly up. Speak up America, let your voice be heard,for without it America is doomed. For all of you out there that it will never happen to you, I used to think the same thing.
The Auto companies surly dont need the Gov't to run them. I mean, look what has happened to our own Country the USA in the last 8 yrs. But then, if I made $174,000 a year plus benefits, maybe I would think I am better than the Average Joe.
God Help us all, & God Bless America!!!!!!!!!!!!!LLB

Larry of MI 8:40PM December 18, 2008

My husband is a retire of GM and my opinion is that union and salary workers should stop fighting among themselves and stand together to weather what the gov and the ceo's are trying to do to us. If you really want to place blame look at the ceo and other executives that took excessive pay and bonus while the company was going down. They did not try to change designs or improve millage they fought against universal health insurance which would have helped with the bottom line of all U.S. manufactures. The union workers got benefits and salary workers got benefits now we are all being sacrificed by upper management. i do not see them taking cuts on their insurance or bonuses. We need to stand together if we are to prevail,

Sandi Aslanes of NY 11:06AM December 15, 2008

8th level and above pays $250 per month for their "free" car. This is a good benefit, but not the freebee described above. I'm sure the UAW insists on keeping those $28/hr jobs doing detailing work on these cars, work that could be done on the outside for $9/hr, with no benefits.
I agree that you can't take away a promise that has been made to retirees. What the Big 3 can't do is continue to pay higher hourly wages, better benefits, JOBS and SUB pay to laid off workers, wasteful featherbedding in the form of Full Utilization, restrictive work rules, lines of demarcation, company-paid elected local union officials, and the ridiculous practice of paying bribes of $35,000 to $140,000 to induce a high paid worker to retire at an early age to further add to the "legacy cost" problem, in order to make room for a $14/hr worker.
If you don't make a profit you will fail eventually. The UAW worker is not even close to being competitive with a Transplant worker in terms of cost per vehicle. The big three have sold off and mortgaged everything they have to stay afloat to this point. They are dying under the burden of the UAW contract.
If Rick Wagoner was smart he would spin off the US and Canadian operations to protect the rest of the company, which is competitive, and not let the UAW suck the global operations dry too.

Tom of MI 9:49AM December 15, 2008

Arlene of nev brings up the $300.00 the salary workers are getting to help buy new health Insurace, she does not bring up the fact that the $300.00 is not tax free, in fact it puts me in another tax bracket. She is not losing her health care, if she were GM would give her $300.00 if she were retired and 65 or over. She also forgets that not all salary workers are in top mangement. I was in payroll, nothing more then a clerk and hourly made more then i did. I used to work on the line for 10 years so she is wrong about the salary worker getting all this stuff free. I never got anything that I did not work for. She has no idea how it feels to lose her insurance when u have cancer as I do. We worked for what we have so do not imply that we get free stuff.

VB of NY 5:40PM December 12, 2008

I worked on the line for 14 years so I know how hard that work is. I got on salary for 10 years, I worked my butt off in payroll for those years. I was never one of the sarlay in high places , got nothing free , made less the hourly worker and worked 60 hours a week to make sure the payroll was coming out Some of that was overtime and a lot of it was not.I have worked all my life like that on other jobs, always gave 110 percent. I gave everything I had on the line to. We should not be putting each other down here, we should stick together now that we are all in trouble. I agree with the union on not taking a wage cut to the level of what Japan workers get. Our hourly people could not live on those wages in this country.I for one do not laugh at any hourly worker or any salary worker. Just stick together.
At the Tarrytown plant in NY the union and salary had a bowling legue together, we gor along just fine.

M. Beckman of NY 12:41AM December 12, 2008

I can see the Gm worker 65 and over losing thier health insurance, I saw this coming down the road. What I can not see is that the salary workers lost thiers and the hourly workers kepp thier health care this is not fair.

V Beckman of NY 12:26AM December 12, 2008