GM Pensions Are Fully Funded

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I worked for those benefits as part of my wages all those years and I don't believe it should be legal to just take them away with an executive decision. Management agreed to the terms and should have to live up to them. How would you like it if you worked with an agreement to pay you half now and the rest when the job was done only to find out that your employer doesn't have to pay the rest. If it was a two week job you might survive but when you bet your lifes work it puts it in a different light. I held up my end of the deal and now it's time for them to live up to theirs. Salaried employees wages were based on union wages and enjoyed many benefits because of union negotiated benefits. They also knew the risks of being salaried. The company didn't have to live up to anything. If they are upset now they should have joined the ranks of the hourly workers like I did. I feel for anyone who gets the shaft or doesn't earn a decent living wage but please don't blame me or my union brothers and sisters for company and corporate greed. We worked hard to raise everyones standard of living and receive guff because "we make too much money". I disagree, you make too little money. We tried to raise all workers wages up and let people hold their heads up proudly and not cowtow, please don't take the corporate mentallity of us and them and try to drag union workers down. We deserve what we earned just like everyone else.

Don Hornstein of IN 12:36PM December 05, 2008

The salaried GM employees have no room to complain. For years they made more money than the people that they supervised (usually 25% more than the highest paid hourly employee that they supervised). They also had better benefits like SSP, contributory retirement, free vehicle use for level 8 and above and better health care benefits.
Hourly employees did all the grunt work while the salaried cronies laughed it up about the union dummies working on the assembly line. Well guess what...the union is the only reason that you salaried employees enjoyed the pay and benefits that you received. From my experience there were very few members of management that were worth half as much as a union grunt.

Dennis of FL 7:22PM December 03, 2008

No one is talking about the $300 per month that salaried workers are going to get to pay for their health insurance.
I am sick and tried of it always being the union that is the problem. The people at the top are making so much money how can they relate to the people on main street!

Arlene of NV 6:32PM December 01, 2008

Oh boo hoo! What did hourly workers have to do with what benifits salaried workers received. Most of the time a lot of them acted liked hourly workers were beneath them.

of OH 3:01PM November 30, 2008

I don't care what you say its still the unions fault GM is in the mess they are today. If you would have done your work in eight hours GM wouldn't have had to pay all that over time!
After graduating from colleg my husband took a job working for GM from 1964 to 2002 and he never got any perks for free COMPANY CARS FOR WORK AND PERSONEL USE, WHICH WERE MAINTAINED AT THE PLANTS BY UNION EMPLOYEES WASHED, WAXED ETC. . SOME RECIEVED FREE EDUCATIONS AND DEGREES. He lost cost of living back in 1985. When did the hourly workers give up COLA? He voted to join the union but all the old timers who were going to retire, didn't. He paid for his health care and the hourly workers recieved it for free.
He didn't get a promotion for over fifteen years because the union was taking all it good get.
So if GM goes under what's going to happen to all the workers both salary and hourly that don't have enough years to retire?
I'm so thankful the the hourly pension fund is separate from the salary, other wise the union would be taking that too.

of 10:21AM November 30, 2008

The UAW tried years ago to get salaried workers to join the Union. They would laugh and say "why should we pay union dues when GM give us what you guys get plus at least 10%." Are they still laughing. By the way, as of the last contract, rank and file retirees started paying a part of their costs.

B Bowman of AZ 7:36PM November 28, 2008

WE AS UNION MEMBERS FOR YEARS, GAVE UP RAISES AND COST OF LIVING INCREASES FOR THE BENEFITS WE NOW HAVE. I RESENT THE IMPLACATION THAT WE SHOULD NOW HAVE TO GIVE UP WHAT WE WORKED HARD FOR OVER THIRTY SOME YEARS. FOR YEARS STOCK WAS GIVEN TO MANAGEMENT, THEY ALSO HAD THE OPTION TO PURCHASE STOCK. THEY RECIEVED DISCOUNTS ON VEHICLES AND COMPANY CARS FOR WORK AND PERSONEL USE, WHICH WERE MAINTAINED AT THE PLANTS BY UNION EMPLOYEES WASHED, WAXED ETC. { EXAMPLE: WARREN OHIO PACKARD ELECTRIC NOW THE BANKRUPT DELPHI}. MANAGEMENTS PERKS SO WE WERE TOLD. SOME RECIEVED FREE EDUCATIONS AND DEGREES WHILE WE CONTINUED TO CHASE CONVEYORS AND CLEAN TOILETS. I CHOSE TO DO THESE TASKS FOR 34 YEARS BECAUSE OF THE UNION AND THE CONTRACT THAT WOULD TAKE CARE OF MY CARPAL TUNNEL SURGERIES.
THE UNIONS FOUGHT HARD AND DID WITHOUT IN ORDER TO GET WHAT WE NEEDED FOR OUR MEMBERS. ALONG THE WAY THE UNION GAVE MANAGEMENT THE OPTION TO JOIN THE UNION. HOWEVER, SINCE THEY HAD BETTER PERKS THAN WE DID AND WE ALSO HAD UNION DUES TO PAY MONTHLY, THE CHOSE TO BELIEVE THE COMPANY AND THE COMPANY OUT OF THE GOODNESS OF ITS HEART WOULD TAKE CARE OF THEM THEN AND FOREVER. I FEEL BAD FOR THOSE FOREMAN THAT HAVE BEEN SOLD DOWN THE RIVER FOR TRUSTING UPPER MANAGEMENT, BUT WE AS UNION MEMBERS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO GIVE UP NOW OR IN THE FUTURE WHAT WE HAVE A CONTACT FOR. CONTRACT IS A LEGAL BINDING AGREEMENT BOTH SIDES BENEFITED DON'T THINK FOR ONE MOMENT THE COMPANY DIDN'T OVER THE YEARS!!!!!!!!

LINDA HELMICK of OH 6:32PM November 28, 2008

hey! you made your choice. Salary workers had other perks for years, such as the discounted autos they could purchase long before the hourly. You are missing the whole concept and benefit of being a uniuon member.

of OH 7:14PM November 27, 2008

I agree that the union employees should have the same health care as the salary workers.
Also the union workers should give up the cost of living just like th salary workers did back in the 1980's.

Nan of OH 5:21PM November 26, 2008

when you refer to health care cost you did not mention that salaried employees who reach the age of 65 do not have any health care benefits from GM starting in Jan 2009
it is about time union employees start to have some health care cost

j kelly of SC 4:48PM November 25, 2008