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Ryan to Co-Chair Delphi Salaried Retirees Task Force
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan will co-chair a new task force to look into issues related to the termination of the pensions of Delphi salaried retirees.
Ryan, D-13 Ohio, and U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-10 Ohio, will serve as co-chairmen of the Congressional Auto Industry Pension Task Force, "an informal group of members dedicated to issues related to the termination of Delphi salaried retiree pensions and educating other members on the subject," the congressmen announced in a joint news release.
In 2009, Delphi’s bankruptcy cost 19,000 hourly retirees and 20,000 salaried retirees their full pensions after the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. assumed Delphi’s pension plans. While three unions representing hourly Delphi retirees had reached contractual agreements with General Motors to ensure full pension protection – negotiated in 1999 and reaffirmed in 2007 – the remaining salaried workers had not. Critics have charged that the Obama administration favored the unions as payback for labor's support President Obama’s 2008 election campaign.
“I remain committed to helping Delphi retirees get the benefits they deserve, and the Delphi Pension Task Force will help advance that goal," Ryan said. "The work of the task force will be to build a coalition of members that will help us ensure that the Delphi retirees can continue their retirement knowing that they will have the benefits promised to them while they were working. I am grateful to Congressman Turner for his commitment and look forward to working with him and my House colleagues in making this situation right.”
Den Black, chairman of the Delphi Salaried Retirees Association, praised the creation of the task force, and expressed the association's gratitude to the two congressmen.
"We have fought for more than three years to regain our earned pensions, and all the economic improvements they would bring to our families and communities. We look forward to the support the Task Force will bring to bear on our issue and we especially look forward to finally achieving a fair and equitable resolution to our issues," he said.
The Delphi salaried retirees and several congressional committees have sought access to U.S. Treasury records related to the decisions made "that resulted in the salaried retirees losing up to 70% of their pensions while members of the politically supportive major unions saw their pensions topped up with the use of as much as $29 billion taxpayer-provided funds," Black continued.
"So far the Treasury has refused to provide those records and has moved in court to prevent them from being revealed. As to a House Ways and Means Committee demand to be permitted access to these documents, the administration has threatened to use executive privilege to keep the records secret, even though the request concerns a pension issue, not national security," Black said.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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