As General Motors files for bankruptcy, the General Motors Retirees Association expects and insists on a legal and political process that will provide fair treatment for all GM retirees, both union and non-union. "We at GMRA look forward to a bankruptcy process that treats all stakeholders fairly," said John Christie, GMRA President. "Whether in bankruptcy court or in the work of the U.S. Congress, all parties should remember that 122,000 salaried retirees and their surviving spouses are not part of the UAW agreement." "These retirees, who worked hard for decades and have done nothing wrong, deserve full and fair consideration as the courts work to create a new General Motors," said Christie.
The GM leadership has had extensive negotiations in the past few weeks with bondholders and the United Auto Workers. However, salaried retirees thus far have received no assurances regarding the pensions and healthcare benefits they earned through years of loyal service. "Imagine a city larger than Peoria, Illinois, or Abilene, Texas. Now imagine that every single person in that city might lose catastrophic health insurance, prescription drug benefits, life insurance, and her or his hard-earned pension," said Karen DeOrnellas, Director of Communications for GMRA. "This is the situation today for GM salaried retirees." "We want a reorganized GM to succeed, but bankruptcy shouldn't push tens of thousands of retirees and their families into poverty or endanger their health when those people did nothing wrong," said DeOrnellas. GMRA shortly will announce its legal response to the GM bankruptcy filing.
The General Motors Retirees Association is a national advocacy organization devoted to the preservation of pension, health care, and other benefits earned by GM retirees through their years of labor and loyalty to GM.
GMRA stands for the fair treatment of all GM retirees, including the salaried retirees not already represented by the United Auto Workers. GMRA collaborates with the National Retirees Legislative Network (NRLN).