Retirees hopeful after hearing

Delphi Packard Electric retired salaried workers are turning their attention toward possible solutions to their pension worries after what they called a successful hearing Wednesday before a House of Representatives subcommittee.

''All the congressmen were interested in learning more, but most of the discussion was about what to do to fix it,'' said Bruce Gump, a salaried retiree from Warren's Delphi Packard following his testimony at the House Health, Education, Labor and Pension, or HELP, hearing in Washington. ''We're very encouraged.''

''Not only were they very receptive, but they're prepared to talk about solutions, which is great,'' agreed Chuck Cunningham, a retired Delphi Packard senior executive.

The two Warren retirees were part of a panel detailing the impact of auto parts maker Delphi Corp.'s bankruptcy on workers' and retirees' pensions and benefits. U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Niles, and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, spoke on a separate panel of Congressional leaders at the hearing in the Rayburn Building.

The hearing, which followed an Oct. 29 session in front of a Senate committee, gave Delphi salaried retirees the chance to make their case that federal pension insurer Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. improperly terminated their pension plan effective July 31.

They argued the U.S. Treasury and Auto Task Force pressured the agency into taking over the underfunded plan in order to help Delphi exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, where it languished for nearly four years before emerging in early October.

Cunningham pointed out Ron Bloom, who led the task force in steering both Delphi and former parent General Motors Corp. out of bankruptcy, didn't appear at the hearing even though he was called to testify. He said several lawmakers noted Bloom's absence.

Because the pension plan is $2.6 billion underfunded, many of the 20,000-plus salaried retirees, surviving spouses and active workers face 30 percent to 70 percent cuts in their pension. They also have limited health care insurance after Delphi eliminated their coverage April 1.

Retirees have said the PBGC's takeover of their pension was improper because the agency gave up a $3 billion lien on Delphi's profitable foreign assets that could have funded retirement benefits. The agency settled for $70 million in cash and a $3 billion unsecured bankruptcy claim against Delphi.

PBGC spokesman Jeffrey Speicher said the lien wasn't for $3 billion but was for $196 million, the amount of required contributions Delphi failed to make in bankruptcy. The agency did get $70 million cash, plus an equity stake in the new company.

''The PBGC didn't walk away from those liens. We believe we received the best deal possible for those liens. We believe the value we received will be in excess of the $196 million lien amount,'' he said.

With pension cuts slated to start after Jan. 1, Cunningham said the retirees group known as the Delphi Salaried Retirees Association is seeking a preliminary injunction in 6th District Court in Detroit to force the pension insurer to delay the action.

He said all the legal briefs have been submitted, leaving it up the judge to schedule oral arguments. Normal pension payments would continue if the injunction is granted, he said.

Cunningham said a simple solution would be for GM to ''top up'' salaried pensions as it agreed to do for union workers. He noted GM should use some of its government funds to take care of retirees instead of possibly using it for acquisitions or restructuring its operations, such as German auto unit Opel.

''The last thing we want is for our tax dollars to go to Opel,'' he said.

Ryan told the subcommittee that the retirees' financial losses will mushroom to $57 million-plus annually in the Mahoning Valley as reduced spending hits retailers, restaurants and other businesses.

He called for tightening laws that protect pensions, as well as support for his bipartisan bill to use unspent government stimulus dollars to provide health coverage for both hourly and salaried Delphi retirees through a Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association.

''If we can use that money to save the bacon of those that made the very errors calculating risk that put us in this position, surely we can use the leftovers to save the innocent bystanders who spent years of their lives working for Delphi and GM.,'' Ryan said.

lringler@tribtoday.com