Momentum Building to Restore Our Pension Plan
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- Published: Thursday, 25 March 2021 20:40
Updated Friday, 11 June 2021
June 11, 2021 — In the latest example of growing bipartisan support for restoring our pension plan, Ohio's Governor Mike DeWine (R) writes to President Biden. Governor DeWine's letter points out that Delphi salaried retirees "are just looking for fairness ... at the time the salaried workers plan was terminated by the PBGC, it was fairly well funded -- in fact it was funded better than the average of the top 100 largest plans in America at that time. In the over 11 years since ther termination of the plan, the assets have been invested in the PBGC trust fund where they have appreciated greatly." DeWine goes on to write that "during your campaign for President, you acknowledged that what happened to the Delphi salaried retirees was not right and pledged to work on the issue of restoring their pensions."
June 10, 2021 — Eight of the ten U.S. senators from Ohio, New York, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin write to the Secretaries of Commerce, Labor and Treasury who comprise the PBGC board of directors and are members of President Biden’s Cabinet. The six Democrat and two Republican senators ask the Secretaries to inform the President "of any appropriate actions that may be taken to address the lost pension benefits, including potential legislation, and to bring additional transparency to the original decision to terminate the plan" — the Delphi salaried retirees pension plan. President Trump's October 22, 2020, Memorandum sought the same information, and the presidential directive remains in effect but has been seemingly ignored, so DSRA appealed to senators from states with the highest Delphi salaried retiree populations to inquire into the status. The senators' letter says in part that these retired “employees deserve the benefits they have earned … we stand ready to work with you to ensure the Delphi retirees … can be secure in the benefits they have earned.”
June 1, 2021 — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan writes to President Biden, saying "Nearly 6,000 Michiganders ... have been fighting for more than a decade to receive their full pensions. As you pledged during your campaign, these salaried employees are simply looking for fairness and deserve to have their benefits reinstated ... to this end, I respectfully urge your Administration to work with [Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan] and explore every option available to you to resolve this unfairness and restore the benefits earned by these hardworking retirees." [Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's letter]
March 25, 2021 — Congressman Dan Kildee (D-MI) and Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH) held a video dialog with the House Committee on Ways and Means specifically regarding the Protection of the Pensions of Delphi salaried retirees. Rep. Kildee said: “In my home state of Michigan we have almost 6,000 Delphi salaried retirees, many of whom are in my district. ... What’s happened to them, as you said, is an injustice and it’s long past time that we correct it ….” Rep. Ryan responded: "I know this is on the President's radar screen ... he said he ... wants to try to fix it … I know he's deeply concerned ... this has been a long, tough process but we're not giving up." [Rep. Ryan media release]
March 24, 2021 — Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) discloses in a news release that he's "had a private conversation" with President Biden earlier in the day "about the continued injustice that Delphi Salaried Retirees face ... I advocated that (they) should be made whole and urged him to have his Administration work with us to restore their earned benefits. President Biden was familiar with the situation and told me he wants to help. I will continue working with my colleagues in Congress and with the White House on this issue."
March 17, 2021 — WFMJ-TV airs this story after Congress (in a strict party line vote pushed by Democrats) includes $86 billion in the American Rescue Plan Act (the COVID-19 stimulus package) to help multi-employer pension plans that cover union workers. Sen. Brown is asked about the status of resolving our pension issue, and he tells the reporter, "I don't know what's next. I'm hopeful ... if we can get bipartisan support, we can get this through."
March 16, 2021 — Rep. Turner submits to the PBGC a FOIA records request regarding the PBGC's management of our pension plan.
March 12, 2021 — Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) writes a letter to the PBGC's Director Hartogensis, saying in part, "I am ... deeply troubled by the PBGC's apparent refusal to comply with former President Trump's lawful Presidential Memorandum (of Oct. 22, 2020) ... (that) ... directed a response about an important issue.
September 30, 2020 — While campaigning in Youngstown, Mr. Biden speaks to WFMJ-TV reporter Madison Tromler and references Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH): “People worked like hell for the pensions. My dad lost a pension when a company he worked for went out. It’s not right. What I am going to do is work with your senator to figure out how we can, in fact, bring in the (Delphi) salaried workers who are really hurt as badly. They deserve their pensions … these are hard-working folks. They worked years and years relying on this so they can retire … they deserve it.”
