General Motors National Retiree Association
Over The Hill Car People
Established 2003

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2009/07/06/daily32.html

June 25, 2009 

Today, we listened to the court deliberations for the petition for the 1114 Committee for GM salaried retirees.  After hearing the presenting arguments for the salaried retirees, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber in New York agreed with GM that GM had the right to alter the benefit plans at any time and that prior court decisions required him to reject the retirees’ request for an 1114 committee.  The court hearing was in session approximately four hours, and after listening to every word of the arguments, we regretfully heard the judge make the following ruling, "While I do understand the importance of this to the retirees, I can't grant the retirees rights that they don't have outside of bankruptcy."  We are keeping our options open and will continue to monitor the proceedings.  Updates will continue to be posted on the web site, so check back often.

We believe the proactive work done by “The National Automotive Coalition” (TNAC) with the presidents of the salaried retiree groups of Chrysler NCRO, Ford Fair Alliance, Delphi DSRA and GM OTHCP had some influence with the decisions Chrysler and GM made concerning salaried retiree benefits during their respective bankruptcy proceedings.  TNAC, you may recall, met with the Auto Task Force, followed by visits to the offices of key Senators and representatives in Washington, and a conference call with Governor Granholm and her assistants in April 2009, to get the voices of salaried retirees recognized.  TNAC believes this was the first time the salaried retirees had been recognized in Washington or anywhere for that matter.  The details of our efforts can be viewed at this link http://www.overthehillcarpeople.com/autotaskforcemeetingminutes.htm .  We now know more benefit reductions were probably planned, but our united voices and presence, in many opinions, were deciding factors in Chrysler and probably GM and the U. S. Treasury decisions to not make additional reductions in salaried retiree benefits.  As much as we disagree with our hard earned losses, we know it could have been much worse.  We also believe more action by TNAC with Congressional and State Leaders is a must, and we have already requested another meeting with the Auto Task Force in Washington to discuss salaried retiree issues.  The Auto Task Force has acknowledged our request and we hope to have a date soon.  As you probably know, Delphi salaried retirees lost all of their health and life benefits and their pensions are in danger of being administered by the PBGC, which would mean 40% to 50% cuts in pension payments for many.  TNAC was successful in aiding Delphi to gain a meeting with Dr. Ed Montgomery of the Auto Task Force, and this will occur on Monday, June 29, 2009.

Changing laws and introducing new legislation is a necessary action but is also a slow grinding process.  The team effort of TNAC has proven to be a faster means of gaining attention for the salaried retiree concerns.  The National Automotive Coalition is currently involved in some specific projects with the objective of improving the status of the salaried retiree and has others under consideration as well.  The retiree groups of GM Over The Hill Car People, Ford Fair Alliance, Chrysler NCRO, and Delphi DSRA already have many of their members working on a committee to advance the issues of the salaried retiree, and we hope to make additional announcements of our progress soon.  We intend to continue to spend our efforts with a proven group of retiree presidents on behalf of salaried retirees.  You can help by writing your Congressional & Local Leaders requesting them to grant a meeting with "The National Automotive Coalition" (TNAC).  Please click here to find the e-mail & fax information for your political leaders: 

June 23, 2009

As we advised last week, the bankruptcy court will make a ruling on the formation of an 1114 committee and we will be monitoring the proceedings in New York on June 25, 2009.  As many of you know by now, there is a section of the bankruptcy code (Section 1114) that specifically covers retiree healthcare benefits, prescription drug, and life insurance.  This committee, if formed, will be for all salaried retirees not just a select few.  Under Section 1114, a judge can order the formation of a Retiree Committee to represent our collective interests if “the debtor seeks to modify or not pay the retiree benefits or if the court otherwise determines that it is appropriate”.  If the committee is granted, we have several members who will request the U. S. Trustee to seat them on this committee.  OTHCP and our counsel will be requesting the court and GM to consider working with us on benefit issues that concern salaried retirees.  We will post updates on our court activities on the web site, so please check it often for the latest news.

On another note, we would like to update you on the work of “The National Automotive Coalition” (TNAC).  You will recall this is the group formed by the retiree presidents of Ford - Fair Alliance, Chrysler – NCRO, Delphi – DSRA and GM – OTHCP.  We met with President Obama’s Auto Task Force in April in Washington to gain a voice for the SALARIED retiree.  To our knowledge, the salaried retiree had not been recognized in Washington or anywhere else for that matter.  Our meeting was a success, but there is much work still to do. 

TNAC has been busy with other projects and we are currently working to get another meeting with the Auto Task Force to advance the salaried retiree interest.  We have been successful in getting Dr. Ed Montgomery of the Auto Task Force to agree to meet with the Delphi salaried retirees.  As you know, Delphi salaried retirees have lost all of their health and life benefits, not just Dental & Vision.  Their pension is also in danger of being administered by the PBGC, which will cut many retirees income by as much as 40% to 50%.  This meeting with Dr. Montgomery is very important and we would appreciate you writing elected officials to show your support for your fellow Delphi salaried retirees.  You can do this by clicking the link below or copy and paste the link in your browser and send a message to your congressional leaders now!  These Delphi salaried retirees need our help and this is a quick and easy way to give them your support. 

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt

Introducing new legislation and getting it passed is a slow grinding process and will not help any of us with the current bankruptcy process. However, you encouraging congressional leaders to write the Auto Task Force now in support of the meeting with Delphi and TNAC will produce immediate attention to the plight of salaried retirees both in and out of bankruptcy proceedings. 

“The National Automotive Coalition” is currently involved in some specific projects with the objective of improving the status of the salaried retiree and has others under consideration as well.  The retiree groups of GM Over The Hill Car People, Ford Fair Alliance, Chrysler NCRO, and Delphi DSRA already have many of their members working on a committee to advance the issues of the salaried retiree, and we hope to make additional announcements of our progress soon.  We will need further assistance with these projects in the future and will be contacting some of you to apply your talents where and when you can do so.

June 19, 2009

Next week the bankruptcy court will make a ruling on the formation of an 1114 committee and we will be monitoring the proceedings in New York on June 25, 2009.  As many of you know by now, there is a section of the bankruptcy code (Section 1114) that specifically covers retiree healthcare benefits, prescription drug, and life insurance.  Under Section 1114, a judge can order the formation of a Retiree Committee to represent our collective interests if “the debtor seeks to modify or not pay the retiree benefits or if the court otherwise determines that it is appropriate”.  If the committee is granted we have several members that will request the U. S. Trustee to seat them on this committee.  OTHCP and our counsel will be requesting the court and GM to consider working with us on benefit issues that concern salaried retirees.  We will post updates on our court activities on the web site, so please check it often for the latest news.

June 9, 2009

GM Bankruptcy Court Proceedings Update:

Now that we are a little more than a week into GM’s bankruptcy some of our initial questions and concerns are coming into focus, so we wanted to give you an update.  Hopefully this will help answer some of your questions about the bankruptcy and how Over The Hill Car People is working on behalf of the salaried retirees with our legal counsel.

Initially, our attorneys have reviewed and continue to review all of the filings being made in the bankruptcy and we are in regular contact with the attorneys.  We intend to guard our collective interests, but also use common sense in the use of our resources. 

The day GM filed bankruptcy our attorneys filed their “Appearance” and “Demand for Service,” meaning that they get immediate electronic copies of all legal pleadings filed in the bankruptcy.  Also on June 1, GM filed a number of legal papers called “First Day Filings.”  In its First Day Filings, GM, now known as the “Debtor,” was required to seek permission to use its cash to pay bills, employees, and to otherwise stay in business.  In one of these filings GM sought—and was granted—authority to continue benefit plans for its salaried retirees.  At that point, after consultation with counsel, we felt that moving to form a Retiree Committee would be futile.  The recommendation given to us was to wait until we had a sufficient ground to seek establishment of a Committee in the form of an attempted modification or termination of our benefits.  We accepted that recommendation and our attorneys continued to monitor the filings and report back to us.

As many of you know by now, in the past days GM has conducted conference calls with retired executives and with the presidents of the various GM retiree clubs and now has sent general emails out to employees and salaried retirees.  In those communications, Fritz Henderson and other GM executives stated that “NEW GM” was going to “assume” our life and health insurance plans.  This is consistent with the filings we have seen to date.  At the same time, the GM executive team stated that there was going to be life insurance and benefit reductions after the bankruptcy by “New GM,” again consistent with GM’s legal filings.  You can view all of the details of these actions here: GM conference calls and announcements or copy and paste this link in your web browser http://overthehillcarpeople.com/salariedbenefitsreductions060909.htm

A petition for an 1114 committee is set to be heard by the court later this month.  As many of you know by now, there is a section of the bankruptcy code (Section 1114) that specifically covers retiree healthcare benefits, prescription drug, and life insurance.  Under Section 1114, a judge can order the formation of a Retiree Committee to represent our collective interests if “the debtor seeks to modify or not pay the retiree benefits or if the court otherwise determines that it is appropriate”.

We discussed all of these developments extensively with our attorneys and we are monitoring court proceedings.  We will keep you informed with periodic updates posted on our web site at www.overthehillcarpeople.com. 

Finally, many of you received or will receive a legal document titled “Notice of Sale Hearing to Sell Substantially All of Debtors’ Assets Pursuant to the Master Sale and Purchase Agreement with Vehicle Holdings LLC, A U.S. Treasury-Sponsored Purchaser.”  Our attorneys advise that this document was sent to us as part of the ordinary course of the bankruptcy.  NO action is required by you (although you are obviously free to seek your own counsel on the matter).  The purpose of the document is to give everyone possible “Notice” that GM is selling core assets to “New GM.”  By giving this Notice, GM can represent to Judge Gerber in the bankruptcy court that it spread word of the Sale as far and wide as possible.  Again, until our retiree benefits are actually cut or modified as part of this proceeding or other action is taken along these lines by GM in the bankruptcy, our attorneys do not believe that we have the legal standing to make a viable argument against the Sale.  In fact, given the assumption of our pension and retiree health care benefits by “New GM,” it may be in our best interests to support the Sale.  However, it is still far too early to make such a decision. 

Rest assured that we will continue to monitor the bankruptcy with our attorneys and will take action when it is appropriate and financially feasible.  Over The Hill Car People will continue our efforts in Washington and other arenas in conjunction with our Ford, Delphi and Chrysler retiree teams as part of “The National Automotive Coalition” (TNAC).  You will recall this is the coalition formed to meet with the “Auto Task Force” in Washington earlier this year.  Our work with this team of retirees appears to have had some influence in the decisions made by Chrysler and GM.

Regards,

Jack C. Dickinson, President
Over The Hill Car People, LLC
www.overthehillcarpeople.com

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