Region 5 of the United Auto Workers, a 17-state area taking in the Western half of the United States, sponsored a retiree seminar at UAW Local 276 in Grand Prairie, Texas, on the morning of April 11, 2006. Some of the good news included plans for a new UAW Area Retiree Council in Houston and the fact that Region 5 continues to lead the union in political fund raising. Among the bad news was continued pressure from corporations to move jobs and cut benefits.
A great deal of the program consisted of benefit information for retirees from the Big 3 auto companies. General Motors and the union changed their contract last year, and Ford followed quickly behind. The changes are approximately the same for both groups. The terms for their health care are more complicated than before. Thousands of employees and retirees from the Delphi Corporation are still waiting anxiously for a resolution of their contract battle.
Political
representative Ron Spurlock urged everybody to vote in the Texas runoff election.
He gave a rundown on the union's legislative priorities. Among them were these:
*A "Marshall Plan" is needed for the ailing U.S. auto industry
*Too many auto industry jobs are going offshore
*Companies should re-tool for more fuel-saving vehicles
*Bankruptcy laws for corporations are too lenient, and bankruptcy laws for working people are too strict
*The richest Americans should not be getting the tax cuts
Brother Spurlock added, "Every time they reduce taxes on the very rich in this country, you and I pay a larger percentage of the total taxes." There was a question from the audience about immigrant legislation being considered in Congress. Brother Spurlock said that the union opposes the current proposals. He added, "If they are going to come here to work they should have a right to organize!"
Dan
Wainaina spoke about benefits for Ford retirees. He said that Ford inherited
its health care plan from GM. Ford was the last to change their contract,
just before Christmas. He pointed out that the new contract provisions cannot
be reopened during negotiations in 2007. The changes are "locked in"
until 2011. He also pointed out that low-income retirees will not be penalized
in the new agreement. Wainaina pled with the retirees to pressure people to
buy American made cars. He said that the parking lot at the U.S. Congress,
like many other places, was filled with foreign cars. All retirees should
join in this effort.
Rudy Gomez, one of the three UAW servicing representatives in the aerospace industry, gave a detailed analysis of the industry. Aerospace companies have been hiring new workers. One of every three new manufacturing jobs in the country is in aerospace, Gomez said, and those new jobs pay 50% more than other start up jobs.
Dave Minnis, the retiree rep for UAW Region 5, talked about people who aren't sure what to do about the new Medicare Part D drug plan. For those who aren't sure, he said to call 1-800-MEDICARE.
Minnis went over the voting records of both Texas Senators. Of 14 votes considered very important by the union, Senators Cornyn and Hutchinson voted with the union only once, for a 7% record. That one vote had to do with controversial pollution and automobile fuel economy standards. The senators voted against the union position on wage and hour violations, corporate bankruptcies, minimum wage, card check recognition, CAFTA, Thai pickup trucks, Medicaid cuts, tax cuts, GOP Budget, Domestic Cuts, Social Security, consumer bankruptcies, and judicial nominations.
Brother Minnis urged all UAW members to subscribe to UAW Wire, a union news service. About 40% of our retirees are hooked up on E-mail. They can subscribe from www.uaw.org. Recent news from the service says that President Bush and others are trying to take away the $255 Social Security death benefit. "People, this is nothing more than greed up there!" Minnis said.
The United Auto Workers will be working hard to make sure that all our actve and retired members are registered to vote in time for the November elections. All volunteers are needed.
The retirees went over the many failings of the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan. Here are some of the problems noted:
*Medicare is prohibited from negotiating lower drug prices
*During a given year, private drug plans are allowed to make changes in their
offerings, but beneficiaries are locked in and cannot change plans until the
next year
*The program does not cover any annual prescription drug costs between $2,250
and $5,100
*The program is extremely complicated and confusing
One participant noted that these major defects in the Medicare prescription drug program are not an accident. They are directly attributable to the fact that the program was written for the benefit of the major pharmaceutical companies, not for the benefits of senior citizens. Retirees were encouraged to contact representatives and senators at 1-888-355-3588.
JD Gray of the Region 5 Education Department gave the retirees a rundown on the coming election challenge. All Representatives and some of the Senators, including Kay Bailey Hutchinson, have to run in the election this year. In the next presidential race, the winner will need 270 Electoral College votes. The 17 states in Region 5 have 191. "Is it important for us to raise more money than in any other UAW region?" Gray asked, "Of course it is!"
Gray talked about saving Social Security from those who would privatize or otherwise cut it. Gray called it "The safest program ever proposed in this country. It has the least administrative costs (2% or less)." Retirees were urged to sign up for political money check off, where available, and to participate in fund-raising activities.
More Information at www.uaw848.org