Retired Autoworkers Face Off in Health Benefits Dispute

[LiberalHeart]

DETROIT (AP) -- Retired autoworkers who spent decades together on assembly lines and picket lines find themselves facing off in a dispute over health benefits. Some support an effort by GM, Ford, and the United Auto Workers to require retirees to pay several hundred dollars more each year for their health care, saying it's necessary to stem the automakers' staggering losses. But others say the automakers and the union are breaking their promises and trying to stifle retirees' objections.

"It kind of upsets me that they're playing a shell game, and they're only giving the information they want to give," said Larry Bronson, 70, who worked at Ford's historic Rouge complex for 42 years until he retired in 1998.

Much more here:
http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=4651240

(Share this link with the active or retired autoworker in your life. Time's running out if hey want to protest -- or support -- this move.)

[rodeodance]

1. health coverage is the Big elephant in the room

[David Dunham]

2. They should be careful. If GM or Ford go broke, they get nothing at all

[salin]

3. That is the intended threat.,,

that keeps us docile as our standard of living is intentionally driven down and down ... when do we see third world country levels of extreme economic disparities... one generation... two ... or sooner?

[Dr.Phool]

4. Tell me about it.

I worked for 31 years for a railroad owned by LTV Steal (I know), and I got screwed when they went under.

There is a plan though. H.R.676, introduced by Conyers. Check it out.

www.healthcare-now.org

Some big names are pushing it, and it has 60 co-sponsors in the house.

[Sadie5]

5. Don't know about Ford

But GM is not broke. They would like you to think so. If they can convince enough Sheep that they are going broke then they can still pay those CEOs big bonuses and have plenty for themselves while the people who helped get them that fortune does without health care.

[LiberalHeart]

6. Didn't GM just restate their revenue to '05?

I think they had $2 billion or there abouts less than first reported.

I don't think health care benefits/coverage is something we can do company by company. We need to do something about getting universal coverage in place. Instead we're draining our coffers to pay for Bush's big adventure in Iraq. As was pointed out on The Daily Show the other night, we just bombed the infrastructure we've spent so much building and restoring. The bottom line, they said, is that we're not good at infrastructure, but we're very good an "unfrastructure."

[llmart]

7. Exactly!

Big corporations want you think they're "going broke" due to the high cost of health insurance. That's utter bullshit. They want to declare bankruptcy so they can get out of their retiree obligations - pure and simple.

Don't buy the bullshit they dish out.

[Yupster]

8. Gm currently has

$ 16 billion of cash and drumroll please

$ 285 billion of outstanding debt.

How can a company owe $ 285 billion?