Edition 3 TRUTH
FINDERS WWW.NOUAW.COM
Assumptions: Age 40 in 2004 10 years service 7% rate of return 3.5% yearly salary increase Retirement after 30 years
Pension Comparison
UAW/Big 3
pension
TMMK pension
Pension * $ 1455 ***Pension $2386 Social Security** 1350 Social Security** 1350
TOTAL $2805 per month SUBTOTAL $3736
****401K Company Contribution 1865
TOTAL $5601 per month
Requires 30 years of service
for full retirement benefits. Requires 25 years of service for full
retirement benefits.
*Pension amount will be $2805
until age 62 at which time pension will be reduced by an amount equal to the
amount of social security benefits. If
social security amount increases then pension amount will be REDUCED by an
equal amount.
**Each individual’s social
security amount will vary based on age and earnings history. For an estimate of your social security
benefits go to www.ssa.gov. Social security benefits would not start
until age 62.
***For annuity option payments will be made for the LIFETIME of the retiree.
****The BIG 3 DO NOT HAVE A 401K COMPANY MATCH.
TMMK’s Pension plan is fully funded and it is portable. You can take your pension account balance with you should you decide to leave TMMK. TMMK’s pension plan may be distributed in 5 different ways: Life annuity – monthly payments made to you for your LIFETIME. Joint & survivor annuity – monthly payments made to you for your LIFETIME and upon your death, 50% of your benefit will be paid to your spouse for their LIFETIME. Lump sum – your account balance is paid to you in a lump sum payment. Installment payments – your account balance is paid to you in equal installments over a specified time period. Direct rollover- you may rollover your account balance into an IRA or into another employer’s retirement plan.
Ford’s pension fund is underfunded by $7.1 billion and Chrysler’s pension fund is underfunded by $5 billion. GM’s pension fund is still underfunded by $4 billion, even after selling $13.1 billion in bonds. GM will now have to repay the bonds, with interest, which will hurt profits and profit sharing checks.
The union supporters would like you to believe that the BIG 3 pensions are guaranteed but the truth is they have to be renegotiated every 3-5 years. www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0401/30/b01-48127.htm
If the pension fund goes bankrupt then the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp (PBGC) will take over and pay retirees a REDUCED pension amount. Unfortunately the PBGC recently informed Congress that it is losing billions of dollars and will need a government bailout in order to survive.
http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/statement9403.html www.detnews.com/2004/business/0401/16/b01-37398.htm
The Big 3 Retire Health Care Funds are separate from their pension funds. GM’s Retiree Health Care Fund is UNDERFUNDED BY NEARLY $50 BILLION. The Retiree Health Care Funds are NOT INSURED BY THE PBGC and there are no government mandated funding requirements.
http://www.post-gazette.com/businessnews/20020901steel0901bnp3.asp
Another important point to remember is that the Big 3’s pension and retiree health care funds are invested in the stock market just like TMMK’s pension. In addition, the UAW cannot guarantee that you will receive credit for the years of service that you have already worked. You may have to start over at year zero. www.greggshotwell.net/LBA11.php www.greggshotwell.net/LBA28.php
The Big 3 just announced their 2003 profits. GM reported that its profit increased from $1.7
billion in 2002 to $3.8 billion in 2003.
GM employees are expected to see an 82% reduction in their profit sharing checks,
from $940 in 2002 to $170 for 2003. Ford
employees can expect to receive profit sharing check for $195 up from $160 last
year. Chrysler employees are expected to
see their profit sharing fall from $460 in 2002 to ZERO. www.freep.com/new/latestnews/pm18067_20040122.htm www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0401/21/a01e-41923.htm
www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0401/21/a01-37675.htm
The union supporters have been promising Temps that they will get permanent jobs if the UAW is voted in, however the Temps are simply being used as a source of signed cards. The UAW and American Axle have a contract that allows for PERMANENT TEMPORARY workers in addition to a 3 tier wage scale (new hires make $13.50-17 per hour). It is common practice for companies to release Temps after 89 days in order to avoid hiring them permanently and the UAW has been known to allow Temps to stay on longer than 89 days without being hired permanently.
In
www.greggshotwell.net/LBA2.php http://salisburypost.townnews.com/articles/2003/12/21/news/21-freightliner_wins_contract.txt
The UAW supporters would like you to believe that you get to
vote on everything, however; a Bloomberg news story reveals something
different. The news article states “The UAW won’t let workers vote unless they
promise to stay at Metaldyne and accept the $16 hourly wage and reduced
benefits, including out-of-pocket expenses for health care that increases from
nothing to as much as $46 a week for families.” http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/122524_unionlabor19.html
The UAW is well known for forcing its desires on its members instead of letting the members vote. This often occurs when union representatives are appointed instead of being elected. The UAW Constitution also allows the UAW to replace representatives with their own hand picked reps.
www.greggshotwell.net/LBA4.php http://www.geocities.com/brown_atwhatcost/UAWhorror.html www.greggshotwell.net/LBA1.php
http://www.autoworker.org/Whatsnew/
www.geocities.com/abarkingdog/issue45.html
The UAW just reported that its
membership fell another 10% in 2002. The
continuing slide in membership is causing the UAW to seriously consider cutting
its own staff in
The UAW supporters claim that dues are limited to two hours
straight time per month but Article 47 of the UAW Constitution allows the UAW
or locals to charge more – to increase or even double the dues based on a variety of unspecified
circumstances. The UAW Constitution
(Article 16, Section 27) also allows the UAW to “make special arrangements with
respect to the dues schedules established in this Article, where unusual
circumstances justify such arrangement.”
The UAW Constitution also allows
for dues to be taken from lump sum distributions and profit sharing checks.
www.uawndm.com/library/constitution/ www.greggshotwell.net/LBA4.php
www.keepcontrol.org/union_basics/costs.html
Some team members have asked questions about the revocation
procedures. First of all, the UAW is not
required to return your card. You may
get it back or you may not. Second, the
reason for sending a copy of your revocation letter to HR is so that TMMK can
present the revocation letters to the NLRB in the event that the UAW requests
an election or automatic recognition. Team
members who signed cards due to threats, harassment, intimidation and deceptive
practices need to have an avenue to undo the misdeeds of the UAW supporters. The revocation procedure provides team
members that avenue. The revocation
procedures can be found on the net at www.nouaw.com.
A special thanks to
everyone who has donated to our cause.
Together we can continue to protect our families and our future. Once again, thank you!!