Hector wrote in his report submitted at the April Retiree Chapter Meeting on the Upcoming 2016 Detroit Three Contract Negotiations:

Peter Kearney and I joined with Unifor retirees from GM, Ford, Chrysler, and CAMI at a meeting to formulate strategies to make clear to our working members and our National Union that losses from our contract negotiations since 2007 are having a serious effect on the standard of living of retirees now and which will continue into the future. The highest priority on the list of suggestions was that the negotiations should seek the return of our Pension Cost of Living Allowance (PCOLA).

At the conclusion of the meeting, after much discussion from the 40 retirees in attendance, the decision was made to hold further meetings. We will be organizing in front of all the Detroit Three headquarters, and then possibly at plant gates, to make it clear to our working sisters and brothers that bargaining secure pensions and benefits is of the utmost importance to them and their families’ futures.

When the call comes to attend these demonstrations, I am sure we will have bus-loads of our chapter members attending. In summary, members at the meeting felt that a two-pronged approach would be most effective: 1- to show the employer that cuts to pensions and benefits for retirees are hurting their standard of living and 2- to make clear to the bargaining committees that pensions and retirement benefits are important issues both for current retirees and all active members, since they will be retiring themselves one day.