The following is a report given by Terry Elfers and Matt Louiso following a recent trip to the Retiree’s-GE meeting held in Fairfield, Ct. There was a historic meeting in Fairfield Ct. on October 18, 2011 with Jeff Inmelt, GE corporate officials, GE union retirees, and IAM LL 912 president, Matt Louiso.  Kevin Mahar did a great job chairing the meeting for the retirees, outlining the concerns we had and reviewing our agenda.  Kevin and the retirees with 503 years of service thanked the Company for this meeting.  He thanked Jeff Immelt for mentioning Helen Quirini at the stockholders meeting.  She was a great union activist and a key person in the GE Retirees Justice Fund.  She will be missed.  Mike Desantis gave us some history on Fairfield and John Lynch gave us a business update and said he would like to hear our concerns and issues.  We thanked the company for the 13th check going to retirees, but felt that to be fair, people that have been retired the longest should get more because their pensions are much smaller than newer retirees, and also their dividends have been cut.  J. Lynch said he understands our concerns but the 13th check is the way we can keep the fund secure. There will be about 130,000 people getting the check and they will be notified sometime in November.  We asked for a cost of living adjustment (COLA) now that no new people will be getting in the plan after this year.  We asked what happens to the money when the last person in the fund is gone?  Mike Gorman said we have people in their 20’s that will draw out of this fund and we must keep it funded.  We asked for a list of what the plan is invested in and the company said it is public record that you can get.  We also asked for a retiree representative on the pension board to help answer some of the questions we have about the plan. There was a discussion on prescription drug issues and they company said when problems occur call ASAP.  There was a question on how safe the drugs are coming from outside the US, ie. India.  They said the FDA controls them.  There was a question about why drug companies are not sending bills anymore.  The company said Medco lost thousands of dollars when outstanding bills were not paid.  There was a question on putting something in place where GE retirees can get back into GE medical when they are not in any plan.  The company said they now have a default in place for auto-enroll. Jeff Immelt gave us a business update and listened to some of our retiree issues and concerns.  It was a very informative meeting with Mary-Beth and her benefit resource team who answered many of our concerns and gave us contact people for future reference.  Any retirees with benefit problems can call their union office at 513-243-2695, check IAM 912 web, or contact Terry Elfers at 513-563-5084.                                                                                        Respectfully Submitted, Terry Elfers and Matt Louiso Download this report

 

RETIRED, SURVIVORS, AND ACTIVE MEMBERS: Be sure to visit this page to read about important information about the DOE/DOL/NIOSH program.  You may have benefits due you.  Read carefully all material supplied by the US Government. UPDATE: The Nov 2nd 2011  power point presentation from the U.S. Dept of Labor G.E. Evendale Town Hall meeting. This presentation explains the history, process, program, and the compensations for the SEC that was included in the law pertaining the GE plant.  Click here for the presentation.

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