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Subject: CALL THE SENATE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!
I'm reposting
this to keep it at the top of the list. This is not something I would normally
do, but it is truly critical for us to get as many calls into our senators as is
humanly possible. Corporations are literally spending millions to get their
agenda into the pension reform bill; the ONLY way we can effectively counter
their activities is to demonstrate to our senators that there are thousands of
voters paying attention, who will remember what happens with this bill on
election day...
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PLEASE CALL
both your senators. The latest language being incorporated in the senate version
of HR1102 would legalize *EVERYTHING* IBM did with pension conversions in both
1995 and 1999. If it passes without modification, our lawsuit will be thrown out
of court.
CALL both your senators BEFORE Sept 7 and tell them this is a
completely unacceptable action for Congress to take. Just go through the
following steps for each of your senators:
1) Find the phone number for
your senator's office. All phone numbers are listed on the following web
page:
http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm
2) Call the senator's office, and use the
following script:
- I have an urgent message for the senator about the
Roth version of the Portman/Cardin bill on pension reform. Can I speak to
whichever staff person works on pension issues? (Write down the name of the
person you get transferred to, introduce yourself, and ask if you can have their
direct number.) Once you get to an appropriate person, read the
following:
- If the senate bill includes direct references to cash
balance plans and other hybrid conversions, it could inadvertently legalize what
IBM and other companies have done to reduce their employee's pensions. Please do
NOT do this. Many lawsuits are pending against these companies; we deserve our
day in court! I will be very disappointed in the senator if the bill is passed
with any direct references to cash balance plans included.
- If the
senate decides to address wear away in their version of the bill, that would be
great. But only if wear away is defined to apply to ALL plan amendments,
regardless of whether they involve cash balance plans, and is calculated to
include any earned early retirement subsidies.
- The house version of the
bill reduced the protections on early retirement subsidies. This is also not
acceptable. Any pension amounts that I have already earned need to stay
protected, regardless of whether part of the formula is technically an early
retirement subsidy. This is especially critical in high tech industries where
workers generally retire early, and switch to a less stressful vocation for the
last decade of their employment.
- If they want more information on the
technical concerns you are raising, refer them to the www.cashpensions.org web site, or the
Pension Rights Center, or me.
Thanks!
Janet Krueger
507 529 8777
ext 110
IEBAC (IBM Employee Benefits Action Coalition)
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