Sherrod Brown Fights to Restore Pensions For Over 20,000 Delphi Retirees

• During a press conference Monday afternoon, Ohio-based U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown alongside Congressman Mike Turner continued to push for the passage of the Susan Muffley Act, which would restore the retirement benefits of over 20,000 salaried retirees.
• After General Motors filed for bankruptcy in 2009, the U.S. Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) assumed responsibility for the terminated benefits, but could not pay an individual more than a statutory maximum benefit. Brown and Turner are hoping to ensure that those retirees get their full pensions.
• “We know Delphi workers spent their career earning these pensions … This is not a bailout. This is a pension they’ve earned,” Senator Brown said.

WDTN: ‘We’ve earned it’: Delphi pension restoration efforts continue
Carlos Mathis, KaJeza Hawkins, Trey Brown – February 26, 2024

• Congressman Mike Turner, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and representatives of retirees spoke at a press conference discussing the current initiative to return Delphi pensions.
• …Brown and Turner are currently working to further the Susan Muffley Act by attempting to have it pass, which would allow pensions to go back to retirees.
• Pensions of salaried Delphi retirees were halted in 2009, following General Motors filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
• “In this case, the United States federal government deemed the non-union workers to not have any leverage. That is to say we were too small and too weak to fight back, and therefore there was no reason to do anything for those people,” [said Bruce Gump, chairman of the Delphi Salaried Retirees Association].

WFMJ: Fifteen year fight continues for Delphi Salaried Retiree pensions
Janet Rogers – February 26, 2024

• This has been over a decade-long bipartisan effort. Brown has sponsored the Susan Muffley Act, and U.S. Senator JD Vance is a co-sponsor. 
• The bill would provide backpay for the pension payments that should have been received for the past 13 years. It would restore full pension payments going forward for more than 21,000 Delphi retirees. 
• “Senator Brown has been working hard to move the bill forward in the Senate Finance Committee. If we can get a hearing in that committee then we can tell our story,” Gump said.
• The bill is named after Susan Muffley, who was part of the group’s core leadership in the effort to restore their pensions.  Her husband, David, Worked at Delphi as an electronics technician for 31 years but lost the full value of his pension in 2009.

Dayton Daily News: After 15 years, former Delphi employees still fighting for pensions
Eileen McClory – February 26, 2024

• U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, are reintroducing the Susan Muffley Act into their respective sides of Congress. The bill passed the House of Representatives in 2022 but has not yet passed the Senate.
• In 2005, Delphi, a former Dayton auto parts manufacturer now named Aptiv Plc, filed for bankruptcy. In 2009, the parent company, General Motors, also filed for bankruptcy. After the bankruptcy, salaried employees of Delphi saw their pensions cut when the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. assumed control of the company’s pensions. The PBGC is a federal agency/corporation that regulates pensions in private industry.
• The Susan Muffley Act would use federal funds to restore the pensions of former engineers and managers at Delphi.
• The benefit losses affected 20,000 Delphi salaried retirees, including more than 5,000 retirees in Ohio, Brown’s office said. Legislation has been proposed multiple times to try to fix the problem.