Some Delphi retirees meet once a month, mostly to keep in touch with the men and women they worked side by side with for decades, but now they stand together with a greater purpose.
Elaine Hofius, Delphi salaried retiree, says, "We want our voices heard in front of the Auto Task Force. I very much want Delphi to succeed."
They say the non-union salaried employees have not had a say in the auto industry's future, and they feel they sacrificed more than their fair share.
Bruce Gump, Delphi salaried retiree, says, "We're angry because we believe the deferred compensation that we were promised for decades was stolen from us."
As of April 1, many of the former Delphi employees lost their health care coverage from the company, leaving them with few affordable alternatives, and now they want those in Washington to step up to the plate and help.
They raised their concerns to Congressman Tim Ryan. He agrees it's time this group was heard, but he says they need to stay united so their voice is loud enough to make a difference. "There's a wide range of issues from benefits, health care, pension, 401k's that they need to get together and organize how many people this is affecting, and give it to the legislative side so we can do something in Washington about it."
Ryan promised to meet with the group and create legislation to protect workers' pension plans.
