FACTS
- 1950 - Ford/UAW bargained first pensions at Ford in 1950
- 1976 - 30 and out bargained in 1976
- 1979 - Ford/UAW in 1979 bargained inflation protection for retirees by negotiating periodic increases in every year of the agreement
- 1987 - CAW statement on Pension Indexing to the Friedland Task Force " Corporations have argued against pension indexing on the grounds that it imposes risks and uncertainties on them. We agree that there are risks and uncertainties, but logic of their position is that pensioners can and should bear this cost. Needless to say, we consider this view morally unacceptable."
- 1987 - Pension Cola for Future Retirees was won in 1987
- 1993 - Supreme Court of Canada, 1993 Dayco vs CAW - Ruling on Future Pension Benefits
- 1999 - Pension Cola for all retirees bargained in 1999
- 1999 - CAW/Ford Pension Bargaining Report September 1999
- 2004 - Ford Document given at retirement that Specifically states retiree entitlement to Cost of Living.
- 2006 - Ford Pension Employee Retirement Booklet (Page 14 - Cost of Living Increases)
- 2008 - GM and Chrysler are facing bankruptcy and are seeking Government bail out loans. Ford did not seek any Government help. In order to receive funding governments on both sides of the border demanded that benefits be cut in order to qualify. The CAW complied with substantial cuts but were told by the conservative government (Tony Clement) that they had not gone far enough and were told to cut pensions namely the Cost of living formula. December 20, 2008 Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier Dalton McGuinty announced a $4 billion (Cdn.) bailout for General Motors Canada and Chrysler Canada. GM $3 billion and Chrysler $1 billion.
- 2008 - CAW/FORD Bargaining Brochure May 2008
- 2009 - The cost-of-living benefit was frozen as part of the bail-out package in 2009. Page 4 of Ford bargaining report at ratification states "There will not be any further PCOLA increases for current and future retirees for the life of the agreement."
- 2009 - Ford in the midst of the recession in 2008-2009, sales only tumbled about 20 percent.
- 2009 and Prior - Any retiree that retired prior to 2009 planned their retirement based on the total monthly monies they would receive now and in the future. The most common retirement was the 30 and out. This would entitle them to a Basic pension, a Supplementary pension and a Special allowance. We were all told at the time that we would receive a big hit at 65 as all pensions are recalulated and we would no longer qualify for the supplement or the special allowance as were entitled to OAS. In many cases the drop in total pension income would be in the $500 range. We were also told that with the annual cost of living benefit built into our pensions in most cases would make up the difference making it a win win for anyone going out the door. Most decsions to retire were made based on this guarantee. When you add this into increased Benefit costs in the form of monthly co-pays, deductables, slashed Nursing home care (Over a $1000 a month), semi-private and many other items including the unexpected rate increases in the Companies optional insurance. Retirees have taken the brunt of these cuts and we are the ones that can least afford it.
- 2012 - bargaining – Pension plan remains unchanged. Page 3 of Ford bargaining report at ratification states "The terms of the pension Plan remain unchanged for current retirees" Then President Ken Lewenza in his address to the Retired Workers conference in Port Elgin on Sept 6, 2012 backs the Retirees fight for PCOLA.
- 2012 - New workers will now pay towards their pensions - $1 an hour (2nd Teir Worker)
It is very important for these workers to realize
that the more the present retirees gain is a step close for them to reach that level going into the future.
- 2012 - Ford Pension Plan #1 - Reference to Pension Cost of living.
- 2013 - O’Neill v. General Motors of Canada (July 17, 2013) - Salaried Retiree Benefits reinstated. Decision
- 2014 -
GM retirees pressing for return of cost-of-living adjustments (June 8, 2014)
- 2014 - GM Canada agrees to pay $9 million, restore retirement benefits to nearly 3,300 salaried and executive retirees. The final bill for GM is expected to be about $130 million, according to Justice Edward Belobaba of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. (See the full ruling here.)
- 2015 - Ford recorded a 2015 pre-tax profit of $10.8 billion.
Ford's CEO Mark Field's 2015 earnings are $18.6 Million
Chrysler/Fiat's CEO Marchionne's 2015 earnings are roughly $42 million in 2015.
GM's CEO Mary Barra earned total compensation of $28.59 million in 2015, jumping nearly 77 percent from the year before.
- 2015 - Ford sales will mark six consecutive years of year-over-year sales growth – a stretch that hasn't been equaled since the 1920's
- 2015 - Unifor prepares to cede further concessions to Detroit Three automakers (June 15, 2016)
- 2015 - Resolutions to restore PCOLA were voted on and passed at the National Retired Worker's Council Conference Sept 6 to 11, 2015. The following Locals all made submissions on restoring PCOLA: Local 200 Ford Windsor, Local 584 Ford Brampton, Local 707 Ford Oakville, Local 1520 Ford St. Thomas, Local 199 GM St. Catharines, Local 222 GM Oshawa, Local 444 Fiat/Chrysler Windsor, Local 1459 Chrysler Etobicoke, Toronto RW Area Council, Ajax, Oshawa and Peterborough RW Area Council, London RW Area Council and Oakville, Mississauga, Georgetown, Brampton RW Area Council.
* Resolutions were passed by the active members prior to going to the National Retired Worker's Council Conference, the support received at most locals was unanimous.
- 2016 – Ford For the first quarter 2016 reported a record quarterly pre-tax profit of $3.8 billion, up $2.1 billion from 2015 results. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV reported a net profit of $539.4 million for the first quarter of this year. General Motors Co.'s first-quarter net income was $1.95 billion more than doubled from a year ago.
- 2016 - Presently The Canada Pension and Old Age Security government pensions both have a cost of living clause that increases accordingly.
- 2016 - GM picked as strike target. Quote from Unifor President in Windsor Star 9/13/2016 "Reinstating the cost of living allowance for retired autoworkers in the current round of auto talks "would be difficult" at a time when most retirees are making more than newly hired workers, Unifor national president Jerry Dias said Tuesday."
http://windsorstar.com/business/local-business/retirees-push-for-return-of-cola-in-auto-talks
- 2016 Sept 20 - GM, Unifor reach tentative deal, averting strike
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/gm-unifor-tentative-deal/article31962008/
