House passes bill to restore pensions for Delphi retirees 13 years after GM bankruptcy

DAYTON — Thousands of people in the Miami Valley may finally get the pension benefits they earned after a 13-year battle, as Congress is voting on a bill to restore the pensions of non-union Delphi Corporation retirees.

“The bottom line to it is the government chose who would win and who would lose in this,” Bruce Gump said.

Gump, the chairman of the Delphi Salaried Retirement Association (DSRA), said non-union workers lost their pensions when General Motors declared bankruptcy in 2008-09. The government bailed the company out in 40 days, but agreed only to fund one group’s pensions.

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“The government pushed us to the side and did nothing for us,” Gump told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell. “They turned around and took care of all the people in the unions, who were also in dire straits.”

The Susan Muffley Act, which was first introduced in March 2022, would restore the full vested monthly benefits the non-union Delphi Corporation retirees. It was passed by the House Wednesday and moves to the Senate.

Gump said salaried retirees have nothing against their friends and neighbors in the union who received their pensions. Similarly, large unions have supported DSRA’s struggle to get pensions restored for the 21,000 people who retired, then realized they had no health insurance, no life insurance and, basically, no pension, which they’d made retirement plans based on.

“The bill can’t bring back houses lost due to foreclosure, can’t help families that split under financial stress back together,” he said.

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Retirees, including 2,000 in the Dayton area, have spent 13 years fighting this battle. Gump said the voice in Congress that’s spoken the loudest for them is Dayton Congressman Mike Turner, describing him as being a “lion” for their cause.

Restoring retirees pensions could help the economy, especially in Ohio and Michigan, according to Gump.

“That money will be spent in restaurants, clothing, home repair and on and on,” he said.

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