Rep. Salazar Cites Anger Of United Retiree
From: Rocky Mountain News
Author: John Accola
Retired United flight attendant Gail Rodosevich, of Pueblo, was quick to register her anger at Wednesday's congressional hearing on troubled airline pensions.
"My future and the future of my family are now subject to the whims of corporate greed," read her online testimony, cited by Rep. John Salazar, a Colorado Democrat.
"After 32 years of dedicated service, the company I have dedicated my life to, as well as my government, are attempting to minimize my commitment."
Salazar is a co-sponsor of House Bill 2327, which calls for a six-month moratorium on pension plan terminations by United and other airlines.
He argues that the $3 billion cut in benefits under government insurer Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. would be unfair to United's 120,000 current and retired employees. A six-month delay, at the very least, would give United and its workers an opportunity to figure out a better plan, Salazar reasons.
"I never have believed that United needed to dump its pension plan," Rodosevich said Wednesday from the Pueblo home she shares with her husband and their teenage son. "It's just a real mess. United says they don't believe it will impact employees that severely. But you can ask me if I believe them, and the answer is 'no.' "
Rodosevich, 55, left the carrier two years ago under an early-retirement package that included a $20,400 annual pension and medical insurance. Her pension should stay about the same under the PBGC. Its maximum payout for pensioners at 60 is $29,650.
Still, Rodosevich, who suffers from a serious spinal injury caused by a fall during a turbulent flight in 1993, is worried her health insurance will be compromised.
Last year, as part of the Chicago carrier's bankruptcy reorganization, her monthly insurance premium increased by $188.
She fears further cuts by United until the health plan disappears, as it did for retired US Airways flight attendants during that airline's bankruptcy.
If United is able to walk away from this promise of retirement security, it's likely other airlines will follow, Rodosevich said.
"This isn't just about United Airlines," she said. "Why would any other company want to (keep pension plans) if they can dump it on the government?"
