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Automotive News & Views United Automobile Workers of America (UAW)
16701 messages, Last post on Nov 20, 2009 at 3:39 AM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: kipk (Dec 26, 2008 4:58 am) Even though the company agreed to pay for all the premiums for the employees and retirees insurance (agreed to in past contracts), the workers and retirees now pay a certain amount per month for their insurance and there are higher copays and deductibles, and GM does not pay one dime towards any office call or injection given in the office. The prescription drug coverage copay has increased about three times in four years? At least that is the way it is in my area, we have no HMO available here and once you retire, you must take the Traditional coverage which is as above I believe no matter where you live?
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Replying to: 04cad (Dec 26, 2008 5:59 am)
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Replying to: kipk (Dec 26, 2008 4:58 am) Hypothetically and reasonably 1) If you receive $50 per year of service per month you would get $1500 a month (minus any dependent option/survivor benefit selected) and a supplement of $750 a month until social security kicks in. So one would lose the $750 at or about 62 years of age. On average or a typical case ($2250 a month until 62 years of age) Survivor benefits elections normally allow 4 options and reduces this on an actuarial bases (age of retiree and age of spouse). In some cases a retiree with under age children, retiring at 62 plus age creep, would be entitled to benefits for that/those children. Then too, a senior citizen begins to draw social security (there is a Little known special rule that allows all SS benefits to be repaid and the retiree to get 120 or is it 125% of their benefit) and continues to work at normal retirement age. Add to that the fact that at 59 and a half he/she may also start to tap into the 401K penalty free and that at 70 pension begins to come in too. So at 70 its possible to get four scoops of ice cream on your cone. 2) At 30 years of service both the retiree and dependent would be fully vested and receive 100% of their medical and those with less than 30 years would be responsible for a portion of their and or their spouses premiums. This would continue until social security kicks in at 65 years of age. (this varies also and could get very complicated) 3) Deductibles would continue the same as the rank and file. Again until the age of 65 when social security kicks in. Then the plan may include the Medigap premium, which is minimal/reasonable. (this varies also and could get very complicated) I do a rule of thumb and or a method of maximizing benefits for special friends. The 401K and savings can be used in the manner intended and or to avoid paying too much in taxes. But the rule of thumb, is that you begin to lose social security and or your social security is taxed if a typical family withdraws over $24,000 a year. If you go early and opt for the IRS spreadsheet to avoid the 10% penalty. You would draw about $1150 a month for each $200,000 in your 401K/IRA. All of this is great to look at and requires planning. Everyones situation is different so remember this is a rule of thumb and by no means get advise from an idiot. This is real money, earned by real people, and not monopoly money.
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Replying to: dallasdude1 (Dec 25, 2008 11:11 pm) The bottom line is those not covered by medical or dental insurance can get Good medical and dental care plus prescriptions in Mexico for a fraction of the cost in the USA. My dental vacation a few years ago combined a trip to San Miguel de Allende with getting a crown for a tooth that was darkening due to a root canal. When I smiled, it looked as if there was a small piece of coal wedged in my mouth. I planned to be in San Miguel for six weeks, so I didn't feel pressured to rush into a dental chair. It's easy to put off going to the dentist and even easier to procrastinate while vacationing in Mexico, so I waited until about two weeks before departure to make an appointment. Based on recommendations I received from English-speaking foreigners living in San Miguel, I chose a female dentist, formerly a member of the board of the state's dental association. She assured me she could get the job done in ten days. The cost was $120 USD, a good price, considering that my dentist at home wanted ten times that amount. With my Union Dental plan my crowns averaged more than $600 out of my pocket for each one. It would have paid for a nice extended vacation in Mexico. To maintain our Union middle class lifestyle we may need to think outside the box. What needs to be remembered is most Americans do not enjoy the upper middle class lifestyle of the long time UAW or other Union workers. It was a good run and now it is just about over. Coming out of high school as I did and going to work in an industry that afforded me a good retirement is in the past. Not likely to be repeated. |
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Replying to: gagrice (Dec 26, 2008 7:44 am) It's interesting to read comments touting Mexican medical care along with posts opposing nationalized health care, and then read about nationalized health care in Mexico.  Hourly pay panel discussion in Indy: UAW official: Big 3 pay not higher (Indystar)
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I'll leave my comments about Mexican dental care for Arizonans who go down there seeking a better price. My first appointment is a week from tomorrow. My dental work will take at least one more visit there so I'll have good opportunity to gather up information on how the experience went. I have plenty of American co-workers from the hospital here in Willcox that are already doing this, so it's not like I'm some sort of guinea pig in this.  Until June of 2009 a birth certificate and a piece of picture I.D. will suffice to cross the border. I am planning on parking my '08 Lancer GTS in a paid parking lot in Douglas, AZ, the U.S. side, indeed. The walk looks to be about 3/4 of a mile to the dentist there in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico. |
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Replying to: steve_ (Dec 26, 2008 8:01 am) Here is my question. Does Mexico spend as much per person subsidizing health care as we do in the USA? I would be surprised if Mexico spends a fraction on health care that we do. I believe some here think that Socialized medicine will be equal to the gold plated plans many currently have with UAW or company paid plans. You will not be able to just walk in and get a Dr to look at you under a Nationalized plan. It will be weeks to months depending on what kind of specialist you may need. Even with Kaiser it is 6 months wait for my wife to see her Endocrinologist. She ended up twice in ER prior to finding out what her problem was. Specialist around here are in short supply. And San Diego may have the highest concentration of doctors in the country. They like the weather and great golf.
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Replying to: gagrice (Dec 26, 2008 9:02 am) But we digress.... |
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Without addressing how much (if anything) the UAW has contributed to where the Big Three are today, they have a big PR problem. There are many components to it (e.g., GM spending millions for Viagra for retirees, pay for not working, etc.) but one is simply the visual impact you see on TV and in print media. Let me illustrate. Seemingly every time the press or TV wants to show the UAW they have a shot of a half a dozen overweight guys, mostly white, leaving a plant. Invariably there is a row of 10' tall turnstyles behind them (is this to keep people in or out?) through which they have just passed , each carrying a large plastic cooler. The guys are dressed in baggy jeans and plaid shirts and look like hell with their bellies hanging over their belts. The other image that I see commonly is a bunch of guys in a bar near a plant, again, middle aged white guys with big guts in baggy jeans, tossing back shots and complaining. When you see images of the southern import plants, the work force for historical reasons is younger, multiracial, trimmer, and with lots of women. I don't see any army stockade turnstyles either. Now, let me play the UAWs hand. You never see images of large, happy, extended families that these guys have built. Never see shots of young MDs and CPAs that came out of these families. Just overweight white guys complaining. Your mileage may vary. |
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Replying to: blckislandguy (Dec 26, 2008 10:09 am) They have to bring in their own cold beer. Another complaint by UAW workers. Their counterparts in Germany supposedly get beer with lunch provided. I wonder how much the UAW workers would scream if Uncle Sam took half their pay in taxes like in Germany. Of course the BIG Cooler serves a dual purpose. They can haul out parts and over a few years build their own Car You have nailed it. The UAW has a REAL bad reputation. Here in CA I have not talked to one person that felt sorry for the UAW or the Big 3 going belly up. Most feel it is good riddance.
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