Auto Retirees Press Case

By ALEX P. KELLOGG

Representatives of some 200,000 white collar retirees of the Big Three auto makers are expected to meet with the Obama administration's auto task force later this week, a person familiar with the matter said.

The meeting is part of an effort by salaried retirees to press the case for preserving their retirement benefits amid the restructuring of Detroit. Unlike union workers and retirees, salaried retirees are often vulnerable in restructurings because their benefit packages are not governed by union contracts and companies often can change terms without consulting their former employees.

Representatives of salaried retirees from General Motors Corp., Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Corp. and supplier Delphi Corp. have been pushing for weeks to get a meeting with the auto task force, which is overseeing the restructuring of GM and Chrysler.

At the meeting, they plan to outline the hardships retirees will suffer if GM and Chrysler are allowed to slash pensions, health care coverage and other retirement benefits.

"Some people think that we're the fat cat execs," said Chuck Austin, president of the National Chrysler Retirement Organization and an engineer who retired a month shy of 40 years. "That's not true at all."

GM and Chrysler both face the possibility of filing for bankruptcy protection, and have already begun cutting back on some benefits to white collar retirees.

The task force has made no guarantees to the groups involved, the person familiar with the matter said. But emails sent to leadership indicate the task force may be receptive to their concerns.

Many retirees began advocating in recent months due to worry their benefits are vulnerable if GM or Chrysler go under. Retirees at Delphi, which has been stuck in bankruptcy court for more than three years, have faced many of the same issues. Earlier this year Delphi cut their health care coverage.

White collar workers include salesmen, marketers, administrators and others in middle management ranks.

Write to Alex P. Kellogg at alex.kellogg@wsj.com

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