Could be 'disastrous', one woman says
Apr 09, 2009 - 03:40 PM
By Melissa Mancini
OSHAWA -- Shirley Johnson didn't spend her life living extravagantly.
She worked hard at Chrysler in Ajax for more than 32 years. She laboured away in different departments: sewing, inspection and receiving. She always made sure she lived within her means, paid the full balance on her credit cards on time and watched what she spent.
"I use coupons and I only buy when things are on sale, groceries included," she said.
Ms. Johnson lives with her son in a modest, well-kept house in Oshawa. They have the regular bills that homeowners pay: heat, hydro, sewer, cable and Internet.
But they also have additional expenses. She has had two heart attacks and suffers from the aches and pains that afflict many who have spent time labouring on the lines. Her son Lou is quadriplegic. Their medical bills aren't cheap.
"Every cent is actually accounted for."
What would happen to her if Chrysler didn't pay her pension anymore keeps her up at night, she said.
"Every day you wake up in a panic," Ms. Johnson said.
It's definitely not what she thought retirement would be like, she said.
"You think everything's going to be OK when you are retired and you think everything's going to be comfortable..." she said, her voice drifting off.
It's a similar story for many retired Canadian Auto Workers employees. Joe McCloskey, who has been retired from General Motors since 1980, said he's always considered himself one of the lucky ones.
"I'm very fortunate my little house is paid for," he said.
But property taxes go up every year and he's not sure he could afford the upkeep on the place. When Premier
Dalton McGuinty said there wasn't enough in the provincial pension guarantee fund to sustain all of GM's pensions, Mr. McCloskey said he had one thought:
"He's going to have to change his mind."
Mr. McCloskey and Ms. Johnson were just two of about 30 retirees who gathered in front of Oshawa city hall on Thursday with signs that said 'Protect our Pensions', 'The Government protects their pensions, what about ours' and '$200 billion for the banks, $0 for the retirees'.
Right now, Mr. McCloskey's pension is $1,300 a month. If GM goes bankrupt, he thought he would be able to depend on Ontario's guaranteed pension plan, which would dole out $1,000 per month to each benefit holder. But now he's not so sure.
"Everything's up in the air," he said.
Now retirees are waiting to see what happens with loan negotiations between the automakers and governments.
"If the government doesn't help us, it's going to be disastrous, really," Ms. Johnson said.
Recommend :