Delphi retirees rally for pensions

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - For the first time in years, the parking lot is full at one old Delphi plant.

The employees thought they'd clocked in for the final time many months ago, but on this day, there's still work to be done.

"We aren't ever going to give up because when you're right you don't give up," says Delphi retiree Mary Miller. "You can't."

Their old factories now only produce weeds, but it's something else that's entangled these workers, a fight for their pensions.

"The reality is grim and we are no longer part of the middle class," says Julie Naylor, who's husband was a former Delphi worker.

Naylor's story can be summed up in the sign she was carrying. It told of how her dream home was foreclosed on after her husband had his Delphi pension cut nearly in half.

"The loss of the house was awful," Naylor says. "We built the house to have our extended family come home for holidays. For our grandchildren to sleep over."

Naylor's struggle is shared by many others at the rally Thursday put on by Rep. Mike Turner.

They suffered the same fate when GM emerged from bankruptcy but their full pensions didn't, even though union workers got to keep theirs.

"We're glad they have them because they earned them but so did we," Miller says.

You could see the frustration on their faces and in other places as well, like the signs they were carrying, including one which read 'I've hit Ba-rock bottom.'

The workers have been in congressional hearings and filed a lawsuit, all to get their pensions back.

The drive that once pushed them to build auto parts is now pushing them to build a case.

"It's crippling to have what you worked so long and hard for stolen from you," Miller says.