Presque Isle, MI 49777
July 3, 2008
Mr. Robert Nardelli
Chairman and CEO
Chrysler LLC
1000 Chrysler Drive
CIMS 485-15-00
Auburn Hills, MI 48326-2766
Dear Mr. Nardelli,
I am the President of the recently formed National Chrysler Retirement Organization. Our objective is to establish lines of communication with Chrysler concerning recent and future retiree benefits for salary retirees, and to unite and improve communications between salary retirees.
We would like to meet with you to begin this communication process. We feel that salary retirees have been unfairly treated by recent benefit cuts, especially the life insurance cancellation. This insurance is irreplaceable. Most retirees are uninsurable on the open market, or the insurance is too expensive for seniors’ budgets. This benefit cancellation has caused serious hardship on our spouses and beneficiaries.
We feel there are practical reasons why Chrysler will want to meet with us:
- Salary retirees are the strongest boosters of Chrysler products. We buy/lease Chrysler products and strongly recommend them to our friends. There are ways to further strengthen this relationship, thereby increasing sales.
- Seniors (50 and above) are 31% of the US population and are growing. Seniors are more affluent than younger people. As Chrysler realigns its vehicle line-up from trucks to cars, and toward green fuel efficient vehicles, Chrysler will want to get a growing share of the senior market. Chrysler cannot afford to have a disgruntled salary retiree group.
- Open communications with the NCRO will help salary retirees to better understand Chrysler’s business pressure and future plans on benefits, and then better allow retirees to plan their financial future.
- The alternative to meeting with us will be to cause further disappointment and resentment among salary retirees, which will ultimately affect Chrysler’s image and sales.
Recognizing that benefit cuts are foremost a business decision, we want to first meet with you. Afterwards, we hope to have continuing meetings with your human relations staff. We ask that you seriously consider this request, and then give us time to meet with you. We will want to have a mutual agreed-to agenda and an attendees list for both groups before the meeting.
You can learn about the NCRO on the Web at http://home.earthlink.net/~oneplez/index.html. I can be reached at the address above, at 989-595-6216, or at chuckaustin@comcast.net.
Thank you,
Charles Austin,
President National Chrysler Retirement Organization
CC by email: N. Rae, NCRO Board