Pension Plans and Broken Promises

Re “The Flight From Pensions,” editorial, May 12: The last two decades have seen the airline carriers plagued with bankruptcies and collapse. Yet the companies continue with give-away “mileage” programs? How can that be?

American business used to be more of a smart, efficient, productive, market-driven, covenant-keeping place that nourished our country. It seems now that most corporate businesses have some cheap, clever, compromise scheme or trick from bandit/pirate CEOs, caused by or partnered with government and/or a corrupt legal system that almost always comes back to bite us. United’s broken pension promise is just the latest. We had better get real, as we are winning this race to the bottom.

Gary L. Zerman

Valencia

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Re “United Airlines Cleared to Shed Pension Plans,” May 11: Corporate America has struck another blow to American working families -- families that at one time could depend on the safety of their retirement. This is a travesty and what will probably be the first of many corporate defaults on their pension obligations, with United leading the way. I, as a matter of principle, will never board a United Airlines plane again, and I cordially invite the rest of America’s working families to join me. And for those remaining United employees, if this isn’t a reason for one of the biggest labor actions in history, I don’t know what is! And this among multimillion-dollar compensation packages -- I bet management has its retirement in place.

Mark Whichard

Monrovia

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Does the United Airlines’ default on pensions mean that retired executives, ex-CEOs, etc., will only get $45,000 a year like the people who used to work for the airline? Silly idea, I guess. And if any of those folks who will soon be on reduced pensions end up in bankruptcy, the new Bush administration bankruptcy laws will make sure that they can’t opt out of their obligations like their ex-employer. This is what we now call the “ownership society”? It used to be called class warfare.

Phil Brimble

Los Angeles

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The default by United Airlines on its obligation to provide pension benefits for its employees raises some interesting issues. While the Bush administration continues to rave about the dangers of relying on such government-run programs as Social Security and Medicare (referring to the Treasury’s IOUs as “worthless pieces of paper”) and is urging us to place our bets on the private sector to ensure our future, it turns out that the only people who are being bilked out of their retirement and medical benefits are those who placed their faith in the private sector.

The real “worthless pieces of paper” were the employment contracts of the United employees.

Even more significant, as is demonstrated by the United case, is that whenever these “private” funds fail, they all turn to the government to meet their obligations.

If the American people buy this sleazy proposal by Bush to privatize Social Security, they are even dumber than the rest of the world thinks they are.

Sanford Their

Marina del Rey

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U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Eugene Wedoff ruled in favor of United Airlines shedding pension liabilities, costing employees millions of dollars. I wonder if any of the right-wing politicians will be calling him an activist judge. I’m not holding my breath.

Paul Bruyn

Midway City