URPBPA LEGISLATIVE ALERT

The Most Important Letters Yet!

Write Immediately! Please Circulate This Letter! 

November 17, 2005

All of our ground work is coming to a head with a Senate vote coming before the Thanksgiving recess.  None of the proposed legislation to date (including S 1783) has included ANY provisions that will help the employees or retirees of United Airlines. 

Senator Bill Frist, the Senate Majority leader, has indicated that there will be a vote on Pension Reform Legislation before the Thanksgiving break.  We MUST attempt to influence this legislation to include United Airlines. 

Some of the people that have been working very hard for you have indicated that they have been contacted by Senate offices that there is a distinct possibility that the proposed legislation in front of the Senate will be amended to INCLUDE UNITED AIRLINES and THEY HAVE ASKED FOR OUR HELP.  This will come in the form of an amendment of this bill from the floor of the Senate. 

We are being asked for EACH OF US to write your two Senators, the Senate Leadership, and at least ALL the Republican Senate members.  It would be beneficial if we wrote ALL the members of the Senate.  Please do so in that order. 

We have no specific bill to support, no current bill has provisions to save the pensions at United Airlines; therefore, we must ASK for legislation to INCLUDE UNITED AIRLINES.

 Our PRIMARY message is:

 ·        FIND A MEANS TO SAVE THE PENSIONS AT UNITED AIRLINES

 ·        CONGRESS MUST TAKE ACTION, WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO DATE WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEM

 You may wish to also include:

 ·        IT IS WRONG FOR CORPORATIONS TO DUMP THEIR PENSIONS ON THE PBGC AND THE TAXPAYER

 ·        PENSION TERMINATIONS SHOULD BE IN CHAPTER 7 LIQUIDATION ONLY

 ·        THE PUBLIC SHOULD NOT SUBSIDIZE CORPORATE REORGANIZATION

 ·        THE PBGC CAN NOT POSSIBLY GUARRANTEE THE $450 BILLION IN PENSION UNDERFUNDING AS ESTIMATED BY THE PBGC IN SEPTEMBER 2005

The Senate offices measure response by the number of inches in the piles of letters supporting each issue.  It is of the utmost importance that EACH of us write these letters then do EVERYTHING we can to encourage our friends and family to do the same.

This is important to EVERY American with a Defined Benefit Pension Plan, not just for the employees and retirees of United Airlines.  If Congress does not take appropriate action there will be an entire generation that were promised their entire working lives that they would have a pension on retirement that now will become wards of the State.

Please fax your two Senators, the Senate leadership and then ALL members of the Senate.  Make a special effort to fax AT LEAST ALL the Republican members of the Senate.                                             Sample Letter

Write your letter in your own words.  Form letters are not as effective as your words.

November 15, 2005

Senator ____________

United States Senate, Washington, D.C.

Fax:  202-XXX-XXXX

                                    Save the Pensions at United Airlines

Dear Senator ___________,

It was not Congress’s intent for corporations to use the PBGC as a business reorganization toolThe PBGC should only be used as a last resort in Chapter 7 liquidation, not reorganization that will enable a corporation to post huge profits on the backs of the retirees.

United Airlines is projecting $1 billion profit a year after Chapter 11 bankruptcy by breaking the promises they have made to the retirees of United Airlines.  

The PBGC just announced today that they are now projecting a deficit of $ 22.8 billion for 2005.  How can you ask the taxpayers to subsidize the profits of these corporations dumping their pensions on the PBGC?  Delta and Northwest will add another $16.3 billion to the deficit and this does not include Delphi.  The total unfounded liability of all defined benefit pension plans is $450 billion, according to the PBGC’s Brad Belt.

 AVOID THE PENDING TAXPAYER BAILOUT!

There must be a moratorium on pension terminations in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, including United Airlines.  Congress must act or we will have an entire generation without their promised pensions.

 Respectfully,

 Sign

 Name, Address, City, State, Zip

If you do nothing else, PLEASE write your own two Senators!  YOUR pension may rely on the response from these letters. 

WRITE NOW!

Current Senate Leadership

Title

Member Name

DC Phone

DC FAX

President Pro Tempore

Ted Stevens (R-AK)

202-224-3004

202-224-2354

Majority Leader

William H. Frist (R-TN)

202-224-3344

202-228-1264

Majority Whip

Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

202-224-2541

202-224-2499

Minority Leader

Harry Reid (D-NV)

202-224-3542

202-224-7327

                                                Current Senate Members

 First

Last

Party

State

FAX no.

Daniel

Akaka

D

HI

202-224-2126

Lamar

Alexander

R

TN

202-228-3398

Wayne

Allard

R

CO

202-224-6471

George

Allen

R

VA

202-224-5432

Max

Baucus

D

MT

202-228-3687

Evan

Bayh

D

IN

202-228-1377

Robert

Bennett

R

UT

801-524-5730

Joseph

Biden

D

DE

202-224-0139

Jeff

Bingaman

D

NM

202-224-2852

Christopher

Bond

R

MO

202-224-8149

Barbara

Boxer

D

CA

559-497-5111

Sam

Brownback

R

KS

202-228-1265

Jim

Bunning

R

KY

202-228-1373

Conrad

Burns

R

MT

202-224-8594

Richard

Burr

R

NC

202-228-2981

Robert

Byrd

D

WV

202-228-0002

Maria

Cantwell

D

WA

202-228-0514

Thomas

Carper

D

DE

202-228-2190

Lincoln

Chafee

R

RI

401-845-0703

Saxby

Chambliss

R

GA

202-224-0103

Hillary

Clinton

D

NY

202-228-0282

Tom

Coburn

R

OK

202-224-6008

Thad

Cochran

R

MS

202-224-9450

Norm

Coleman

R

MN

202-224-1152

Susan

Collins

R

ME

202-224-2693

Kent

Conrad

D

ND

202-224-7776

John

Cornyn

R

TX

202-228-2856

Jon

Corzine

D

NJ

202-228-2197

Larry

Craig

R

ID

202-228-1067

Michael

Crapo

R

ID

208-334-9044

Mark

Dayton

D

MN

202-228-2186

Jim

DeMint

R

SC

843-722-4923

Mike

DeWine

R

OH

202-224-6519

Christopher

Dodd

D

CT

202-224-1083

Elizabeth

Dole

R

NC

202-224-1100

Pete

Domenici

R

NM

202-228-3261

Byron

Dorgan

D

ND

202-224-1193

Richard

Durbin

D

IL

202-228-0400

John

Ensign

R

NV

202-228-2193

Michael

Enzi

R

WY

202-228-0359

Russell

Feingold

D

WI

202-224-2725

Dianne

Feinstein

D

CA

202-228-3954

Bill

Frist

R

TN

202-228-1264

Lindsey

Graham

R

SC

202-224-3808

Charles

Grassley

R

IA

202-224-6020

Judd

Gregg

R

NH

202-224-4952

Chuck

Hagel

R

NE

202-224-5213

Tom

Harkin

D

IA

202-224-9369

Orrin

Hatch

R

UT

202-224-6331

Kay

Hutchison

R

TX

202-224-0776

James

Inhofe

R

OK

202-228-0380

Daniel

Inouye

D

HI

 202-224-6747

Johnny

Isakson

R

GA

202-228-0724

James

Jeffords

I

VT

202-228-0776

Tim

Johnson

D

SD

202-228-5765

Edward

Kennedy

D

MA

202-224-2417

John

Kerry

D

MA

202-224-8525

Herb

Kohl

D

WI

202-224-9787

Jon

Kyl

R

AZ

202-224-2207

Mary

Landrieu

D

LA

202-224-9735

Frank

Lautenberg

D

NJ

202-228-4054

Patrick

Leahy

D

VT

202-224-3479

Carl

Levin

D

MI

202-224-1388

Joseph

Lieberman

D

CT

202-224-9750

Blanche

Lincoln

D

AR

202-228-1371

Trent

Lott

R

MS

202-224-2262

Richard

Lugar

R

IN

202-228-0360

Mel

Martinez

R

FL

202-228-5171

John

McCain

R

AZ

202-228-2862

Mitch

McConnell

R

KY

202-224-2499

Barbara

Mikulski

D

MD

202-224-8858

Lisa

Murkowski

R

AK

202-224-5301

Patty

Murray

D

WA

202-224-0238

Bill

Nelson

D

FL

202-228-2183

Benjamin

Nelson

D

NE

202-228-0012

Barack

Obama

D

IL

202-228-5417

Mark

Pryor

D

AR

202-228-0908

Jack

Reed

D

RI

202-224-4680

Harry

Reid

D

NV

202-224-7327

Pat

Roberts

R

KS

202-224-3514

John

Rockefeller

D

WV

202-224-7665

Ken

Salazar

D

CO

202-228-5036

Rick

Santorum

R

PA

202-228-0604

Paul

Sarbanes

D

MD

202-224-1651

Charles

Schumer

D

NY

202-228-3027

Jeff

Sessions

R

AL

202-224-3149

Richard

Shelby

R

AL

202-224-3416

Gordon

Smith

R

OR

202-228-3997

Olympia

Snowe

R

ME

202-224-1946

Arlen

Specter

R

PA

202-228-1229

Debbie

Stabenow

D

MI

202-228-0325

Ted

Stevens

R

AK

202-224-2354

John

Sununu

R

NH

202-228-4131

James

Talent

R

MO

202-228-1518

Craig

Thomas

R

WY

202-224-1724

John

Thune

R

SD

202-228-5429

David

Vitter

R

LA

202-228-5061

George

Voinovich

R

OH

202-228-1382

John

Warner

R

VA

202-224-6295

Ron

Wyden

D

OR

202-228-2717