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Old October 24th 03, 11:35 PM
T.J.
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Default GM bonuses cut because of child support

Im not a dickhead. If I buy a car and get behind on my payments it gets
taken away. How about my house, I get behind on my payments then no more
house for me. As teh custodial parent if I dont pay for food my children
starve, I dont get a break from anything and cant fall behind on paying
bills or my children suffer. Grow up and be responsible..

I do know what its like to be down on my luck thank you very much. But i
still supported my children ALONE with no help from anyone else and
certaintly not from their deadbeat asswipe. They were MY FIRST priority.
If I go without food in order for my children to have it then Ill do that.

Dont feed me this crap about someone being down on their luck and not able
to pay support for their children. Its calle d they are too selfish. If
your husband cant support his children he sure the hell shouldnt support
your dead ass.

"Angel" wrote in message
...


"T.J." wrote in message
...
GOOD FOR GM!!!!!

They should take deadbeat's bonuses away from them if they arent current

on
their child support!!!!

TJ

You know what TJ your a dick head.....I don't know what your opinion is on
deadbeat, but some people are working and doing all that they can do to

pay
support and keep food on the table and pay bills for themselves. It is

easy
to get behind in childsupport. Don't you ever send me another email to my
account. Obiviously you have no idea how it is to be down on your luck and
have nothing.
At least my husband is making an attempt, even as small as it is. He is
trying! My uncle died owing his grown children that have children

$70,000.
And another person that I know owes his grow children more than $150,00.
So don't even f**kin talk to me about deadbeat.
Angel
"Dave" Dave@freedoms-door wrote in message
...
It has not been easy always being a buy American car kind of guy. But

this
pushes it over the top for me. I will never own another GM product.

Me either and I love camaro's!

"Angel" wrote in message
...
I think that this is going way to far, Corporations should keep

their
noses
to them selves. I mean what the hell are NCP supposed to do live in

a
freaking box. Regardless if the are paying on time or have arrears.

I
am
glad that my husband doesn't work for GM. We don't have enough money

now.
Angel


Published October 17, 2003
Child support cuts GM bonuses
Many workers angry as they weren't past due


By John Schneider
Lansing State Journal


Thousands of GM employees who pay child support in Michigan and

other
states
found their $3,000 bonuses cut by $900 or withheld entirely this

week.

Ingham County Friend of the Court Donald Rei-sig called it a

"unilateral
and
premature seizure" by General Motors Corp.

But GM officials say federal law, and the time constraints of the

labor
contract employees recently ratified - which included the bonuses -

forced
them to err on the side of excess.

About two-thirds of the money taken from 572 GM workers in Ingham

County
alone - with the blessing of the state Office of Child Support -

came
from
people who are current in their payment or no longer under financial
obligation at all.

"This has to be illegal," said Allen McDaniel, a material handler at

the
Lansing Car Assembly plant, who completed his support obligations a

year
ago.

His bonus check was $900 short: "How can you take money from

somebody
just
because he might owe something?"

McDaniel said GM officials assured him he would get his money

eventually.

Since Tuesday, when GM employees learned about the 50 percent

shortages -
about $900 in most cases - the Ingham Friend of the Court office has

been
swamped by calls from outraged clients.

"People are as irate as hell," said Reisig.

The bonuses - lump-sum wage increases established in the labor

contract
ratified Oct. 6 - started out at $3,000. Most employees took home

about
$1,800 after taxes.

In the case of employees in Michigan with "active child or spousal

support
deductions," GM held half the $1,800, as specified by Michigan law.

That varies from state to state. In Ohio, for example, GM withheld

the
entire amount.

Federal law requires GM to help county and state officials enforce
child-support orders through payroll deductions and diverting

lump-sum
payments to cover arrears.

But in the cases of the bonuses distributed this week, GM (including
Saturn), took 50 percent from all Michigan employees with active

support
deduction orders, regardless of whether they were behind in their
payments.

GM spokesman Tom Wickham acknowledged that it was an "unfortunate
situation." But the terms of the new contract between GM and the

United
Auto
Workers forced GM payroll officials to use a broad net, he said.

Bonuses for child-support payers typically are handled like this:

GM, anticipating the distribution of bonus checks, asks county or

state
officials to identify support payers behind in their obligations. GM

uses
that information to determine which bonuses get diverted.

"Normally, we have 45 days to do this," Wickham said. "In this case,

the
contract was ratified Oct. 6, and we were contractually obligated to
distribute the bonuses this week."

Given that, Wickham said, GM officials decided to deduct 50 percent

from
the
bonuses of all employees with support orders.

As for why employees no longer under court orders got caught in the

net,
Wickham said, "We need to update our lists."

GM will start releasing the money as it gets those updated lists,

Wickham
said. He declined to say when that will happen.

Maureen Sorbet, spokeswoman for the state Family Independence

Agency,
said
GM's action was proper.

"We believe GM was honoring the language and intent of the agreement
between
the employer and the Office of Child Support," Sorbet said.

Today that office will supply GM with a list of support payers who

aren't
behind in their payments, she said.

"For anybody not in arrears, the money will be released," Sorbet

said.
"As
for how quickly, you'll have to check with GM."

On Thursday, in a blistering letter to GM, Reisig wrote: "Your

payroll
department withheld ... bonus payments, without regard to whether or

not
any
support arrearage was owed."

The letter continued: "Your action of prematurely seizing these

funds
and
holding them, even for a relatively short period of time, does a
disservice
to your many employees, who both give to you their services, and who
diligently pay their child support on behalf of their children."

Of the 572 GM employees in Ing-ham County who received half their

bonuses,
191 are behind in their support payments.

"It sucks," said Doug Grace of Lansing, an Assembly plant worker who

came
up
$900 short. "I go out of my way to make sure I don't fall behind."

Contact John Schneider at 377-1175 or .