Dingell Statement on Chrysler

Source: WDIV (Detroit)

Washington, DC – Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15) released the following statement in reaction to President Obama’s announcement that Chrysler LLC will file for a Chapter 11 Section 363 (b) bankruptcy proceeding:

“Chrysler made tremendous strides in its effort to meet the demanding restructuring goals set forth by the Administration. Chrysler secured historic deals with Fiat Group SpA, the UAW, Cerberus, Daimler, the U.S. and Canadian governments and a majority of its secured lenders. The rogue hedge funds that refused to agree to a fair offer to exchange debt for cash from the U.S. Treasury – firms I label as the “vultures” – will now be dealt with accordingly in court.

“The significant agreements made by Chrysler and its stakeholders, including Fiat and the UAW, should not be discounted; in fact they should be commended. The Chrysler-Fiat alliance holds great promise and I am hopefully that Chrysler will emerge from this “quick rinse” bankruptcy swiftly and in a great position to re-emerge as a dominant force in the automotive sector.

“Chrysler employs some of the greatest workers in the world; in bankruptcy, the workers and the retirees must be protected. UAW members faithfully demonstrated that they a willing participant in the restructuring by ratifying a painful new contract, and their laudable sacrifices should be recognized by the bankruptcy judge. The President has committed that the retiree pensions and VEBA agreements will be protected. We must also ensure that the Chrysler supply chain is stabilized during this temporary period of uncertainty and consumers are reassured that the Chrysler automobile warranty is the strongest in the country, as it has the backing of the United States government. I will be working with President Obama and his Administration, my colleagues in the Michigan Delegation, Governor Granholm and all interested stakeholders to ensure that as Chrysler is in court, and once they emerge, they are in the best possible position to emerge a stronger American company.”

Read more: http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/19333314/detail.html

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The "vulture funds":

Oppenheimer Funds
Perella Weinberg Partners
Stairway Capital

These are the funds that demanded double the taxpayer money than did JP Morgan Chase, etc. in order to lessen Chrysler's debt.

These are the funds that Pres. Obama "does not stand with".

http://uk.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUKWEN813220090429

Nice to have some depth.

The UAW actually stands to gain quite a bit in the bankruptcy proceedings, which is exactly what has the hedge funds' panties in a knot.

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/chrysler-lenders-fault-government-as-bankruptcy-looms/

It's deplorable that they would use a situation like this to try and bust a union in exchange for writing off a bit of Chrysler's debt. Is it so wrong that people band together and demand for something they actually earn, unlike a hedge fund manager who can fudge numbers and move a market if they so desired?

and as a taxpayer bailing many out and paying others bonuses, I revolt against them. No more money for these ripoff artists. Let them go under instead of Chrysler which actually employs regular taxpaying Americans, not apprentice vultures.

Oppenheimer isn’t a hedge fund, it’s a mutual fund manager, which isn’t even remotely the same thing.

It's time to root out rogue capitalism in America.

...saying that writing off this much debt would be a disservice to them.

Except, if they invested pensions heavily in the volatile auto industry, wasn't that the true disservice?

And have they forgotten the number of jobs that will be lost in this country if the auto industry disappears? I would think that their customers would much rather take a 1-5% hit on their pensions than lose their jobs (and probably their pensions too).

Idiots.

Based on what timeframe? :eyes:

The auto industry has been volatile for quite a while.

I'm going to guess that you haven't spent much time in Detroit in, oh say, the past three decades.

And what color is your sun?

So Chrysler has been failing since 1979? Who knew.

if they invested pensions heavily in the volatile auto industry, wasn't that the true disservice?

If they didn't invest, Chrysler would have gone under years ago. Would that be better?

Key word.