It has been over a month since everyone’s tax statements, 1099-R’s and W-2’s should have been sent out. Some people got them, some did not. Hopefully I can help you understand what has happened.

 

Every retiree or surviving spouse was sent a 1099-R for the pension you received. Everyone should have also received a W-2 for imputed income-Legal Services Plan and for recent retirees who have life insurance in excess of $50,000 an additional amount reflecting that benefit. The problem, with those 1099-R’s and W-2’s, is that the Wisconsin- Employer Identification Number (EIN) was incorrect. This EIN does not in any way affect filing a federal tax return electronically or by paper form, however there is a problem filing the State of Wisconsin tax form electronically with the incorrect EIN.

 

If you file your own State of Wisconsin tax form using the paper document there is not a problem. If you went to a tax preparer most likely they used the electronic filing system.  I know of retirees that have filed their Wisconsin State Taxes electronically and received their refunds within two days. They have called and e-mailed me saying they didn’t have a problem. I believe when the State of Wisconsin does its audit they will receive a letter in the mail asking for correct information concerning the Employer Identification Number (EIN).

 

All of us should have received corrected 1099-R’s for your pension with corrected EIN on or about February 9, 2012. All of us should have received a W-2 for imputed income-Legal Service Plan and for recent retirees who have life insurance in excess of $50,000 an additional amount reflecting that benefit with corrected EIN on or about February 14, 2012. If you already have filed your taxes electronically please hang onto the new documents. It will save you time and trouble when you have to produce them. State Street is the name of the firm that Chrysler has contracted to send these documents to us. They are the same people that send us our monthly pension stubs.

 

Use only the corrected 1099-R’s and W-2’s when filing your income taxes. If you have already filed your taxes electronically expect a letter from the State of Wisconsin asking for the correct information. If you have taxes done by a tax preparer my suggestion is to contact them or if you processed your own taxes you might want to contact the State of Wisconsin IRS for help and advice. Please refer to the notice at the bottom of the page for phone numbers if your new documents haven’t arrived. 

 

 

Hourly retirees who received any pay from Chrysler in 2011 such as IPR, Vehicle Voucher, Vacation Pay, PAA pay, Sick Leave Pay, Employee Appreciation Pay, and any other type of pay, with the exception of SUB pay should be receiving a separate W-2. If you received S.U.B. pay in 2011 that is a different and separate W-2. The problem we had was getting Chrysler Payroll to understand that none of the retirees that received income in 2011 received their W-2’s. Time after time in every conversation Ara Mekhsian and I had with the payroll department they insisted that all W-2’s were sent out on January 20, 2012. It got to the point where I sent Region 4 Rep. John Drew a detailed e-mail requesting his involvement. Just when it looked hopeless we sent one more e-mail to Chrysler Payroll outlining that up to 125 retirees did not receive their W-2’s for pay or S.U.B. there was a break though. A conference call was set to take place on February 16, 2012 at 8:00 a.m. for us to once again explain the missing W-2’s, we received an e-mail stating that it had been determined that there was an issue printing hourly retiree W-2 files.  The missing W-2’s will be mailed out no later than February 17, 2012. It’s obvious that Chrysler Payroll was in denial and did not believe that the W-2’s weren’t printed and sent out. For some reason this did not affect the salary bargaining unit. Their W-2’s were sent out on January 20, 2012. Please read the notice at the bottom of the page for phone numbers if you haven’t received your corrected 1099-R’s and W-2’s (EIN) from State Street or you’re W-2’s from Chrysler Payroll for pay in 2011. Hopefully we can get this issue behind us.

 

 

DETROIT ­– On February 17, 2012, UAW members reacted strongly to Mitt Romney's claim that "we should have let Detroit go bankrupt," when the economy and the auto industry were about to collapse.

 

"He's trying to rewrite history and attack President Obama and the UAW for successfully saving the auto industry," said UAW President Bob King. "He is misleading voters about the president's bold and decisive rescue of the auto industry and about sacrifices made by workers. But voters deserve the truth."  Even prior to the emergency rescue loans, UAW members made deep sacrifices beginning in 2005 to save the company, giving up pay increases, overtime pay, holidays, agreeing to a reduced pay and benefit structure for new hires, and other concessions.

 

President Obama demanded additional concessions and shared sacrifice from both labor and management in exchange for the loans. In return, America's carmakers retooled to create the energy-efficient cars of the future and repaid their outstanding loans years ahead of schedule.

Rescuing the auto industry saved more than 1.4 million jobs up and down the supply chain.

 

"The president's rescue loans helped the auto industry survive the darkest hour of its history and return to thriving operations today," said King. Hundreds of thousands other workers who depend on the auto industry for  jobs, were facing a very uncertain future, but today, they are making the Chrysler 200, one of Detroit's new, hot-selling models. UAW members completed negotiations with the domestic automakers this fall with a strategy to make the company successful and to share in its success. And that strategy paid off."

 

"Americans deserve to know the truth," King added. "The emergency loans worked. GM is once again the world's top carmaker. Its 2011 profit was its largest ever. The auto industry added more than 200,000 jobs in the last two-and-a-half years, and 2011 was the strongest year of industry job growth since 1994. Demand for their cars is going up, so GM, Ford and Chrysler are starting to run three production shifts a day at many plants. Added shifts and new facilities mean jobs for thousands more workers in Michigan, Ohio and other places across the country."

 

 

The unprecedented out-of-state cash grab by Gov. Scott Walker continued at an alarming rate with Walker's latest reports showing he has amassed 61 percent of the $4.1 million in individual contributions raised since December 11 from outside of Wisconsin. Walker's four top donors, each giving $250,000, were also from out of state, including another $250,000 from Texas tycoon and "Swift Boat" sleazy ad financier Bob Perry.

 

"Gov. Scott Walker is traveling across America selling out Wisconsin to the highest bidder," said Scot Ross, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director. "Four donors from outside of Wisconsin gave Scott Walker a total of $1 million and 61 percent of his individual contributions since mid-December came from outside of Wisconsin."

 

According to an analysis by One Wisconsin Now, Walker raised $2.5 million from individuals outside of Wisconsin and $1.6 million from individuals in Wisconsin. Walker raised $750,000 from three executives in Missouri alone. In Walker's previous report, One Wisconsin Now showed Walker took half of his $5 million in contributions from outside of Wisconsin. Walker raised another $384,000 from PACs and other contributions.

 

Walker's four largest donors in the latest report include:

 

Walker is allowed to raise unlimited money under the law to offset costs associated with his recall defense, but Walker sued to force taxpayers to finance the review of the more than 1 million recall signatures collected against him despite his unprecedented use of the unlimited fundraising limits.

 

"No wonder Walker doesn't have time to try and stop the six straight months of job loss," said Ross. "Traveling across the country to raise money is his day job, being Governor is just his hobby at this point."