COLUMBIA, Tenn. – Spring Hill Local 1853 Chairman Mike Herron echoed the words of the United Auto Workers union’s top leadership, encouraging workers not to take advantage of early retirement buyouts.
“When that (a buyout) occurs it gives people a big pot of money but they have no retirement benefits or health care let alone a monthly plan to receive a paycheck,” Herron said. “This is bad business and I am adamantly opposed to these types of programs.”
The recent guidance to union members follows the release of a study form the University of California, Berkeley, that found autoworkers who left before retirement age had higher rates of suicide or overdose deaths than those who left after, suggesting that leaving work early may increase the risk of mortality.