The Daily Caller says it has emails that prove that the pensions of 20,000 salaried retirees at Delphi were terminated “solely because those retirees were not members of labor unions.”

The emails, says the conservative website “contradict sworn testimony, in federal court and before Congress, given by several Obama administration figures. They also indicate that the administration misled lawmakers and the courts about the sequence of events surrounding the termination of those non-union pensions, and that administration figures violated federal law.”

In 1994, GM spun off its parts business into Delphi.  In 2005, the company went Chapter 11.  Later, parts of the business was sold, wound down, or sold back to GM. Says the Daily Caller:

“Twenty thousand of its workers lost nearly their entire pensions when the government bailed out GM. At the same time, Delphi employees who were members of the United Auto Workers union saw their pensions topped off and made whole.”

In sworn testimony, former Treasury official Matthew Feldman and former White House auto czar Ron Bloom, stated that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), and not the administration, “led the effort to terminate the non-union Delphi workers’ pension plan,” the Daily Caller says. “The emails TheDC has obtained show that the Treasury Department, not the independent PBGC, was running the show.”

As galling as the auto bailout was for many Americans, the hidden “stealth bailouts” that occurred during the government-led industry reorganization are often even more galling. Today the final chapter of one of those “stealth bailouts” has taken place, as GM has sold its stake in its spun-off supplier Delphi for $3.8b, booking a $1.6b gain on the deal. So, how is GM divorcing its former in-house supplier a stealth bailout? Back in the dark Summer of 2009, the government organized a GM-led rescue of Delphi, which had been languishing in bankruptcy since 2005 (after GM. By buying a chunk of Delphi for $2.5b of the government’s money and selling it back for a profit, GM’s helped itself to a little extra bump of public money. Oh, and did we mention that GM dropped all kind of pensions in Delphi’s lap when it spun the supplier, including workers who had never been employed by Delphi.

But that’s not the worst part: any guesses as to why GM’s stake in Delphi is suddenly worth so much more? A recovering industry, perhaps? Wrong. Shortly after GM bought back its stake in Delphi, the supplier dumped $6.5b worth of pensions onto the government’s Pension Benefit Guarantee Company, causing huge benefit cuts and hidden government costs. What did the PBGC’s stake, given as “partial compensation” for that pension dump, yield it? A cool $594m. Meanwhile, thanks to the government ‘s arguments, GM still had to top-up UAW retiree pensions, leaving non-union retirees and members of other unions out in the cold [read all about it in a just-released GAO report in PDF here]. A shell game inside of a political payoff inside of another shell game, in other words. There’s nothing to not love here…

Delphi’s salaried retirees lost their shirts after the Delphi bankruptcy and the GM bailout. Now they lost their main voice in congress. Rep. Christopher Lee resigned last week after Gawker showed a picture of a bare-chested congressman.

Lee had sent the picture to a single woman he had contacted via Craigslist. According to Automotive News [sub], Lee had led more than 20 congressmen who “persistently complained to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other officials that 15,000 salaried Delphi retirees may have their pensions cut by as much as 70 percent.”

Gawker also published an email exchange between the congressman and the Craigslist woman. In the mails, Lee said he was a divorced 39-year-old lobbyist. He is a married 46-year-old with a young son.

The Craigslist woman ratted on Lee because she “was just sharing the story.”

When former auto task force boss Steve Rattner’s former firm Quadrangle recently settled a “pay-to-play” corruption investigation, it threw Rattner under the bus, saying:

We wholly disavow the conduct engaged in by Steve Rattner, who hired the New York State Comptroller’s political consultant, Hank Morris, to arrange an investment from the New York State Common Retirement Fund. It is our understanding that Mr. Rattner also arranged a DVD distribution deal for a movie produced by the Chief Investment Officer’s brother in the middle of the investment decision-making process. That conduct was inappropriate, wrong, and unethical. Mr. Rattner is no longer with the firm and is not a part of today’s settlement. Quadrangle will fully cooperate in the Attorney General’s ongoing investigation of Mr. Rattner and others.

According to the DetN, that stinging indictment by Rattner’s former firm has inspired House Republicans to call for an investigation into whether Rattner was behind a deal in which some Delphi retirees lost their pensions while others didn’t.

A letter from Reps Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Christopher Lee (R-NY) to the House Oversight Committee argues that the investigation of Rattner:

[calls] into question the integrity and objectivity of Mr. Rattner’s panel, particularly the decision to allow some Delphi Corp. retirees, including many salaried retirees, to lose their pension benefits through the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation while simultaneously protecting the benefits of other Delphi retirees.

However, that deal hardly needs a lot of in-depth investigation to get to the bottom of. As The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel explains, GM agreed to “top off” UAW pensions when it spun Delphi off in 1999. However:

The salaried retirees had no such agreement – and, it turns out, neither did employees who belonged to some other unions, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and the International Union of Operating Engineers.

When Delphi dropped those pensions on the PBGC, the 70,000 non-UAW retirees saw their benefits drop by $800m. And why would Steve Rattner have changed any of that? Rogers and Lee are trying to investigate a sin of omission rather than a sin of commission. The original sin in the sad story of Delphi was GM and the UAWs… all Rattner had to do was not fix it.

We sympathize when Rogers says:

It was completely unfair how they were treated… We need to ask some really hard questions about how this happened.

But just because Rattner screwed up at Quadrangle doesn’t prove anything about Delphi. That situation was screwed up long before Steve Rattner arrived.

As GM tools up for production of its Volt extended-range electric car, Automotive News [sub] has noticed something interesting: workers at GM’s new battery pack assembly plant are not represented by the United Auto Workers. Located in the heart of UAW territory (Brownstown Township, MI), the Volt battery plant represents the very jobs that local politicians and GM leadership hailed as the green future of the auto industry. When the plant opened, GM Chairman/CEO Ed Whitacre waxed eloquent about the opportunities:

The development of electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt is creating entire new sectors in the auto industry – an “ecosystem” of battery developers and recyclers, builders of home and commercial charging stations, electric motor suppliers and much more. These companies and universities are creating new jobs in Michigan and across the U.S. – green jobs – and they’re doing it by developing new technology, establishing new manufacturing capability, and strengthening America’s long-term competitiveness.

As long as they do so without UAW representation, apparently. Needless to say, if GM can get away with using non-union workers at a crucial plant that’s supposed to represent the firm’s future, things aren’t looking so good for our friends in organized labor.

And though GM only has 25 workers currently working the Brownstown plant, that number will increase, and the symbolism is far more important than pure numbers. The plant is part of a new wholly-owned subsidiary called GM Subsystems Manufacturing LLC, and GM spokesfolks confirm that non-union labor was an important factor in maintaining competitive manufacturing costs.

Though electric motor production at Maryland’s White Marsh plant will be a union shop, GM’s biggest supplier Delphi is also taking measures to keep its EV component factory in Kokomo, IN, free from union representation (in line with its new union-free mantra). Kokomo Local 292′s president calls the decision a “smack in the face” for the union, which is facing a decades-long slide in membership. The former DuPont plant will supply electric drives to Allison Transmission for use in medium-duty trucks and buses, and will eventually see its non-union workforce grow to 190.

Meanwhile, five Delphi plants that were transferred to GM during the supplier’s bankruptcy are being pressured to break their master agreements so they can compete amongst each other for work. In fairness though, UAW leadership doesn’t seem to be doing much to improve the situation for workers.

Ford’s announcement that it would restore merit pay increases and 401k matching to salaried employees has drawn protests from the UAW even though it has restored profit-sharing for UAW workers. The UAW’s head of Ford representation Bob King tells the Detroit News:

They’re two separate issues. We gave up a long laundry list of benefits. None of that is being restored. We think they should use the money to pay down debt

We agree that they’re not linked,” say Ford spokesfolks. “But we don’t believe that we violated the contract.” And while the union bashes Ford for restoring white-collar benefits, it’s actually reaching out to salaried Delphi retirees, as MLive reports that UAW boss Ron Gettelfinger has written a letter to Delphi asking it to restore salaried pensions which are being cut. So does the UAW support salaried auto industry employees, or does it see them as an opponent in a zero-sum game? More than likely, the answer is neither. Or both. As this video of chaos breaking out at a UAW meeting of NUMMI workers seems to indicate, the UAW is still an out-of-control juggernaut, unable to share a coherent perspective on the industry. But hey, thanks to their ownership of a majority stake in Chrysler and about 15 percent of GM, they’re an out-of-control fact of life.

After we posted our take on the reported ouster of EV startup Aptera’s founders, Popular Mechanics jumped in to deny the charge. The magazine dutifully reported that Aptera’s founders had conveniently decided to take a vacation, unquestioningly citing the assertions of Aptera CFO Marques McCammon. But it seems the underlying conflict– whether to go to market with the existing product or cut costs while waiting for federal funding to produce a redesigned vehicle– has been resolved in favor of Aptera’s new auto industry insiders. A company press release confirms that the 2e has been delayed until 2010, indicating that the lack of federal funding (or some unanticipated private investment) is the stumbling point. The situation with Aptera’s founders, however, is still something of a mystery. And it’s not the only curiosity to be dredged out of Aptera during this challenging interlude.

Aptera CEO Paul Wilbur explains in the company press release:

“Because of this production delay, we’ve unfortunately been forced to lay off some hard working employees. It’s a strategy to streamline our spending to hone in on the items that advance our fundraising and completion of our first vehicle.

“Additionally as part of this plan, co-founder Chris Anthony is stepping aside from day-to-day activities to concentrate on his two other companies, Epic Boats and Flux Power.”

Aptera’s other co-founder, Steve Fambro, who started tinkering with the idea of building an aerodynamic vehicle five years ago, is taking a short leave of absence and will re-engage with the company in the new year.

“Right now my advanced work is a lower priority for Aptera,” said Fambro, the company’s Chief Technical Officer who directs all advanced concept development activities. “We’ve got to be wholly focused on funding and getting the first 2e on the road.

Meanwhile, the rule that drama seems to beget more drama is proving true. “S.Hval” sent us a tip on a rumor swirling around the ApteraForum, centering on company CFO Laura Marrion. Though you wouldn’t know it from her official bio (which only lists experience at Saleen and Specialty Vehicles Acquisition Corp), Marrion was fined $40k by the SEC for her role in Delphi’s $700m accounting fraud. Marrion came into the company with Wilbur and a number of other industry insiders, and though there’s no evidence that there’s monkey business going on in bookkeeping, her role in the Delphi fraud isn’t helping Aptera’s true believers deal with the loss of the company’s founders.

Adding to the drama is the fact that fans have found that Aptera’s news feed has been modified to eliminate all signs of bad news. EV startups, especially those with quirky designs like Aptera’s, are fueled by the passion of enthusiasts who are willing to overlook all kinds of downsides in order to get what they believe to be bleeding-edge vehicles. At this point, bringing in Detroit insiders is not looking like a good way to build on that enthusiasm.

GM was given its last $30B of taxpayer money as it entered bankruptcy in early June of this year. By the time GM exited Chapter 11 protection on July 10, there was only $16.4B left in its bailout escrow account. According to an 8-K form filed today with the SEC, GM now has only $13.6B remaining in that account, less than one-third of GM’s $50B total bailout (not counting assistance to GMAC). GM’s rescue of its major supplier, Delphi, consumed $2.8 billion from its escrow account. According to the form:

Approximately $1.7 billion was utilized to acquire a membership interest in the new Delphi entity and approximately $1.1 billion was expended in the acquisition of Delphi’s global steering business, certain domestic facilities and other related payments

The form also confirms that GM spent about $417M on GM-Daewoo’s recent rights offering, but notes:

GM has not finalized the accounting treatment for the participation in GM Daewoo’s equity rights offering.

If you’re familiar with Delphi—a former GM division with the words “bankrupt since October 10, 2005” over the door—then you’ll know that they’re a not-so-hidden cancer on GM cancerous corpse. Even as The General seeks to survive with a federal IV stuck in its metaphorical artery, it continues to peel off just enough cash—now your cash—to keep the parts maker making parts. For vehicles no one’s buying; but that’s how the industry doesn’t roll these days. So, some bad news from the oracle then. First, GM’s told their pals at the SEC (accounting scandal forgotten) that they’re accelerating a $50m payment to Delphi. [NB: Delphi had asked GM for a $100m hurry-up.] Can you say running on fumes? Delphi can. ”The Company believes the amendment and accelerated GM support will enable it to preserve available liquidity given the difficult economic environment, particularly in the global automotive industry,” Delphi said in a filing with their pals over at the federal bankruptcy court. Judge Robert Drain, no less. And the cutbacks keep on happening!

The Detroit News reports that both of Delphi’s remaining U.S.-based white collar workers are about—or in DetN-speak “may”—lose their health care benefits. Just joking. Some 10k workers face this grim prospect. As Warren Zevon says, it ain’t that funny at all. [Speaking of "shared sacrifice," Delphi's UAW workers are exempt from this one.] Here’s the skinny.

Troy-based Delphi Corp. sought permission Wednesday from a federal bankruptcy court in New York to cancel retiree health benefits for current and future salaried retirees, a move that it says would save the company $200 million from 2009 through 2011.

The auto parts supplier also sought to end post-retirement basic life insurance benefits for current and future retirees.

The moves would allow Delphi to reduce its balance sheet liabilities by $1.1 billion. About 15,000 salaried retirees with medical and insurance benefits would lose coverage. The company wants to end coverage “as soon as (it is able) after March 31.”

Can they do that? They can do that. We’ve got several insiders within Delphi. It’s bleak. Unless the company gets a turn at the multi-billion dollar federal bailout buffet, Chapter 7 is only a matter of time, and not much of it.

And yes, Delphi still makes enough parts for GM to stop GM making cars if they stop making them. Which doesn’t seem quite as terminal as before, what with Uncle Sugar keeping the cash flowing. Until and unless your legislators pull the plug on GM. And then the whole house of cards will come crashing down.