Corporate activism did not come easily to Bill Syverson. Cheering and applauding wildly, they quickly drafted Syverson, a captain in the Naval Reserves and a natural leader among those who work at I.B.M.'s plant in nearby Essex Junction, in northwestern Vermont, to form a committee to fight the pension changes.
People are so afraid.
In fact, the backlash has prompted scrutiny from lawmakers and Government agencies. The realization of what is happening has been slow and painful for many workers. Instead of disclosing plainly that pensions were being changed in a way that meant benefit reductions for certain workers, some companies told workers the changes were not that important, or were even good for them. But as employees sat down and worked out the numbers, and traded information at coffee breaks and over the Internet, many found instead that hopes for a comfortable retirement were dashed. Traditional pensions, which rewarded long tenure, are being eliminated at many companies.