USW Reaches Settlement with FreightCar America
Source: USW
Pittsburgh – The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania yesterday approved a settlement reached between the United Steelworkers (USW) and FreightCar America, LLC over the company’s unlawful termination of retiree medical and life insurance benefits.
The company had promised to provide lifetime benefits to its retirees. On the eve of trial scheduled in Johnstown, Pa., the company agreed to contribute more than $31 million to a fund to provide ongoing contributions toward insurance benefits.
The fund will make benefits available for approximately 650 pre-Medicare and Medicare-eligible retirees and their dependents and is estimated to last for approximately 18 years into the future.
The court addressed the request of some retirees that the fund be distributed as a tax free cash payment instead of in the form of health insurance, and found that a lump sum remedy would not be in the best interest of the class as a whole because it would not include the health insurance benefit which is needed by many retirees. The court also found that any cash payment would be significantly reduced by required tax withholding. The court found that the fund would save a pre-Medicare couple approximately $750 per month and that coverage for Medicare-eligible retirees would carry a “very affordable” premium, as low as $43 per month.
FULL story at link
Read more: http://www.usw.org/news/media-center/releases/2016/usw-reaches-settlement-with-freightcar-america
This is why you join a union!
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K&R..................................
YES, some good news on what UNIONS have always done for its workers--------------------protect them from blatant greed
Now lets watch and do something before, what this right wing majority U.S. Supreme Court, does to the public teachers out in California and the rest of the country when they do there snake dance of kabuki and try to make this country a right to work for less country.
Because Roberts is going to let the biggest anti-union worker justice, Alito write the majority opinion in that case------------------------------------
Honk--------------------for a political revolution
Democracy begins with you----------------------tag your it ---------------Sanders to Thom Hartmann and to all of us
It is about getting a Progressive U.S. Supreme Court, President, Congress, and State Local Legislature
Bernie 2016
