(U.S. District Court) Judge says Windstream can reduce retiree benefits

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald

BY VIRGIL LARSON

Retirees of the former Lincoln Telephone and Telegraph Co. and its successor companies lost a round Tuesday in their fight to hold Windstream Corp. to providing health and other benefits they say they have coming.

U.S. District Court Judge Warren Urbom of Lincoln denied the retirees’ request for a preliminary injunction that would block Windstream’s plan to trim benefits.

The retirees now get health insurance through Blue Cross Blue Shield with premiums fully paid by Windstream, said David Domina, the retirees’ attorney. Windstream would replace that with coverage that is a combination of Medicare and a supplemental policy by United HealthCare, he said.

Windstream also wants to eliminate a death benefit that is equal to the salary a retiree got in his or her last year of work, Domina said, and take away retirees’ right to buy life insurance at a fixed rate. That means retirees wanting life insurance would have to buy it on the open market.

Read more: http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1208&u_sid=10526290

[Trillo]

1. so much for 'deferred compensation' for prior labor.

Praise 'the powers that be' that you'll still get something.

[Arctic Dave]

2. I hear stories like this from retirees. I think the companies that offered

these benefits were hoping they would die shortly after retiring and then they wouldn't have to pay anything out.

[daleo]

3. I bet the judge has a nice safe pension plan, though

It is amazing how a contract means nothing these days, at least an employment contract.

[billyoc]

4. Company managed pensions are unacceptable.

Period.

[Baby Snooks]

5. Once upon a time....

Once upon a time they were far better than anything else but then once upon a time a lot of things were far better than anything else in this country. Before greed took over.

At least Bush didn't get the one thing he wanted more than anything else which was privatization of Social Security.

Although in a way he did. Most people who have the option at this point would be better off not participating in their company retirement plans. Not that many companies even offer them.

The ones that do should be held to them. Unfortunately the courts are ruling they don't have to be held to them.

Just wait until some of the companies start filing for Chapter 11 although I suppose that is better than their filing for Chapter 7 although with Chapter 7 I think the government has to cover the retirement plans.

[billyoc]

6. No, they were never better than Union administered pensions during ANY time.

[harmonicon]

7. fuck

I don't know what to post about this - I'd rather just punch someone in the face.

[eilen]

8. United Healthcare insurance is crap.

I don't know what else to say about this except that from the start of my working life I did not trust the corporation nor the government and could not understand the "lifers" who stayed, even when they hated it and even though they were so burnt out and blatantly sucked ass at their jobs on purpose because they hated it so much. They would tell me they stayed because of their pensions.

Well, no amount of money is worth me spending my life miserable.

It really sucks for them. "Terms and conditions are subject to change" isn't just a warning on your credit card application.

When will our elected representatives stop dancing around universal healthcare?