Lawsuit challenges NewPage plan to cut retiree benefits

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20091229/APC0101/912290454/1003/APC01

By Nathaniel Shuda

WISCONSIN RAPIDS — A Grand Rapids resident and a national labor union are among those who filed a lawsuit against Wisconsin Rapids' largest employer for its plan to cut retiree health benefits.

Bill Clendenning, a retired employee of what is now the NewPage paper mill in Wisconsin Rapids, is one of three former Wisconsin and Michigan mill employees who filed a class-action lawsuit Thursday in federal court.

The civil complaint states a recent decision by the Miamisburg, Ohio-based papermaker to phase out the subsidies it pays for retiree health insurance premiums violates both previous union contracts and federal benefits laws.

The 13-page document also lists United Steelworkers of America as a plaintiff in the case, while NewPage and 20 yet-to-be-identified company officials who contributed to the decision are listed as defendants.

After reading about the issue last week, USW officials decided to file the lawsuit, said Stephen Pincus, an attorney at Pittsburgh-based Stember Feinstein Doyle & Payne, which represents the union.

NewPage spokeswoman Amber Garwood said the company does not comment on pending litigation, and she would not disclose how many people the planned changes would affect.

FULL story at link.

[jtrockville]

1. My great-uncle (GM retiree) just lost his health insurance.

He suffered a stroke in the last week of 2009. It's a real mess.

Who was it that said: "if you like what you have you can keep it"?

[dcsmart]

2. great post