USW Announces One-Time Benefit for ArcelorMittal VEBA Participants
11/30/2007 - The Mittal Steel USA Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) will pay out a one-time benefit to cover the equivalent of up to 12 months of Medicare Part B premiums for some 53,000 retirees and surviving spouses that lost healthcare coverage in the bankruptcies of Bethlehem Steel, LTV, Acme Metals, and Georgetown Steel.
Some 53,000 retirees and surviving spouses who lost health care coverage in the bankruptcies of Bethlehem Steel, LTV, Acme Metals and Georgetown Steel will get some extra financial help with their Medicare Part B premiums from an innovative trust fund bargained by the United Steelworkers (USW).
The one-time benefit is being paid for from a benefit trust fund, known as the Mittal Steel USA Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA). The VEBA trust was established in 2002 through negotiations between the United Steelworkers and International Steel Group (ISG), which has since been acquired by ArcelorMittal USA (formerly Mittal Steel USA).
The VEBA is funded by contributions from ArcelorMittal, based on company profits and steel tonnage. Benefits are jointly determined by the USW and ArcelorMittal, depending on funds available in the trust and the needs of eligible retirees.
About 20,000 of the affected retirees live in Pennsylvania; 7600 in Ohio; 5900 in Maryland; 4700 in New York; 3600 in Indiana; 1600 in Illinois; 1100 in Minnesota; and fewer than 5000 elsewhere in the United States. The vast majority of these retirees still live near their former employers.
According to Thomas Duzak, Director of Pension and Benefits for the USW, checks will be mailed to USW-represented retirees and spouses from the four steel companies during the first week of December.
The checks will reimburse eligible individuals for up to twelve months of Medicare Part B premiums paid during 2007. A single retiree will receive up to $720 and couples $1,440. Part B premiums were typically $93.50 a month for Medicare beneficiaries. The VEBA benefit amount was increased from $25 per month, as originally announced to retirees, to $60 per month.
The VEBA also provides prescription drug benefits that have been certified to exceed the value of drug benefits available through the Medicare Part D program for approximately 23,000 retirees and spouses. Previously, the union announced that the maximum annual prescription drug benefit for brand name drugs will increase in 2008 from $6,000 to $9,000 per individual.
