United Steelworkers (USW) retirees and their union have filed a class-action lawsuit against Continental Tire North America Inc. (CTNA) in an attempt to “force the tire maker to uphold its obligations to thousands of retirees, spouses and surviving spouses to provide retiree medical benefits throughout retirement.”
The lawsuit was filed December 13, 2006 in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Western Division.
The retirees allege CTNA breached agreements promising lifetime insurance coverage by announcing that effective on various dates in 2007 it will shift a large part of the cost of retiree medical coverage from the company to the retirees and surviving spouses. The union says CTNA’s violation of those agreements is actionable under the Labor Management Relations Act (“LMRA) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”).
The retirees claim the rights to receive retiree medical benefits were earned and vested over decades of service at the tire and rubber facilities of CTNA. Rights to retirement benefits were created through collective bargaining between CTNA and the union that had represented the retirees while they were employed. According to the union, virtually the same language from these agreements promised lifetime retiree medical benefits for retirees and spouses at CTNA facilities, such as plants in