Published: March 17, 2008 11:19 pm            

Judge rules retired J.I. Case workers must get benefits

Ruling affects about 3,500 retirees, spouses

TERRE HAUTE — Former employees of J.I. Case in Terre Haute have something to cheer about.

A federal judge in Michigan ruled that Case must provide full health care coverage for retired J.I. Case workers for the rest of those workers’ lives.

The judge also ruled the company must reimburse retirees or their surviving spouses for any medical expenses incurred while the company was not paying 100 percent coverage.

“It was the best of all possible worlds,” said Roger McClow, attorney for the retired workers. “They worked to earn this.”

About 3,500 retired J.I. Case employees and surviving spouses of retirees are covered by the judge’s ruling, said union officials representing the former Case workers.

Early this month, Judge Patrick J. Duggan ruled that J.I. Case, now operating as CNH and El Paso Tennessee Pipeline Company, violated the plain language of its agreement with former employees.

That agreement, negotiated by Case and the United Auto Workers Union, promised retirees the company would cover all of their health care costs for the rest of their lives.

“I said all along that we were not going to lose,” said Bill Jones, a J.I. Case retiree and chairman of Chapter 689 of the UAW. Jones said the company’s agreement with the union was clear and had been spelled out in writing several times. “[Case] had an uphill battle all the way,” he said.

Lawyers for Case could not be reached late Monday evening.

Duggan ruled that one party to an agreement cannot change the agreement even if costs are higher than expected, said John Setty, recording secretary for the local union. The judge also ruled that there was no material reason to believe the agreement between Case and the former workers should not be honored.

In 2002, Case required retirees to pay monthly premiums of $290 to continue to receive health care coverage. Those premiums gradually increased to $561 per month by 2004. Judge Duggan, however, issued an injunction in March 2004, putting an end to the premium payments.

Some former J.I. Case employees or their surviving spouses will be receiving as much as $10,000 in reimbursements, union officials said. Most of the retirees from the company, which closed its doors in Terre Haute in 1987, are 60 or older, they said.

Only workers who retired before July 1, 1994 are covered by the judge’s ruling, McClow said. A different lawsuit concerning people who retired after July 1, 1994 is currently before the courts, he noted.

J.I. Case manufactured heavy construction equipment at its Terre Haute plant. The judge’s ruling also applies to retirees from other J.I. Case facilities, Jones said.

Any retiree or surviving spouse who left the company’s medical plan because of the premiums will be reimbursed for any medical expenses they incurred, union officials said. Those who paid the required premiums will also be reimbursed, they said.

Officials representing retired Case employees are optimistic that this latest ruling will be the final act in this long-running battle. However, Case may still appeal this decision, McClow noted.

“We have the judge’s ruling and hopefully it stands and we can move forward,” Jones told a gathering of around 40 retired J.I. Case workers or their surviving spouses at the Vigo County Public Library Monday night.

“They fought us all the way, but the judge said this was it,” Setty said.

Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.

        

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