Breach of Contract

[JoeDB]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Louisiana
The bottom line is the company and the union negotiated a pension contract and one of the options is Special Early Retirement. This is for employees with disabilities. When I called the Company Service Center about this plan, Special Early Retirement they assured me that I qualify for it. But after several days of communicating with them they told me "that option was not activated between the company and the union there fore I can't have that option". It's written in black and white in Two documents; the Contract Book between the Company and the Union and also in the Pension Booklet for Hourly Employees. My union and the company say there is nothing they can do about it.
Is this considered to be a Breach of Contract.
I would appreciate any advice on the matter, Thanks

 

[justalayman]

have you asked the union reps to explain why it is written wherever it is if it is not available?

 

[JoeDB]

Thanks for your response.
I'll ask them that question tomorrow. They, the union has been knowing about this for years but never mentioned it to their members. I was told by one of our officials we tried to get them, the company to take it out of the contract. Can you believe that.

 

[eerelations]

Maybe its the union that put it in and can't live up to it.

I worked for a company recently on the management side where the union had insisted it wanted an employee-funded benefits plan to be described in the contract, so since it didn't costs management anything, we agreed. The union took its members' money as benefits premiums for years but never ever started a benefits plan...we in management tried and tried to get the union to fix this but to no avail...we even told the members that they were being cheated and the union then tried to sue us...there ultimately wasn't anything we could do about it, it was a matter between the union and its members and the members weren't interested in fixing it themselves.

 

[JoeDB]

I talked to my union officials after I saw that I wasn't getting anywhere with the Service Center. They told me that another union member tried to get that several years ago and he was turned down because the union couldn't get the company to clarify the requirements for Special Early Retirements. I wasn’t aware of this until now. I found out today from one of the Union Officials that the company tried to get this SER removed from the contract but they fought to keep it in.
I met with my manager and Human Resources today. HR told me that a person at a different facility with the same company has gotten this retirement package. He couldn’t tell me how they got it activated. He said there is a document somewhere that explains the criteria that you have to meet. So I am waiting for this document.
I have called a couple of Law Firms but they haven’t called me back. I have a feeling that a lawyer doesn’t want to touch this.

 

[justalayman]

if you have the money, there is always a lawyer somewhere that will take it on.


what seems odd is the union would fight to keep this in the contract when they know it is such a problem. It is also odd that the union is so ignorant of the situation.



here's an idea: who administers your pension? They would know the specifics.

 

[JoeDB]

The company has a Service Center and I believe they are the administrator but I am not sure i will ask someone that question tomorrow. We have an Ethics Board and I was thinking about contacting them. The union is not helping me at all. They said they have been down that road and it's a dead end. This is what I get for being a union paying member for 34 years.

 

[justalayman]

can I ask what union this is?

 

[JoeDB]

Thanks for responding,
It's the UAW

 

[JoeDB]

I forgot to tell you all this. The first time I brought this up to a Union Official he said that the Union wanted to have that retirement option removed from the contract because they couldn’t get the company to clarify what the requirements were. I questioned him, why would you do that? You always try to build on something not get rid of it. Now he’s saying that the Company wanted to get rid of it and the Union wouldn’t let them. It sounds like someone told him he had better watch what he was saying.
The Company has an Ethics Board. They are always wanting us to take our Ethics Training. I am thinking about going to them.

 

[ESteele]

You should QUICKLY locate an employment lawyer with experience in ERISA. The bottom line is the union and management should not be able to point fingers at each other and absolve themselves of any responsibility for an employee benefit delineated in the CBA.