Ex-Amweld workers shocked by benefit cuts
Say premiums still being deducted from pensionBy LARRY RINGLER / Tribune Chronicle
Article Photos
Ray and Teresa Wilson sat at a table in their North Jackson home Wednesday, shuffling through medical bills that told a grim story: $4,000 for three months worth of shots for the Embrel that Teresa needs for her rheumatoid arthritis but for which Ray's former employer, defunct Amweld Building Products in Niles, no longer is paying.
''I can't function without this medicine,'' said Teresa, who said she also is taking medicine for her kidneys that are operating at 50 percent.
In addition, retirees say health insurance premiums of as much as $770 have been deducted as usual this year from their monthly pension checks, even after their coverage ended without their knowledge on Jan. 1.
The cancellation, which occurred even though they got new insurance cards last week, leaves them with medical and drug bills they thought were paid - and the challenge of finding an insurer that will take on people with pre-existing conditions.
''My main concern is insurance for my wife. She has pre-existing conditions that aren't life-threatening now but which could turn into something,'' said Lordstown resident Sam Glunt, 64, who himself has had cancer twice and had a heart attack last year that involved removing his spleen.
If that weren't bad enough, retirees say Aetna, which paid bills for January and February, now is seeking repayment of those costs from them.
''Aetna wants money for (prescriptions and other expenses) that I already paid for,'' said Jon Powell, 61, a Howland resident who said his $770 premium takes more than half of his monthly pension check. ''I said send my (premium) money back. They said they don't have it. You pay twice, and you get nothing.''
Howland's Tom Coe, who worked 41 years at Amweld and who will be 63 in two weeks, said he received a statement from Aetna seeking about $77 in repayments.
He said when he told the Aetna employee that he'd paid his premium and had a valid insurance card, he was told Amweld International called Aetna on Feb. 26 and canceled the coverage, retroactive to Jan. 1.
''Everything we did they say isn't covered,'' Coe said, adding the Aetna employee told him it was the company's responsibility, not Aetna's, to inform the retirees of the change.
The retirees say they spent decades at Amweld, a company that made steel doors and frames at plants in Niles and Garrettsville before closing them in October 2007 and moving the work to lower-wage Mexico.
A new company, Amweld International LLC, announced Jan. 12 it had bought the assets of Amweld Building Products parent, Ark II Manufacturing LLC, following a Jan. 10 foreclosure and auction.
Amweld International, which retirees say is controlled by Lynn Tilton, founder and chief executive officer of $6-plus billion private equity fund Patriarch Partners, lists an Ohio billing office in North Jackson. Employees at the office said the company have nothing to do with Amweld Building Products or any retiree health care issues.
A telephone message left at the company's corporate distribution center in Coppell, Texas, wasn't returned Wednesday.
The company also lists a plant in Monterrey, Mexico, and the Firedoor plant in Miami, Fla.
Powell said he received a letter from Aetna March 2 stating the health coverage was canceled. Premiums have continued to be deducted from his and other retirees' pension checks, which are sent by banking company Wachovia.
Bob Kovach of Weathersfield said he didn't realize that an insurance premium of $317 - roughly half of his pension - still was deducted from his check because the money is deposited directly into his bank account.
Kovach said he recently spent three days in intensive care - a bill he said Humility of Mary St. Joseph is helping him with - but he's passing on a surgeon's visit for a staph infection, along with other doctors' visits.
He said he's also found out he's diabetic and has high blood pressure. In all, he said he takes 11 different medications.
Retirees suspect Amweld is keeping the money because, as Powell noted, ''Wachovia doesn't have it, and Aetna said it doesn't have it, so logically Amweld has it.''
Retirees are seeking help from U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Niles, and the United Steelworkers. Ryan spokesman Pat Lowry and Steelworkers attorney Mel Stein said they've contacted the U.S. Department of Labor and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., which insures pension funds, to get answers.
Lowry said the fear is the retirees' pensions eventually may become an issue.
''Obviously, the congressman is concerned,'' Lowry said. ''The fear is this is going to end up like some other companies where retirees lose pensions and health care. We'll try to work hard to prevent that.''
Stein said the pensions are vested and the money should be in a trust of some sort. But he noted the plan's former administrator was fired, leaving no information on who is responsible for the pension plan.
''They seem to be thinking they can walk away,'' he said, adding, ''We hope the money is there, and if not, we hope someone goes to jail, but who knows?''
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jonathon
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03-13-09 10:11 AM
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Until we start bringing manufacturing back to this country this trend will continue. When NAFTA was passed by Clinton the alarm bells were ringing loudly but our government didn't seem to hear them. You CANNOT have free trade with any country that has a wage scale 10 to 20% of what the US has. We have to start protecting our borders, my God,China does.
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LaidOffDrone
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03-13-09 1:27 AM
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Look at that picture, lol. Look at those stupid hillbillies sittin' there mulling over their bills...scratching their heads saying: "damm, what went wrong, this is the greatest country on earth...we're americans...we vote in every election...we worked hard all our lives...this shouldn't happen"...etc., etc., lol.
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UneducatedDrone
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03-12-09 3:11 PM
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Purchasing a new $5000 suit, why?
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reader
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03-12-09 1:44 PM
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Where is the Attorney General in all of this?
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GMRetireeSuckingItDry
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03-12-09 12:30 PM
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11 different medications, no wonder the company is cancelling their insurance, lol. Heck, even I don't take that many...I only take 8.
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autoworker
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03-12-09 10:23 AM
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my dad is also retired from there. he dropped their insurance and went on my moms gm insurance. the premimus were half of his pension so he didnt want them.
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pahootaman
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03-12-09 8:55 AM
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enufalready, why does the government need to pick up the tab for what a corporation should be doing? That's like if a teenager broke the driver side window out of my car and I come to you to replace it. You would say "Heck no, why am I involved in this, let the teen punk pay for it". What the Wilsons need to do is lawyer up and file suit against Amweld Int.
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OutsideTheBox
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03-12-09 7:05 AM
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that would be amweld dot com.
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OutsideTheBox
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03-12-09 7:05 AM
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Here's a good question - If the employees at Amerld International say they have nothing to do with Amweld, go to amweld****, and explain why, on the bottom of the page, it says "Amweld Building Products is a division of Amweld International, LLC" Oh, and they company they wouldn't let in to the auction, was Amweld's biggest competitor - Mesker Door. Lynn Tilton has hailed on Corporate Wall Street as a woman who makes great money is is a strong business person - She makes her money on the lives of the working class. She's a monster.
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reader
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03-12-09 6:42 AM
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First, I am sorry for this happening to you and others. Thre is a state program called Ohio Passport for senior citizens that will provide assistance, especially for medications. It is offered by the state of Ohio. There are qualifications to meet. If you meet those qualifications, you might be able to have those meds picked up. Check the state of Ohio website or call the office of elderly affairs at 330 675 2 4 8 6. They might be able to point you in the right direction. Also check with your doctor. The RA Association also provides assistance for RA medications. Again there probably are qualifications to meet.
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OutsideTheBox
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03-12-09 6:41 AM
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Lynn Tilton is the owner of Patriarch Holdings. Patriarch owns Ark II Manufacturing, which owned Amweld. When Tilton closed down Amweld, she held a "public" auction in Texas to auction off Amweld's assets. The company allowed no one inside, and bidded on its own assets under the name of Amweld International for pennies on the dollar. Tilton then wrote off the losses to the tune of around $85 million. Then, to make more money, Tilton cancelled, retroactively, health benefits for all of the retirees. There were no notices sent out (which is why she got away with the retroactive part and no one knew until now). This is how Tilton makes money - Patriarch buys companies, disassembles them, and then sells the assets. My dad used to work for Amweld, and I feel terrible for all the retirees going through this. People like Tilton should be deported, and their assets frozen and liquidated to take care of the people they trampled on.
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OldManGrump2
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03-12-09 6:40 AM
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This is just plain wrong !!!! Something smells like crap and it's Amweld International LLC. I hope they contact the Ohio Attorney General and file their complaints. Jail would be too good for the owners of Amweld International LLC. How can you retoractively cancel health insurance back to January 1st? Let the lawsuits begin.
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enufalready
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03-12-09 6:09 AM
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Since all these FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS took effect, american companies have rushed to all these low wage countries,,thus hammering american workers,,and retirees. Sadly, this is a consequence of bad trade policies. Government needs to start taking care of the american worker and the retirees who worked so long and so hard for these companies.
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XANADU440
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03-12-09 5:03 AM
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This is digusting to see happen , what are they expected to do? IT`S NOT RIGHT !!!
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