Pension loss less than originally thought

United Steelworkers local 1005 met tonight to discuss their future. The main topic was pensions and what would happen if the company goes out of business. Workers were told they’ll lose a percentage of their pensions but not as much as initially thought.

Rolf Gerstenberger is President of United Steelworkers Local 1005: “The old number was that they’d lose 40 percent of their money. Now they could in a worst case scenario, lose 27 percent. So obviously that’s good news .”

“I found out that instead of losing 40 percent, we’re only going to lose 27 percent and I’m supposed to feel good about that? I’m very disappointed that the union has caved in.”

“It’s still a fair chunk of money for someone that’s retired and counting on that money to support the lifestyle.”

“We’re going to have to fight for everything we get like usual.”

The former Stelco pension plans is still under-funded by about $1.5 billion.