U.S. Acts to Take Over Faltering Pilots' Pension Plan at United

[Rose Siding]

The government moved in federal court today to take over United Airlines' pension fund for its pilots, saying the unusual step was needed to keep the airline and the pilots' union from abusing the federal pension-insurance program by achieving maximum coverage for the pilots while causing the government's losses "to increase unreasonably."

In a complaint filed in United States District Court in Chicago, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation asked the court to terminate the plan "as soon as practicable, but in no event later than Dec. 31, 2004."

United and its pilots had hoped to keep the plan going until May, then terminate it. But the pension agency said in a separate statement that such a delay would cost it an additional $140 million and divert resources that United might better use to keep its other employees' pension plans afloat.

The federal agency's legal action today has no effect on those other pension plans.

Virtually all companies that default on their pension obligations are bankrupt, and in most cases they relinquish their insolvent plans willingly. But in some cases, the companies join ranks with the affected unions and put up bitter fights in court. United said in a statement today that it was studying its legal options. Earlier this month, it reached an agreement with the pilots' union in which it promised to oppose any effort to terminate the pension plan ahead of its preferred schedule.

http://nytimes.com/2004/12/30/business/30cnd-pension.html?hp&ex=1104469200&en=4d051dd69015ebd7&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[Demit]

1. I'll bet United executives protected their pensions before sticking it to

the workers. Corporate scum.

[gratuitous]

2. And you know United isn't the only one!

Apparently, quite a number of companies changed their pension funding rules or simply looted the pension funds for executive compensation, and they're expecting the U.S. taxpayers to pick up the missing funding.

Considering the blatant robber baron action going on here, the number of people affected, the amount of money involved, I wonder why there isn't nearly the hue and cry about a few greedheads enriching themselves at the expense of retired workers that there is over the medical malpractice insurance premium "crisis."

I'm so old, I remember a time when the government served the needs of actual persons, not the paper persons of corporations.