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EBSA News Release: [10/12/2005]
Contact Name: David James or
Brad Mitchell
Phone Number:
(312) 353-6976
or (202) 693-4676
Release Number: 05-1061-CHI
U.S. Labor Department Obtains $700,000 Restoration To Michigan Plumbers and Pipefitters Pension Fund
CHICAGO — The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $700,000
in pension funds for the Upper Peninsula Plumbers and Pipefitters Pension
Fund in Lansing, Mich. The funds are restitution for imprudently investing
pension assets in the Aspen Bay Pulp & Fibre LLC, a company formed to
provide working capital for the proposed development of the Aspen Bay
Pulp Mill project in Menominee, Mich. The department also may assess a civil
money penalty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
“This is great news for the workers and retirees who depend upon this pension
fund,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “Seeking this order is
part of the Department's aggressive benefit protection campaign, which last
year recovered over $3 billion in retirement, 401(k), health and other programs
for workers and their families.”
The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Michigan , alleges that
trustee Jerome Hedstrom violated the ERISA when he failed to investigate
the merits of the Aspen Bay Pulp Mill investment before committing pension
assets to the project. The pension plan covered more than 800 union members
in Menominee, Marquette and Escanaba.
The Cincinnati regional office of the Labor Department's Employee Benefits
Security Administration (EBSA) investigated the case. Employers and workers
can reach the Cincinnati regional office at (859) 578-4680 or through EBSA's
toll-free number, 1-866-444-EBSA (3272), for help with problems relating
to private-sector retirement and health plans.
# # #
(Chao v. Hedstrom)
Civil Action No. 1:05-cv-523
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