----- Original Message -----
From: "Roland Sheppard" <Rolandgarret@AOL.COM>
To: <LABOR-L@YORKU.CA>
Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 1:40 PM
Subject: [LABOR-L] FYI: Billionaire Suing Socialist Newspaper!
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In the 80s and 90s, the Democratic Party made bankruptcy law "reforms" that
made it legal for companies to rob the pension funds by using "accounting
methods" to transfer investments and declaring bankruptcy to rob the workers
of
their pensions and their wages. These bankruptcy law "reforms" gave
coporations
(Modern Day Robber Barons) the license to steal!
http://www.axisoflogic.com/cgi-bin/exec/view.pl?archive=144&num=22067
From AxisofLogic.com
WORKERS & LABOR
Rennert Suing Workers World! Pension issue pits billionaire vs. socialist
newspaper.
By Deirdre Griswold
May 25, 2006, 13:59
The Renco Group, owned by multi-billionaire Ira Rennert, is moving ahead
with
a defamation lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court against Workers
World newspaper and Workers World Party.
The legal action is based on an article about the plight of workers at a
steel plant in Warren, Ohio ("WCI Steel bankruptcy robs workers’ pensions"),
which
appeared in WW's print edition dated Feb. 23, 2006, and also on the Internet
at www.workers.org.
At the time the article was written, Renco owned WCI Steel but had filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The bankruptcy court still had to rule on a
reorganization plan Renco had submitted earlier. Renco was also trying to
fight off a
takeover bid by a group of noteholders who had loaned hundreds of millions
of
dollars to the steel company.
According to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp., a quasi-governmental
agency
tasked with protecting workers' pensions, the pension fund under Renco's
control was $117 million short of what was needed to fulfill the company’s
obligations to the workers.
A release from the PBGC Public Affairs department, dated March 30, explained
that "Under the proposed plan of reorganization filed in federal bankruptcy
court, the pension plan would have been left behind by the reorganizing
steelmaker."
Ira Rennert had made news headlines early in February when the PBGC went to
court asking that it be appointed as the pension plan’s trustee and be
authorized to terminate the plan. According to a New York Times article
("Pension
Battle May Entangle Mogul's Home," Feb. 3) the PBGC appeared "poised to lay
claim
to Mr. Rennert's 29-bedroom oceanfront estate, along with other assets, to
make sure he delivers on hundreds of millions of dollars in pensions
promised to
a group of steelworkers in Ohio."
Rennert's Long Island mansion alone, described by Wikipedia as the largest
home in the U.S., was worth more than the fund’s shortfall. With 29
bedrooms, 39
bathrooms and a 200-car parking garage, it was valued at $185 million.
Just to rent a house for the summer in the exclusive Hamptons area where
Rennert built his mansion can cost more than $600,000. (Bloomberg.com, May
10)
Talk about a David versus Goliath struggle! This modern-day robber baron has
hired a powerful Wall Street law firm, Arnold & Porter, to haul into court a
socialist newspaper that depends on volunteer labor and many small
contributions to reach its audience, primarily in the progressive and
working class
movements.
They are basing their argument on a very narrow definition of the article's
use of the word "rob." They define robbery as "forcible stealing"
accompanied
by the use of or imminent threat of physical force. This is the legal basis
for
Rennert's charge that the article was "malicious, false and defamatory."
The Workers World article did not state that Renco had committed any
criminal
act, let alone conjure up the ludicrous image of a multi-billionaire, armed
with a pistol or a knife, waylaying workers in order to relieve them of
their
wallets. It put the loss of pensions facing the WCI Steel workers in the
context of the broad anti-labor assault by big business in the recent
period.
Declaring bankruptcy has become a tactic of choice by the super-rich and
their executives. Bankruptcy laws allow them to rip up union contracts and
shed
contractual obligations they agreed to long ago. This trend threatens
millions
of workers with severe poverty and/or lack of adequate health care in their
old
age, even after a lifetime of hard and often dangerous work.
Workers in many industries are holding their breath these days. As the WW
article pointed out, "This is an episode in a bigger story about the
widespread
campaign of corporations like United Air Lines, Delphi Automotive Systems
and
Bethlehem Steel to use bankruptcy to steal workers’ pensions."
Evidently, the WW article came at a very crucial moment for the steel
workers.
At the end of March, the struggle over control of WCI Steel was resolved in
an agreement between the noteholders and Renco, in which Renco relinquished
its
ownership of the company and—faced with the PBGC lawsuit—committed to adding
the money necessary to secure the existing pension fund. The PBGC claims
credit for this deal, arrived at in bankruptcy court, and has withdrawn its
suit
against Renco. It said in its press release of March 30, "Because the PBGC
acted ... Renco remained responsible for WCI’s pension obligations."
This was not just altruism on the part of the PBGC, which itself is
overextended by billions of dollars. If Renco’s original reorganization plan
had been
confirmed by the court, the PBGC under law would have had to come up with
most
of the $117 million missing from WCI Steel’s pension fund.
The workers involved, who are organized into the United Steel Workers, have
now voted for a contract, although considerable opposition was expressed to
cuts in workforce and benefits demanded by the new owners.
Is this the end of the matter? Will the retirees really get the pensions
owed
to them? We shall see.
In the meantime, Renco's suit against this newspaper is proceeding.
He has taken legal action against progressives before.
In 1998, he initiated a lawsuit for trespassing and secured a restraining
order against filmmaker Michael Moore, who had gone to Rennert's home and
office
to present him with a "Man of the Year" award for being a top toxic
polluter.
It was later reported that "The EPA ranks the group of companies controlled
by
Renco as the nation’s 10th-largest polluter." (Business Week, Feb. 17, 2003)
The lawsuit was eventually dropped and the restraint lifted.
Rennert also is the major owner of AM General Corp., which makes the
gas-guzzling, polluting Hummer for General Motors.
Billionaires like Rennert may not always win in court, but they know that
forcing their opponents to mount a defense in a defamation case can cost
them a
great deal of money, regardless of the outcome. Fortunately, Workers World
will
be defended pro bono by attorneys—from the respected firm of Davis Wright
Tremaine—who specialize in media and First Amendment law. While this
relieves WW
of having to pay lawyers' fees, the newspaper and party will still be
responsible for court costs, which can add up.
More importantly, WW intends to carry out a vigorous political offensive
around the issues in this case, both in court and in the media, continuing
to
speak out on the monumental rip-off of workers' pensions that began with
corporate
restructuring and continues unabated. Contributions to Workers World/Pension
Defense Project, care of this newspaper, are welcomed and will put even
greater muscle into this campaign.
Stay tuned.
http://www.workers.org/2006/us/lawsuit-0601/
Editor's Note: We are encouraging Axis of Logic readers to support Workers
World by making a contribution to their organization to help offset the
court
costs as they defend themselves against this vulgar lawsuit. We thank
Workers
World for their courageous stand on behalf of workers everywhere and thanks
to
Deidre Griswald for this enlightening report. - Les Blough, Editor
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