A settlement between PPG and retirees from 13 of its facilities, including those from Springdale, Creighton, Ford City and Greensburg will mean an additional $7.65 million in medical benefits and continued health care coverage.
A group of retirees filed suit against PPG in 2005 on behalf of past, current and future members of five labor unions, alleging that the Pittsburgh-based coatings company began shifting medical costs onto its retirees beginning in 2001. It further alleged that the company violated a series of collective bargaining agreements in 2017 by eliminating its company-funded health plan, replacing it with a subsidized reimbursement program.
The settlement, filed Thursday in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, is still awaiting preliminary approval by the U.S. District Court in Ohio’s Southern District.
It provides future medical benefits through the end of 2025 to retirees who were not covered by an earlier 2015 settlement with the Axiall Corp. and Georgia Gulf Corp.
A lump-sum payment of $7.65 million will be distributed to all members of the class-action settlement, including those benefiting from the 2015 settlement, through health reimbursement accounts.
According to estimates included in the proposed settlement, each retiree from the region’s plants should receive about $1,000.
Of the local plants included in the settlement, only the coatings plant in Springdale remains open.
PPG officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick at 724-850-2862, pvarine@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MurrysvilleStar.
