Other articles by Jack Gillum:

Complaint against airline escalatesAirport marks high point: 'TUCSON' tower turns 50TIA to celebrate tower's 50thLocal, state bankruptcies are surgingIf pro-lender proposition fails, 100+ empty stores could dot Tucson areaProp 200 defeat would leave buildings empty across TucsonTucson can expect to see credit get even tighterMagnus had role in WaMu's fall$700B bailout plan meets skepticism among TucsonansTucson maker of gene-testing plates makes solid gains locally

General
A1 Communications
Cable Techs Health Care
Sierra Tucson
Eating Disorders Program Coordinator Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION

In a decision that a union group says may set an important legal precedent, a federal judge has ruled that Raytheon Missile Systems must restore health-care benefits to its employees who took early retirement.

The ruling, in U.S. District Court for Arizona, was called on Thursday a "major victory for Raytheon retirees" by the International Association of Machinists Local 933, the AFL-CIO-affiliated union that represents Raytheon's hourly employees.

The decision effectively restores about 1,000 retirees' and dependents' health-care benefits to levels before July 1, 2004, an attorney for the union retirees said. It requires the company to compensate the class members for premiums they paid since then — which the plaintiffs' attorney estimated were between $6 million and $12 million.

In January 2006, four union members — Mark Argraves, Ronald Geuder, Clare L'Armee and David Lillie — filed suit on behalf of the chapter's early retirees. They said Raytheon had begun charging retirees and their immediate families for medical coverage that they said was negotiated before 2003.

"This is a great victory for our retirees," James Watson, the union's local directing business representative, said in a prepared statement. "They deserve the benefits they fought for during their years with the company, and a dignified retirement without the worry of skyrocketing medical premiums on a fixed income."

In a statement, Missile Systems' parent, Raytheon Co. of Waltham, Mass., said, "We are assessing the decision and our response." A spokesman could not say if the company planned to appeal.

At issue in the lawsuit was whether Raytheon could decide to cut benefits to its employees between the time they retired early and the standard retirement age of 65. In granting summary judgment for the workers on Monday, U.S. District Judge David C. Bury said the collective-bargaining agreements established between 1990 and 1999 "unambiguously provide vested medical benefits for retirees until age 65 at no cost."

Health benefits and retiree medical benefits have been a recurring issue in contract talks between Raytheon and the union.

Robert M. Gregory, the union members' attorney, said many workers had retired at age 55 as an incentive, "and so many did retire on that premise. And then, all of a sudden, you have to pay your own way." Both Gregory and a regional union representative said the ruling establishes a legal precedent that could affect similar cases.

The local union has about 1,700 members and is one of the biggest industrial unions in the state.

Raytheon is Southern Arizona's largest employer, with about 12,500 full-time-equivalent employees at the end of 2007, according to the Star 200 survey of major employers.