A decision by Century Aluminum to cut benefits to older retirees of its Jackson County plant is being contested in court.

Century recently announced it would eliminate medical benefits to retirees who qualify for Medicare as of Jan. 1. American Metal Market is reporting the company filed a request for declaratory relief in U.S. District Court for Southern West Virginia in an attempt to seek a legal judgment as to whether its decision to modify and in some cases terminate retiree benefits is valid.

Attorneys and representatives of the United Steelworkers of America have scheduled a special meeting at 5 p.m. Nov. 19 at Ravenswood High School to explain how the union plans to challenge Century’s decision.

“Retiree health care is a promised benefit, negotiated through decades in lieu of wages, and covers retirees at little or no cost,” said USWA District 8 Director Ernest “Billy” Thompson. “Most of these people are on fixed income. Our union has always strived for our retirees to maintain a decent standard of living. We are not going to stand by and let the company get away with this.”

Century spokesman Mike Dildine said the cost-cutting measure can be attributed to the current economic crisis. “While Century of West Virginia has no influence over commodity aluminum prices, the company can and must work to make its cost structure more competitive in the global marketplace,” he stated. “The immediate challenges at Ravenswood are to obtain an affordable long-term power contract and also bring labor costs more in line with industry trends and averages.

“Our overriding priority is to reduce our ongoing curtailment costs to the point where we can maintain the opportunity of ultimately restarting the facility,” Dildine added. “We can only support our West Virginia constituents if we do everything possible to keep our facilities competitive and viable.”

The Ravenswood plant has been idle since February.