Kodak moves to end health coverage for retirees 65 and older

[mike_c]

12. Kodak had the right to NOT make the promise...

...back when those retirees were still working. I'm a union officer, and I can tell you that my union doesn't simply leave it to trust that health care benefits will be there for retirees when they need them-- we negotiate continued access to affordable insurance for our retirees. There's nothing wrong with having choices.

The issue for me is that Kodak signed those contracts. It owes those retirees those benefits no less than it owes its creditors and its current employees. It can ASK them to help the company out, but it shouldn't be able to deny them benefits that Kodak agreed to under their labor contracts. As I said down thread, if a company cannot meet it's obligations to retirees, then the company assets should be handed over to the retirees until they are made whole.

Furthermore, if Kodak is having trouble paying those benefits because they did not properly fund their retirement programs, the fault is entirely their own. The retirees are blameless.