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UAW Burwood Retirees Receive $220,000 in Payments

25 January 1999

UAW Burwood Retirees Receive $220,000 in Payments from Burwood Bankruptcy

    TRAVERSE CITY, Mich., Jan. 22 -- UAW Region 1-D Director
George Andros announced that 34 retirees of the defunct Burwood Products
facility in Traverse City, Michigan have received $220,000 in payments as a
result of UAW's pursuit of claims resulting from the liquidation of the
Company's assets.
    Burwood, which has been in bankruptcy proceedings and was unable to
continue in business, distributed its remaining assets to creditors under the
bankruptcy laws.  When the asset distribution was first proposed to the
federal Bankruptcy Court in Traverse City, no moneys were set aside for
distribution to the 34 retirees, who had retired from Burwood's operations
prior to November 1988, at a time when Burwood was providing post-retirement
health insurance to its workers.
    The UAW -- which received notice of the proposed distribution -- filed
papers with the Bankruptcy Court opposing the failure to distribute any
asset proceeds to the Company's pre-November 1988 retirees.  The $220,000
distribution was agreed to by the UAW and Burwood in settlement of UAW's
objections.  Payouts to the 34 Burwood retirees ranged from $4,000 to more
than $10,000 each.