LTV Steel's bankruptcy plan could endanger pension and health benefits of 1,500 retirees in Hoyt Lakes, Minn., and 1,400 workers laid off when LTV closed its taconite plant on the Iron Range in January.

Citing competition from subsidized foreign steel imports to the United States and non-union domestic minimills, LTV Steel wants to break its contract with the United Steelworkers of America and raise health care costs for retirees. A court hearing on LTV's request to kill its contract could occur as early as June 25.

'We were engaged in very constructive negotiations about an extremely innovative plan, with real commitments by our members, that would put LTV back on its feet, when the company destroyed the bargaining process by abandoning the negotiations and going to (bankruptcy) court,' Steelworkers President Leo Gerard said.

LTV's decision, he noted, comes just after President George W. Bush announced an investigation of the dumped imports.

The union is engaging in talks with LTV's creditors in an effort to save jobs and preserve benefits, Gerard said.

U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., was among those raising concerns over the bankruptcy's effect on retirees and laidoff LTV workers.

'This is not the first time LTV has attempted to abrogate labor agreements as part of bankruptcy,' Wellstone recalled. The health care section of the steel rescue package USWA is sponsoring - which establishes a fund from fees on foreign steel to finance U.S. retiree benefits - was prompted by 'LTV's efforts to cancel benefits unilaterally during its first bankruptcy filing in 1986,' he said.

This article is adapted from one written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used with permission.