Benefits December 4, 2002

NC Steelworkers OK 401(k)

December 4, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A group of union workers at Dave Steel Co. have left the picket lines - and accepted a contract deal that includes replacing their pension plan with a 401(k).
Reported by

Members of Shopmen’s Local 812 of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers went on strike November 22 over the company’s plan to cease contributions to a union pension plan and replace it with a 401(k) plan (see  Steelworkers Walk Out on 401(k) ).   They returned to work yesterday, according to the Asheville Citizen-Times.   

Guaranteed Preference

The 56 union members had initially expressed concerns about the risks inherent in 401(k) investments, saying they preferred the security of a guaranteed pension.  

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According to the Citizen-Times report, Edward Cottongim, an organizer for the union, “We (the union) would not have recommended that they get out of the pension plan, but it was completely up to the local members.   They had been out (on strike) for a week and didn’t want to be out any longer. They felt like they took the lesser of two evils.”

The company said the union pension fund puts the firm at a competitive disadvantage in recruiting employees since employees must work at the company five years before they are eligible for benefits.   

The company also has 34 nonunion office workers.

Investing December 3, 2002

US Equity Funds Celebrate Bountiful November

December 3, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Domestic equity funds enjoyed their second straight up month in November after suffering through the depths of the bear market, according to research firm Lipper, Inc.
Reported by

According to Lipper, the average diversified stock fund jumped by almost 6% in November, about the same as in October’s performance, (See “Up” is Down and Down Up in October Fund Performance ) Reuters reported.

In a particularly notable turnaround, science and technology funds as well as telecommunications funds enjoyed a bountiful November, according to Lipper.

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The average science & technology fund was up nearly 17% in November and the average telecommunication fund climbed by about 14%, topping the list of 35 stock fund categories in the Lipper data. Nevertheless, even after the back-to-back monthly gains, science and technology funds were down about 34% year-to-date and telecommunication funds were down nearly 36%.

Among the diversified fund categories the best performance last month came in small-cap growth funds, with the average fund up 7.7%, narrowly edging out the mid-cap value category, which was up by a similar amount.

Large cap value funds were up 6.3% for the month, while large cap growth funds were up 4.3%. On a year-to-date basis, the large value funds were also outperforming the large growth category, with the former down 15.8% and the latter down 23.3%.

Of Lipper’s 35 stock fund classifications, only specialty diversified equity funds were down in November. The category includes funds that bet on a declining market.

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