News Release

U.S. Department of Labor For Immediate Release

Office of Public Affairs Oct. 12, 2005
Chicago, Ill. Contact: Brad Mitchell & David James
Release Number: 05-1061-Chi Phone: (312) 353-6976 202-693-4676

U.S. Labor Department Obtains $700,000 Restoration to Michigan

Plumbers and Pipefitters Pension Fund
CHICAGO -- The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $700,000 in pension funds for the Upper
Peninsula Plumbers and Pipefitters Pension Fund in Lansing, Mich. The funds are restitution for
imprudently investing pension assets in the Aspen Bay Pulp & Fibre LLC, a company formed to provide
working capital for the proposed development of the Aspen Bay Pulp Mill project in Menominee, Mich.
The department also may assess a civil money penalty under the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act (ERISA).

"This is great news for the workers and retirees who depend upon this pension fund," said U.S. Secretary
of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "Seeking this order is part of the Department’s aggressive benefit protection
campaign, which last year recovered over $3 billion in retirement, 401(k), health and other programs for
workers and their families."

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Michigan, alleges that trustee Jerome Hedstrom violated the
ERISA when he failed to investigate the merits of the Aspen Bay Pulp Mill investment before committing
pension assets to the project. The pension plan covered more than 800 union members in Menominee,
Marquette and Escanaba.

The Cincinnati regional office of the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration
(EBSA) investigated the case. Employers and workers can reach the Cincinnati regional office at (859)
578-4680 or through EBSA’s toll-free number, 1-866-444-EBSA (3272), for help with problems relating
to private-sector retirement and health plans.

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(Chao v. Hedstrom)
Civil Action No. 1:05-cv-523

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