Century Aluminum announced last February that it would close it's Ravenswood plant.

This Thursday, union workers are holding a meeting to talk about the company's latest announcement.

Last month, Century notified its retirees, who are eligible for Medicare, that it would terminate their benefits effective January 1st.

Retirees younger than 65 would be required to pay new monthly premiums in addition to annual deductibles, higher co-pays and lifetime limits to benefits.

Representatives and attorneys from the United Steelworkers Union will hold a special meeting Thursday, November 19th, in the cafeteria of Ravenswood High School for Century retirees to explain how the union plans to challenge the company's decision.

The meeting will start at 5.

Century Aluminum released this statement to WTAP:

"Century Aluminum of West Virginia, like so many companies in West Virginia and throughout the world, has been hard hit by the current economic crisis. The decision to reduce retiree medical benefits was a very difficult one and was only made after careful consideration of all available options. While Century of West Virginia has no influence over commodity aluminum prices, the company can and must work to make its cost structure more competitive in the global marketplace. The immediate challenges at Ravenswood are to obtain an affordable long-term power contract and also to bring labor costs more in line with industry trends and averages.

No Century of West Virginia retiree impacted by this action will be left without healthcare benefits. The company is working with all impacted retirees to inform them of their medical options under Medicare and COBRA. Covered dependents of retirees who have not yet reached 65 years of age will retain the same medical benefits as Century of West Virginia salaried employees.

Our overriding priority is to reduce our ongoing curtailment costs to the point where we can maintain the opportunity of ultimately restarting the facility. We can only support our West Virginia constituents if we do everything possible to keep our facilities competitive and viable."