Stinger will cease benefits

Employees at Stinger Welding, Inc., the bridge- and span-building company with operations in Libby, will lose their health benefits on Aug. 1, The Western News has learned.

The move is necessary, TWN has discovered, to trim costs. 

Reportedly, Stinger Welding President and CEO Carl Douglas is renegotiating the benefits plan, hopeful to reinstate the perks within 90 days.

Douglas, reached Monday afternoon via his cell phone, offered little comment.

“Is that any business of yours?” Douglas quipped.

When told losing health benefits could adversely affect Libby residents who work for him, Douglas offered the following comment:

“Then you figure it out for yourself,” he said before the phone went dead.

Subsequent attempts to reach Steve Patrick, Stinger vice president of Northwest Operations, were unsuccessful. 

The Western News traveled to the Stinger office on Monday, requesting Patrick comment and a subsequent call asking for comment was not returned.

Reportedly, Stinger employees, which number about 65, were informed of the loss of benefits last week.

Two bridge-building employees, who confirmed the loss of benefits, spoke only if they would not be identified, citing loyalty to the company.

Paul Rumelhart, executive director of the Kootenai River Development Council, which was instrumental in bringing Stinger Welding to Libby on Monday, said he was not aware of the loss of benefits.

“No, I haven’t heard that,” Rumelhart said. 

Rumelhart, reached on his cell phone on Monday, was attending a meeting in Kalispell when The Western News reached him. 

The news of the loss of benefits all came as news to Lincoln County Presiding Commissioner Marianne Roose.

“I’m very disappointed to hear this,” Roose said Monday afternoon. 

“They may be losing their benefits for 90 days, but I want to know whether they’ll still have jobs after 90 days.

“I think we may need to get some answers from (Stinger officials). Perhaps, we should see whether we can get them on the agenda for Wednesday. They owe the citizens of Lincoln County some answers,” Roose said.

Roose reiterated that the Montana Department of Commerce was instrumental in assisting Stinger as it sought expansion.

“We need some answers. If they’re losing their health benefits, what other benefits are they losing?” Roose asked.

A year ago, Stinger Welding was to receive $17 million in financing to further the company’s growth and employment opportunities in Libby.

In recent months, the company has come under scrutiny for its slow payment of bills, some of which has been paid.

Some of those payments were to local businesses that even extended credit toward Stinger. Also, Stinger was working a deal with the Lincoln County Port Authority, the landlord which owns the land encompassing the Stinger operation.