ARTICLE 9
Subject to the approval of the Commissioner of
Internal Revenue and of other cognizant governmental authorities, as more
particularly hereinafter specified, a Voluntary Investment Plan (hereinafter
called the Plan) in the form now in effect as to the employees within the units
to which this Agreement relates shall continue to be effective while this
Agreement is in effect as to such employees in accordance with and subject to
the terms, conditions, and limitations of the Plan.
Approval of the Plan by the Commissioner of
Internal Revenue as referred to in Section 9.1 means a continuing approval
sufficient to establish that the Plan and related trust or trusts are at all
times qualified and exempt from income tax under Section 40l(a),
Section 401(k) and other applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 and that contributions made by the Company under the Plan are deductible
for income tax purposes in accordance with law.
The cognizant governmental authorities referred
to in Section 9.1 include, without limitation, the Department of Labor and the
Securities and Exchange Commission, and their approval means their confirmation
with respect to any matter within their regulatory authority that the Plan does
not conflict with applicable law.
The Company shall not be precluded from
continuing the Plan in effect as to employees within the units to which this
Agreement relates, after expiration or termination of this Agreement, subject
to the terms, conditions, and limitations of the Plan.
The parties agree the innovations in technology
and administrative practices can give savings plan participants better access
to information about their benefits, increased investment options, timely
on-line transactions capability and enhanced administrative features. Accordingly, when the Company identifies administrative
services that in its estimation reflect industry best practices, the Employee
Benefit Plans Committee has discretion to adopt these changes to the Savings
Plan. The Company will notify the
Section 9.5 Company Matching
Contributions and Employee Elective Contributions
The Company matching contribution shall be equal
to 50 percent of the first eight percent of the employee’s contribution. Employees may elect to defer from one to 20
percent of their base pay to the Plan on a pretax basis, an after tax basis, or
a combination of both, not to exceed 20 percent of base pay.
Subject to action by the Company's Board of
Directors and to the approvals specified in Section 9.2, all provisions of the
Plan are to remain unchanged. Changes
agreed to in the Collective Bargaining Agreement of September 29, 2002, are
incorporated into the Plan.
The Company reserves the right to amend the Plan
to satisfy all requirements of Section 401(a), Section 401(k) or any other
applicable provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
It is acknowledged that the election of a member
to convert a portion of his or her base pay under the terms of the Plan will be
effective for purposes of this Plan and will reduce the member's compensation
insofar as certain payroll taxes may be applicable. However, for all other employment related
purposes, including all of the member's rights and privileges under this labor
agreement, his or her base pay or compensation will be considered as though no
election had been made.