Michael A. Fletcher The Washington Post December 04, 2014 View the original piece Congress could soon allow the benefits of current retirees to be cut as part of an agreement to address the fiscal distress confronting some of the nation’s 1,400 multi-employer pension plans. Several unions and pension advocates opposing the move, which would be unprecedented, say that permitting financially strapped plans to cut retiree benefits would violate the central promise of traditional pensions: that they would...

Cole Stangler In These Times December 04, 2014 View the original piece Congress is nearing a vote on arguably the biggest change to private pension law in decades. The proposed reforms would grant sweeping new authority to the trustees of some “deeply troubled” multi-employer pension plans to slash benefits promised to current retirees—something that’s illegal under existing law. A cornerstone of some collective bargaining agreements, multi-employer plans cover more than 10 million workers, mostly in construction but...

Michele Fuetsch Transport Topics December 03, 2014 View the original piece Tom Petri (R-Wis.), the outgoing chairman of the subcommittee on highways, said he will become a co-sponsor of a bill that would increase federal fuel taxes to support the nation’s transportation system. The measure would gradually raise the 18.4-cent gasoline tax to 33.3 cents a gallon starting in 2016 and the 24.4-cent diesel tax to 39.3 cents. The levies would be kept in place...

Curt Guyette Labor Notes December 02, 2014 View the original piece Here’s what’s really being missed in most snapshot explanations of Detroit’s bankruptcy: the unprecedented hit being taken by retirees who believed that, after working throughout their lives, they would be secure in their old age. And Detroit sets a dangerous precedent. Your city’s retirees may be next in the crosshairs. Click here to read more at Labor Notes.

Justin C. Sorrell, Howard M. Bloom, and Philip B. Rosen The National Law Review November 26, 2014 View the original piece According to a Bloomberg BNA report, unions won more representation elections, with a higher win rate, in initial NLRB-monitored representation elections in the first half of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013, but the number of newly organized employees fell drastically, and unions have been losing decertification elections more often. Unions won 8.6 percent...

Murtaza Hussain The Intercept November 25, 2014 View the original piece Coverage of the midterm elections has, understandably, focused on the shift in political power from Democrats toward Republicans. But behind the scenes, another major story has been playing out. Wall Street spent upwards of $300M to influence the election results. And a key part of its agenda has been a plan to move more and more of the $3 trillion dollars in unguarded government pension funds into privately managed, high-fee investments...

Tom Spiggle The Huffington Post November 24, 2014 View the original piece This holiday season, when you pick up another box of heavy gifts left at your doorway by a delivery person, ask yourself: Should a pregnant woman lift this? The Supreme Court will be asking itself a related question in early December when it considers the biggest test of the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act in a generation. Click here to read more at The Huffington Post....

Milton J. Valencia The Boston Globe November 20, 2014 View the original piece Two former Teamsters union members were convicted Wednesday in US District Court in Boston of racketeering — for using violence and threats of violence to win jobs and elections for union office. Joseph Burhoe, 46, a former Teamsters member with a criminal history, and John Perry, 62, the former head of a local chapter, were convicted of multiple charges, including racketeering, conspiracy,...

Michael G. Malloy Transport Topics November 20, 2014 View the original piece Workers at a FedEx Freight terminal in Charlotte, North Carolina, voted to be represented by the Teamsters union, while Teamsters withdrew a petition for an election at FedEx Freight’s terminal in South Newark, New Jersey. “The union would only take this step if it anticipated losing the election,” FedEx Freight said of the New Jersey vote withdrawal. FedEx Freight said it may appeal...

Nick Thornton Benefits Pro November 20, 2014 View the original piece Could it be that the vast majority of the country’s multiemployer pension plans are in fine shape?  The headlines around multiemployer plans this year have not been pretty, so it’s easy to assume they’re all in trouble. Click here to read more at Benefits Pro.