June 6, 2005: Teamsters covered under the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust received a statement in May detailing how much benefit they earned in 2004. That was the first full year of the cuts that pension trustees imposed in mid-2003.

Every Teamster should look at that report to see what you accrued in 2004. Then look back at your 2002 statement, before the cuts. The difference is what you lost in just one year. Now multiply that by 25 or whatever number of years you hope to live after you retire.

UPS Teamsters with over 20 years in the fund will find they have lost about $1,800 a year off their pension in just a year, for example.

The statements came just after the fund issued a rosy report stating that it is now up to a record $28 billion. When will trustees Chuck Mack, Jim Santangelo, Al Hobart, and Rome Aloise—all of whom enjoy lucrative multiple pensions—restore our pension credits and make up for what we have lost? A lot of Teamsters predict an “October surprise,” with benefits restored right before the December 2006 IBT election.

“They should not only restore the pension, but make up for what Teamsters have lost,” said Armando Echeverria, a 30-year UPS worker in Los Angeles Local 396. “They brag about how well the fund is doing, but refuse to restore our benefits.”