March 3, 2015: The Central States Pension Fund and several smaller funds in the months to come may seek to cut the earned benefits of retirees and active Teamsters. Teamster members have a right to know what the procedures would be, so that we can be better armed to fight back.

A detailed outline of the procedure and timeline is available here for review by concerned members and retirees. This outline explains that the process cannot be immediate; the law provides time for review, for the publication of opposition statements, a vote by all participants (active and retired), and in the case of large funds at least 10,000 participants, the appointment of a retiree representative.

Teamsters are not sitting back and waiting for the hammer to come down – retirees and active Teamsters are organizing now to change the law that requires the full burden of the economic meltdown to fall on working and retired Teamsters.

Last weekend the Wisconsin Committee to Protect Pensions held their latest meeting, with a representative of the North East Ohio Committee to Protect Pensions on board to speak. The meeting received a strong statement of support from Congresswoman Gwen Moore of Milwaukee. We are working to build a strong list of Congresspersons and Senators ready to make changes to the unjust law.

Dale Dobbs, a Milwaukee Local 200 retiree, explained “We’ve set up a Facebook page to share info and concerns about the possible pension cuts. We’ve got a committee organized in our area to make sure our voices are heard. We need to build a pressure campaign with committees from other areas.”

Could your pension fund move to cut benefits? This list indicates which pension funds could consider cuts. In addition to the Central States Fund, the list includes Western Pennsylvania Teamsters Fund and a large number of small funds in the New York - New Jersey area, especially locals in declining industries. 

Join us and help build the movement to defend pensions

February 5, 2015: Teamsters in Southern California held a packed meeting to build a campaign to elect new International Union leaders. Next up: Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio on Feb. 21-22.

Teamsters in the Midwest have been hammered with contract concessions and the threat of pension cuts. Now members are coming together to organize for new leadership and a new direction for our union.

Members are holding meetings to gear up for the International Union election in Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio for the weekend of February 21-22.

Featured speakers include Tony Jones, the President of Columbus Local 413, Fred Zuckerman, President of Louisville Local 89, and Tim Sylvester, President of New York Local 804.

In the last International Union election, the opposition forces were divided.

This time, Sylvester, Zuckerman, Jones and other Teamster leaders are building a coalition effort that is uniting Teamsters, including former Hoffa supporters, in a united movement for change.

Freight, UPS and UPS Freight Teamsters are leading the effort in Ohio and are reaching out to Teamsters in other jurisdictions.

Retired Teamsters, concerned about the pension issue, are also getting involved. They want International Union leadership that will fight for retirement security. 

February 4, 2015: Could your benefits be cut under the new Pension Cut legislation? Find out here.

The Central States Pension Fund is not the only Teamster pension plan where retirees may be threatened with benefit cuts because of the new pension law pushed through Congress in December.

The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has compiled a list of 100 plans that may be permitted to cut benefits as a result of the new pension law. Several Teamster funds are on the list.  

Click here to download a copy of the report.

Join up with other Teamsters to protect our pensions.

Follow us at www.facebook.org/teamstersforademocraticunion

February 4, 2015: Teamster members are making their voices heard about the threats to our pensions. 

John Raffiani is sick about what may happen to his Central States Pension but that’s not holding him back from doing something about it. He contacted a reporter at the Albany Times Union and made sure the pension cuts story made headlines in his city.

Check out the coverage in the Albany Times Union.

The pension cuts story needs to be told in cities and communities across the country--and you can help. Your story is important and TDU will work with you to get it out to the press and to the public.  

Call TDU Organizer Peter Landon at (313) 842-2600 for more information.

Teamster members and retirees are coming together to defend our pensions.

Contact TDU to get involved and help organize a pension meeting in your area. We can help, including with guest speakers who can help explain pension issues and what’s next for the pension protection campaign.

Follow us at www.facebook.org/teamstersforademocraticunion

February 3, 2015: A review of the 3^rd quarter 2014 financial report of the Central States Pension Fund shows that the fund has $18 billion as of September 30, 2014.

The information is detailed in the quarterly Financial and Analytical Report and the Independent Special Counsel Report. 

Compared to the previous year, the fund saw a net investment income decline of $1.2 billion but it was offset slightly by a $94 million net increase in operating income. The report provides no explanation for the investment income downturn though it states that Trustees met with the named fiduciary, Northern Trust.

The report, filed January 26, 2015, mentions passage of the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 but states, “it is too soon to assess the potential impact of this complex legislation on the Pension Fund.”

Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) is working to fight any pension cuts and build a movement for pension justice. 

Click here to get involved.

Sign up for email updates at tdu.org and like us on facebook

January 30, 2015: TDU's Pension Justice Campaign is on the move. Our voices are getting into the media and Teamster members and retirees are organizing to fight cuts and protect our pensions.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution featured leaders of the Local 728 Retirees Club who are fighting the pension cuts. 

“We worked all our lives to earn a decent pension,” said Waymon Stroud, 61, who retired four years ago from Yellow Freight and is now president of the retirees club at Teamsters Local 728 in Atlanta. If his $2,800-a-month benefit got cut 30 percent, he added, “I’d have to go back to work.”

The article also exposed the big Brown corporate loophole that will save UPS $2 billion on the back of Teamster retirees.  

A report in the Washington Post lists the Teamster and other union funds that are eligible to cut retiree benefits under the new law.

Teamster members and retirees are coming together to make our voices heard.

TDU pension activists spoke at a recent Memphis Local 667 retirees meeting attended by over 100 Teamsters. Others hosted a meeting in Milwaukee that formed the Wisconsin Committee to Protect Pensions. The Wisconsin committee is planning a larger meeting for February. In Ohio, Mike Walden—chair of the Northeast Ohio Committee to Protect Pensions will speak in March with other pension activists at retiree meetings in Columbus and Cincinnati. Plans are percolating for other meetings across the South and Midwest and beyond.

We are reaching out to allies, like the Pension Rights Center, AARP, sympathetic political leaders, and other unions. But to build a strong coalition to protect our pensions, we need to bring concerned Teamsters to the table.

That means reaching out to members and retirees in our areas. Contact TDU if you’re interested in helping organize a pension meeting in your area. We can help, including with guest speakers who can help explain pension issues and what’s next for the pension protection campaign.

Click here to get involved.

Follow us at www.facebook.org/teamstersforademocraticunion

"I hauled cars out of Selkirk, New York for 31 years. I worked for a number of different companies – Automobile Transport, Nu-Car Carriers, Anchor Motor Freight, M&G Convoy, Leaseway, Ryder and finally, Allied. I retired in 2002.

I worked extremely hard in 35 below zero weather and 110 degrees in the shade. I went through lay offs, mergers, loss of seniority, company closings and now they want to cut my pension. That just isn’t right.

Welcome to the new U.S.A. It’s time to fight back."

January 13, 2015: The Central States Health and Welfare Fund (TeamCare) is flush with money, as Hoffa and Hall make excuses for benefit cuts that UPS Teamsters and retirees have suffered.

The latest (2^nd quarter 2014) TeamCare Financial and Analytical Report shows that its reserves continued to grow at an annual rate of $326 million per year during the first half of 2014. 

The report notes that UPS paid a lump sum of $1.713 billion to cover the future benefits of retirees. With that payment, UPS dumped its obligation to retirees onto Central States.

As a result of a contract concession, UPS retirees in the fund will pay higher monthly premiums for health care.

In addition to that $1.7 billion, the fund has an additional $2.2 billion in reserves, which increased by $163 million during the first half of 2014.

On March 1, 2014, some 10,000 UPS Freight Teamsters joined the fund, and some 72,000 UPS package Teamsters did so on June 1, 2014. About 9,000 Local 705 Teamsters will join TeamCare on February 1, and about 6,000 Local 710 Teamsters are expected to join soon after.

Because the report only covers until June 30, 2014, the impact of some 100,000 new participants is not detailed in the report. The third quarter report – expected soon – may be more informative.

Sign up for email updates. 

Follow us on Facebook at Teamsters for a Democratic Union and Make UPS Deliver.

Note: The report was submitted by the Independent Special Counsel on December 3, but the Central States Fund delayed providing it until January 12. They are bound by a court order which we won to provide the quarterly financial reports to the attorney for retirees who sued the fund.

Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) is the only source which makes these financial reports available to members.

Sign up for email updates at www.tdu.org and like us on facebook.

January 13, 2015: A review of the 2^nd quarter 2014 financial report of the Central States Pension Fund shows that the fund had $18.7 billion as of July 1, 2014.

The fund made big investment returns in the first six months of last year, netting slightly over $1 billion, as the stock market moved up. This allowed the fund to tread water: the $1 billion was just enough, along with $400 million in employer contributions and withdrawal payments, to cover $1.4 billion in benefits. The information is detailed in the quarterly Financial and Analytical Report and the Independent Special Counsel Report.

The number of working Teamster participants declined to 60,000, reflecting the Hoffa administration’s lack of commitment to defend the fund. The number of retirees was 209,000, slightly down.

The average pension paid to retirees and surviving spouses is $1,123 per month.

Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) is working to fight any pension cuts and build a movement for pension justice. Click here to find out how you can be a part of it.

Note: The report is dated December 3, 2014 but the Central States Fund delayed providing it until January 12. They are bound by a court order which we won to provide the quarterly financial reports to the attorney for retirees who sued the fund.

TDU is the only source which makes these financial reports available to members and retirees. We expect the third quarter report to issue soon.

Sign up for email updates at www.tdu.org and like us on facebook.

January 9, 2015: Teamsters and retirees from across the Central States Fund and other pension funds are organizing to protect our pensions. Central States was built with pension contributions earned by our blood and sweat.

We demand accountability and justice from the Trustees and from Hoffa. The buck stops with our General President.

 

The Buck Stops with Hoffa

Teamster officials have 50 percent of the votes in every pension plan. Hoffa should demand that the Teamster-appointed trustees Vote No on pension cuts until all the facts are known and all alternatives have been exhausted.

 

No Cuts Before An Independent Audit

No pension cuts should even be considered before there is an independent audit and actuarial review with the facts being made available to all pension fund participants. It’s time for transparency and accountability—not more sneak attacks.

 

Appoint a Truly Independent Retiree Representative

The new law requires any fund with 10,000+ participants that is considering cuts to appoint a retiree representative “to advocate for the interests of the retirees.” This representative should be a proven independent advocate—not a flunky for the Hoffa administration or Central States trustees.

 

Lift Unfair Reemployment Rules

Central States should put an end to the unfair reemployment rules before any cuts are considered. Central States has no right to cut a Teamster retiree’s pension and then tell them they cannot work to supplement it.

 

Equality of Sacrifice

Any fund executive or Teamster official that backs the pension cuts should take the same cuts themselves—starting with Central States Director Thomas Nyhan, who was paid $662,060 in 2013. James Hoffa has a special “Family Protection” pension that will pay him well over $1 million in a lump sum—from Teamster dues. What pension cut will he take?

 

Mike Walden for Central States Retiree Representative

Federal law now requires any fund with 10,000+ participants that plans to cut pensions to appoint a retiree representative “to advocate for the interests of the retirees.”

 

Mike Walden is the Teamster for the job.

 

Mike, the Chair of the Northeast Ohio Committee to Protect Pensions, helped lead the fight against the pension cut sneak attack by Congress. He is a proven independent advocate.

 

Click here to join our Campaign for Pension Justice.

 

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“Based on the track record we’ve seen from Nyhan and the trustees, can we really trust their claims on how much needs to be cut? We need an independent audit and actuarial assessment of Central States to verify numbers on what it will take to insure the best pension benefits going forward.”

 

Mike Walden, Local 24, Akron, Ohio

Roadway Retiree

Chair, Northeast Ohio Committee to Protect Pensions

 

 

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