Not if We Stop It!

UPDATED October 23, 2013: A Congressional hearing will be held to address pension issues Tuesday, October 29.

We expect a bill to hit Congress very soon which would allow "deeply troubled" pension funds—such as the Central States Fund—to slash the pension benefits of retirees and those soon to retire.

We're out to stop this train wreck for Teamsters and other workers who worked long and hard to earn their pensions. If they revoke the ERISA anti-cutback rule and could then cut some pensions, the door will be open to slash more pensions.

This nasty bill has the support of employers and the Central States Pension Fund. We expect CS Director Thomas Nyhan to testify for it at upcoming hearings in the House of Representatives. The hearings were postponed due to the government shutdown.

Opposed are some unions and workers' organizations, the Pension Rights Center, the AARP and TDU.

Join the growing movement to help save our pensions. Learn what you can do, read the AARP statement on the issue, and click here to get informed.

Read what Teamsters have to say in "We Earned Our Pensions."

Join retirees and active Teamsters who are working with the TDU Pension Action Network to protect our pensions.

UPDATED October 4, 2013: Teamsters whose pensions are in danger due to a new proposed law are speaking out. Some will make their presence known at the October 10 Congressional hearing in Washington DC on the proposed law.

Read what Teamsters have to say about the proposal to let the Central States Fund – and other pension funds – cut pensions of retirees and cut the already-earned credits of active Teamsters.

Click here to receive updates and to join with Teamsters and retirees who are working together to protect our pensions.

“We’re organizing a pension meeting for the Twin Cities. Retired Teamsters and those still working at freight companies, grocery warehouses, ready-mix, carhaul, and UPS want to know what’s going on and what they can do to protect their retirement. We’re organizing to get them the answers. We need others doing the same in their local areas.”

Sam Karam, YRC
Local 120
Minneapolis, MN

I was going for 35 years and out. After 31 years, my union rep. said they are freezing the pension (Central States), and I might as well retire now and take what I can get.

So, in 2004 I started my retirement after working for 5 union companies that all shut down. (Inland/Rans Distributing, Churchill Freight Lines, Advance Transportation, Crouse Cartage Company and Parker Motor Freight) Long hours, hard work and 4 of those years were driving nights.

With all the restrictions the Central States Pension Fund has on it I never pursued any type of other work. My wife and I adjusted our income/lifestyle to her job and just my pension check, and made do with that.

Now 10 years later, being 64 and just getting by with my pension check and my wife's job, they want to cut it by at least half. You've got to be kidding! After 31 years of hard work, my age and my physical health not what it used to be, what can I do now?

It's time for companies, the union, the government, and everyone involved to take action to protect and support the pension funds for retirees like me and future retirees.

Where's our government that bailed out Wall St., the banks, and 2 car companies? I'm not necessarily looking for a bailout, but there are solutions! It's time to help the hard working middle class for a change! Let's find a solution, not "take away." I'm just asking for what I worked for and was promised!

John C. Landgraf
Teamster Retiree, Local 364
South Bend, Ind.

Greg Brown, Holland
Local 413, Columbus, Ohio

I've worked in Teamster Freight for nearly thirty five years. I planned on retiring after 30 years of back breaking work but they changed it just before I reached the goal. So I went to 57. 

Because of YRC's bad management & financial decisions, we were forced to take concessions on our wages and benefits, and I had to change plans, again. But I’m still counting on getting the FULL pension I earned. I know it's going to take organizing with my Teamster brothers and sisters to ensure we get it.
 
I had breakfast recently with former co-workers who have retired from Yellow Freight. My goal was to catch them up on what’s possibly coming down the pike with our pensions. Not one had heard or knew anything about the lobbying effort by the IBT and Central States, which proposes cutting pension benefits. Even for retirees!
 
At the breakfast, I passed out the petition to protect our pensions and got names and signatures.
 
We all need to get the info and the petition out to working and retired Teamsters. The NCCMP proposals (link here) should be called "No Solutions, Just a Cop Out." We need to remind Hoffa that he campaigned in 1996 on a "25-and-Out" and he needs to make sure we get our promised pension, not help to gut it.

Tim Pagel
Local 988
Houston

I went to work for Murphy Warehouse Company right after Labor Day 1976. I worked locally delivering freight of various kinds to distribution centers, mostly grocery warehouses in the St. Paul/Minneapolis metropolitan area.

After 23 years at Murphy, I worked for a short time for a regional trucking company and then, for 11 years, a ready mix company. My wages (adjusted for inflation) remained essentially flat throughout my working career. But the health benefits and pension were the saving grace. Through it all, my employers were paying contributions to my pension.

I counted on the pension and social security as a savings plan for my retirement.

Then came the Great Recession of 2008 and construction took a nose dive. My income and work were cut by 80%. We lost our house and incurred additional tax liability because of the refinancing. For lack of work, I quit my union job. I went to work non-union in the oil fields of North Dakota. I worked 80-hour weeks to try to keep our heads above water.

I’m now 75, still working to pay off my debts, and collecting a pension of $2,300/month.

Now the Central States Pension Fund is part of a big lobbying effort to get Congress to change the law to allow them to cut my pension. Is that just and fair after all the years I sacrificed to earn a decent retirement? Congress needs to stand up for the little guy, those of us on Main Street America, and make sure that we get what we were promised.

Bob McNattin
Local 120
St. Paul, Minn.

To Members of Congress:

I am outraged by the effort to convince Congress to allow reductions in pension benefits. Please try to think of retirees who have planned our lives based on our pensions. 

I’ve been retired for 9 years after working for over 36 years moving freight across the country. In 1980, due to government deregulation, many companies went out of business in the freight industry. I worked for ten companies at one time (on call) to make sure I stayed active to receive monthly or weekly contributions to the pension.  I earned my pension the hard way as I have a clear memory of giving up many possible wage increases so that money could go towards benefits.

I am also a past President of Teamsters Local 407 and represented 7,500 members at that time. I fear that that proposed legislation to change pension law will be devastating to these members I served and so many more. I know any cut will harm my household. I am a cancer survivor and my wife has health issues as well. We count on my pension to keep us going.

I am currently a councilman in Maple Heights, Ohio and try to represent my constituents fairly. I expect the same from Congress. You bailed out the banks and their executives didn’t lose a dime. Unlike the bankers, we have done no wrong.

Don't be afraid to lend a hand to people who worked hard for their pensions.

Respectfully,

Alex Adams
Local 407 Retiree
Councilman, Maple Heights, Ohio

We have all earned our Pensions....

I worked for 32 years at Roadway Express/YRCW. I am now retired. As a young man when I hired in, I liked the wages, insurance and most of all, the pension. It was hard work, but the benefits made it worthwhile. The pension offered my wife and I security and a way to live comfortably into our old age. In 1980 deregulation of the trucking industry was put into place and the union truck lines began to fall like dominoes. We gave up raises and increased money to the pension fund. 

Many of the fellow Teamsters I have talked to are in disbelief that Congress might allow our pensions to be cut. Some were moved to tears, frightened, while others became fighting mad. The NCCMP proposal is a slap in the face to every Teamster. I have read the 3-page report from the Pension Rights Center and the 10-page report from the AARP. The AARP plan outlined many ways our pensions could be saved. I support the AARP approach. The NCCMP proposal only supports cutting our hard earned pensions as a fix. I hope you will join me in a fight with TDU for a fair solution for retirees and those who have not yet retired. We can win this with your help.

SO, JOIN THE FIGHT NOW......

Dave Scheidt
Retired Teamster
Local 41, Kansas City

I initiated into Teamsters Union Local 128 that later merged into Pittsburgh Local 249. I was a Roadway freight driver and moved to Harrisburg Local 776 with a change of operations. Later, another change took me to Youngstown Local 377. That terminal closed and had another change to Miami Local 769. Why all the moves? I needed to remain in a Teamster pension plan. The promise was $3,000/month after 30 hard years.

I will fight along with my union and TDU to preserve those benefits I earned. Congress better hear us loud and clear. Don't cut our pensions!

Solidarity, brothers and sisters,

Mike Schaffer
Local 249
Pittsburgh

After working 31 years, I thought I had a secure retirement. I wasn't planning on living it up but felt I could comfortably pay my bills on my monthly pension check.

I earned my pension as a Teamster. For ten years, I worked for a land survey company and was a member of Local 299 in Detroit. The following 21 years I worked as a UPS delivery driver in Teamsters Local 243.      

I probably racked up an extra 10 years of overtime hours put in over those years, wearing out toe joints, knees and shoulders. None of those hours counted towards my pension.
    
Over the years we watched our budget. We kept our cars 10 years or more, went on a few simple vacations now and again, and made our boys pay a good part of their own college expenses.
     
I viewed my pension as a savings plan, tucked away, where I could live off it in my old age. Now I'm hearing this may not be the case.

I'm told that the pension I earned over those long years will likely be cut without any say on my part. I earned my pension under the contract. Each and every time, we accepted a lower pay raise so more money could go to the pension. We were told we could count on that money when we retired. I trusted that the system was secure. I played by the rules and did nothing wrong.
    
In conclusion, I would hope that Congress would take every measure to protect the pensions of so many retired people like myself that are now left in great jeopardy by threats to our retirement security.  
                                                              
George W. Balog
Retiree
Auburn Hills, Michigan

I worked for over thirty years as a union truck driver, with the goal of being able to have a comfortable lifestyle once I retired. Take a look at my work history and you get a pretty good picture that I earned my pension.

1964-70: Air National Guard – Honorable Discharge

1968-69: Roethlisberger Transfer Steel Division – Teamsters Local 40

1972-74: Case Driveway Inc. – Teamsters Local 505

1974-75: Spector Freight System – Teamsters Local 92 and 142

1975-1984: General Highway Express – Teamsters Local 40

1992: ABF – Teamsters Local 40

1992-2009: USF Holland – Teamsters Locals 20, 24, and 40

Government deregulation of the trucking history had a big impact on my career. I followed the work, and had to move my family, to keep earning towards my Teamster pension. Please do not change the law to allow my pension to be cut.

Larry Kuhn
Retiree
Shelby, Ohio

I've been a Teamster in the trucking industry for 38 years. I retired with 36 ½ years of pension contributions. I had 30 years of contributions to Central States. In each contract, we gave up wage increases for the money to go to health insurance costs and our promised pension benefit. Now Central States is pushing for changes that would allow them to cut my benefit. That proposed change to pension law will have a terrible impact on me and thousands of other Teamster retirees. That's not what we earned or what we were promised.

Carl Hansen
Retiree
Waukesha, Wisconsin

To Members of Congress:

My tax dollars paid for 140 billion in bailout money just for bonuses to bankers who screwed up. Defined benefit plans were ruined by these same people. Our taxes funded bailouts for automakers and tax breaks for companies like Apple and GE.

Let's stop giving tax breaks to "Job Creators" who don't create any jobs. Let's stop breaking promises to the poor and middle class. Please stop this class war.

I can't keep delivering 300 pound treadmills until I'm 80 years old. This seems to be the new American dream. I paid into a pension for 23 years but there's no one to help me. It used to be you were a bum if you didn't work. Now you're a bum if you want to get what you paid into like a pension or social security. The talkers on the radio say that seniors are on the dole and firemen and teachers who want their pensions are greedy.

Even the inventor of the 401k says they were not meant for retirement. They were meant to be a way to delay tax payments for the super wealthy.  A secure retirement should not hinge on timing a stock market bubble in order to work. Forcing us to work longer also shrinks the pool of jobs for younger folks.

The NCCMP seems to be just another group of employers trying to get out of paying what was promised to their employees.

The PBGC should keep a promise and maintain benefit levels and create jobs by allowing us to retire. I'm not sure why destroying the middle class is the goal of today's government. I don't think it's a good idea. We spend the little money we have.

I've been funding tax breaks for the wealthy for decades now. Is it too much to ask for what I gave up in wages toward a truly modest retirement after 40+ years of work?

Paul Host
Teamsters Local 200 – ABF
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

UPDATED October 23, 2013: A Congressional hearing will be held to address pension issues Tuesday, October 29.

Click here to tell your Senators and Congressional Representatives to vote NO on any plan to allow earned pensions to be cut. This site, sponsored by the Machinists Union, will allow you to send an email message right away to your Senators and Reps.

Click here for a list of Congressional Reps on the Education and Workforce Committee who will take up the bill, and for how to send them a note urging a NO vote.

Members of Congress are going to introduce a bill to allow any "deeply troubled" pension plan to cut the pensions of those already retired and those with already-earned pension credits.

This bill, which is supported by employer groups, the Central States Pension Fund, and the Hoffa administration, would give a green light to corporate America to cut pensions that have already been earned. This is presently illegal under ERISA, which includes an "anti-cutback" provision.

We expect the Central States Fund to testify on October 10 in favor of the plan to cut pensions. Do they speak for you?

We oppose this plan to cut pensions. So do others, such as the Pension Rights Center and the AARP. You can read the AARP statement on this proposal for yourself.

If you want to oppose this bill, the time is now to take action.

Tell Congress to keep the ERISA anti-cutback rule to protect the pension you earned. Ask your representatives to support the AARP proposals. And pass on info from the TDU website to other active and retired Teamsters.

Click here to recieve updates and to join with Teamsters and retirees who are working together to protect our pensions.

September 25, 2013: You can easily find the postal and email addresses for your Congressional Rep and U.S. Senators here.

You can find the names of those on the Education and Workforce Committee here. Please send them copies of your letter.

September 12, 2013: The latest financial report (first quarter 2013) for the Central States Pension Fund is now available, and reflects assets of $18.3 billion as of March 31, 2013.

This represents a $517 million gain in the first quarter, due to the big run-up in the stock market during that period. Since that time, the stock market leveled off, and bonds have done poorly, so the current balance is certainly lower. The fund relies overwhelmingly on investment returns to pay benefits, since Hoffa allowed UPS to leave the fund in 2007.

Teamsters and retirees can access the first quarter reports: the Independent Special Counsel Report and the Financial and Analytical Report.

Central States Health & Welfare Financial Report

You can read the First Quarter 2013 Financial Report on the Central States Health & Welfare Fund for a detailed look at the financial health and operation of the fund. 

This financial information was attached to a report on the separate Central States Pension Fund; that report was compiled by Independent Special Counsel David Coar, Esq, and was submitted to federal judge Milton I. Shadur.

The H&W Fund, which now uses the name TeamCare, reported 81,600 active participants, but plans to add some 144,000 UPS Teamsters when the UPS contract is finally acceptable to members and the regional supplements are ratified.

Unlike the pension fund, it is operating in the black and has strong financial reserves.

This financial report is only available from Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU).

August 27, 2013: Workers' pensions are under attack. Chicago's mayor says earned pensions must be cut. Detroit has declared bankruptcy, and Michigan's governor says 21,000 retirees should pay the bill for it.

One of the biggest attacks is aimed straight at Teamster retirees, especially the 211,000 in the Central States Pension Fund. And if corporate America gets away with cutting their pensions, it's going to spread like cancer.

And the worst part is, the Hoffa administration is not fighting back. In fact, they are part of the problem.

It's time for Teamsters to stand up and be counted. All Teamsters and retirees have a stake in this. If you think it's only going to affect the Central States Fund, think again. If our Teamster pensions are not guaranteed, but only a suggestion, then yours can be cut too.

The Poison Proposal

As soon as September, a bill will likely be introduced into the US Congress to allow "deeply troubled" pension plans to cut the benefits of all retirees and cut the already-earned credits of active workers.

The proposal from the National Coordinating Committee of Multi-Employer Plans (NCCMP) is to allow such plans, including Central States, to cut existing pensions in extreme cases to 10 percent over the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) limit of about $1,100 per month.

This would remove a basic protection of our federal pension law. And it is being supported by our Teamster leadership and the Central States Pension Fund, along with major employers like UPS, SuperValu and others.

The bill is based on a document called Solutions Not Bailouts. This document has a number of good elements, but the key part of it is a poisonous proposal to slash pensions as a "solution" to the problems of some pension funds.

TDU is joining with others in labor and consumer and retiree advocates who want to make sure our earned pensions are protected.

What Should be Done To Protect Pensions?

• Stop the move to allow the Central States Plan (and other "deeply troubled plans") from slashing retirees' pensions, possibly as low as 10 percent above the PBGC maximum of $1,100 per month for a 30-year pension.
   
• Propose enhanced protection from the PBGC. It is presently funded by tiny contributions from various pension plans: increase them to provide real insurance for benefits.
   
• End the discrimination in benefit protection against multiemployer (union) plans by the PBGC: raise the covered benefit level, which is now only about $1,100 per month for a 30-year Teamster.
   
• Put forward a version of the bill proposed by Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) in 2010, to protect the pensions of workers whose companies have gone bankrupt or moved production offshore. This protection would be a boon to our Teamster pension funds and retirees.

Will You Join the Fight To Protect Pensions?

We are forming a Teamster Pension Defense Committee of interested retirees and active Teamsters. If you are willing to be part of the solution, contact us at 313-842-2600 or click here.

We need people willing to write or visit Congressional Representatives, and people who will travel to Washington D.C. when hearings are held, to be present and demand that Teamster retirees be heard.

"Corporate America has their sights set on pensions, and right now the cross hairs are on Teamsters. It's high time for us to band together, join with other unionists and concerned retirees, and fight back."

Michael Savwoir, TDU Steering Committee
Retiree, Local 41, Kansas City

By: John Brose, East Liberty, Ohio
Retired, Local 413

I'm a retired truck driver of thirty years. I worked for Smith Transfer in Columbus, Ohio, in 1977 till they went bankrupt in 1988. I went to Consolidated Freightways till they went bankrupt in 2002. Then Roadway Express until they merged with Yellow Freight and I was laid off never to be called back. So I had to retire in 2009 with over thirty years of service.

Every week I worked 70 hours driving in all weather. Every week these companies put money in the Central States Fund for my pension.

I worked hard and even took less in wages for more pension benefits.

We had no vote on the Central States Pension Trustees or their policies. I've heard all their excuses but these pension fund trustees keep drawing their enormous salaries, for what? They even let UPS pull out of the pension fund.

I ask officials of the NCCMP to come up with a plan that does not cut our pensions down to as low as $1,100 per month! I wish you had to live under our pensions; then this plan would not exist.

When you bring this scheme to cut our pensions to Congress, I would like to be invited to speak for all of the retired men and women and show Congress how destructive this would be. When a truck driver has been retired for a few years, it is almost impossible to get another driving job. If you cut our pensions, it will be devastating to us and our families.

Opposition Needs to Grow Now
Congressional Hearings Coming on New Pension Proposals

June 7, 2013: A dangerous proposal that would change federal law to allow "deeply troubled" pension plans to slash the benefits of retirees could be introduced into Congress as soon as this summer.

The time is now for opposition to eliminating the federal law known as the "anti-cutback rule." It is clear that the "deeply troubled" plans would include the Central States Pension Plan.

The U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor could hold hearings soon on the status of multi-employer pension plans, and what to do to safeguard pensions.

The dangerous proposal is part of a package put forward by the National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans (NCCMP). Hoffa is on the board of directors, and Central States Director Thomas Nyhan and Teamster Int'l V.P. John Murphy are on the Steering Committee. UPS is a prominent supporter.

The NCCMP is an organization of union pension plans, employer groups and some union officials.

Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) will actively oppose any move to eliminate the anti-cutback rule, which is an important protection in federal law. "We call upon James Hoffa to come out in opposition, and put the full force of the Teamsters Union to work for protecting Teamster pensions," said TDU Steering Committee Co-Chair and Central States retiree Dan Campbell.

There are new indications that some unions may come out in opposition to allowing pension cuts, and TDU will be working to put rank-and-file Teamsters front and center in the battle to protect pensions and propose positive solutions to safeguard the earned pensions of American workers.

If you are interested in helping with the battle to defend pensions, contact TDU at 313-842-2600 or click here to send us a message.

Click here if you would like to read more on this issue and see a copy of the NCCMP's proposal in their position paper "Solutions Not Bailouts."

May 24, 2013: On April 14, some 3,000 retirees came to the union hall to hear an update from Al Nelson of the Central States Pension Fund. Many are concerned about the move by Central States and the Hoffa administration to pass a law which would eliminate the "anti-cutback" rule and allow Central States to cut existing pensions.

"I am glad we had a meeting for retirees at Local 41 in Kansas City. Vic Terranella, President of Local 41, was concerned that our members got some information from Central States on the proposed cuts in the "Solutions not Bailouts" document. Let your voice be heard loud and clear. Our solidarity must not waver. Many of you have worked 30 or 40 years for your pensions. So be part of a fair solution; stay informed and active. Talk with other retirees. Talk with your local and TDU. And join TDU. I did. TDU will keep you informed, and information is POWER."

David Scheidt, YRC, Local 41, Kansas City (Retired)