Posted on 09/02/2015 11:45:11 AM PDT by MichCapCon
Grand Rapids’ public bus system, The Rapid (or Interurban Transit Partnership), and its union are negotiating over a plan to freeze and close its employee retirement system. Union president Larry Hanley is adamant that the plan remain open.
"This is not contract negotiation; this is a political attack on working people with no good financial reason. It's not that the agency's in trouble," Hanley told the Grand Rapids Press. "The system's not in any state of crisis. The benefits have been established for many years."
It is discouraging when union officials that are supposed to be protecting their members ignore pension underfunding.
The Rapids’ employee pension system is 73.5 percent funded and owes its members $2.7 million more than has been saved, according to the system’s most recent financial report.
In order to make sure that pensions are paid, government entities have to devote more money to catch up on this underfunding. Governments tap the same funds they use to pay employees and roll them into the costs of fringe benefits.
This increases spending on employee benefits and makes less money available for salary increases. Also, even though more is being spent on benefits, employees aren’t gaining anything, as it does not make their pensions any more generous. Indeed, this money just goes to pay for pensions benefits earned by workers in the past and should have been set aside at the time they were earned, like the state constitution requires.
You might think that a union head would care to make sure that pensions are well-funded so that current and former employees are protected. A properly funded retirement plan protects retirees and frees up money for spending on current workers’ salaries or other benefits.
Yet this hasn’t happened in Michigan, as the situation in Grand Rapids shows. Read more about pension problems across the state at www.mackinac.org/pension.
Yes, the proper and timely funding of all pensions should not be ignored.
Still, I’d be more sympathetic to unions if they would stop being a money laundering machine for the Democratic Party and stood firm on stopping the illegal invasion, which is driving down the union wages.
The union bosses need to understand that working against America’s interests is working against their own interests at the same time.
Unions should understand that by having new hires for GM receive only 15 bucks an hour with NO benefits, they look like pinheads.
No fears the Uni-party will bail them out.
If you have any knowledge of the union pension ponzi scheme you will know that the majority of the pensions are underwater according to the reports filed with Fed Gov.
Union pensions for the most part are bust and the leadership knows it. Any accountant looking at their books know it.
They are depending on the Fed Gov to take them over (to big to fail).
Gosh.
The union bosses and Democrat politicians lied and spent the money that was supposed to be saved.
Here are the Democrat union members.
“We knew they were thieves, but we didn’t think they’d steal from us.”
This is from 2009. Do you think they have gotten better in the last 6 years?
Any Pension at 80% or less is considered “Endangered”
Union Pension Plan. . .% Funded.
Alaska Hotel & Restaurant Employees Pension Plan 79.70%.
American Federation of Musicians & Employers Pension 78.90%.
Teamsters Local 639 Employers Pension Trust 76.10%.
Producer-Writers Guild of America Pension Plan 75.90%.
Ohio Operating Engineers Pension Plan 75.70%.
Laborers District Council and Contractors Pension Fund of Ohio 75.40%.
Southern Nevada Culinary & Bartenders Pension Trust 75.40%.
Alaska Electrical Pension Plan 74.30%.
Alaska Laborers – Employers Retirement Fund 73.70%.
Electrical Contractors Assoc. of City of Chicago Union 134, IBEW Jt. Pension 2 73.70%.
Carpenters Retirement Plan of Western Washington 73.10%.
Automotive Industries Pension Plan 72.40%.
American Maritime Officers Pension Plan (2005) 72.40%.
United Mine Workers of America 1974 Pension Plan 72.30%.
GCIU Local 119B NY Printers League Pension Fund 71.40%.
National Elevator Industry Pension 71.00%.
Western Conference of Teamsters 70.60%.
Newspaper GUILD of NY the New York Times Pension Plan 70.50%.
Chicago District Council of Carpenters Pension Fund 70.10%.
District No. 9, IAM and Aerospace Workers Pension 69.70%.
Rocky Mt. UFCW Unions & Employers Pension Plan 69.50%.
Hotel/Casino – Summary 69.50%.
NECA-IBEW Pension Trust Fund 69.20%.
Central Pension Fund of the IUOE and Participating Employers 69.20%.
AFTRA Retirement Plan 68.90%.
Carpenters Pension Trust Fund of St Louis 68.60%.
MA State Carpenters Pension Fund 68.60%.
National Automatic Sprinkler Industry Pension 67.80%.
Midwest Operating Engineers Pension 67.80%.
Retail Clerks Pension Plan 67.70%.
Electrical Workers Pension Fund, Local 103, IBEW 67.50%.
Building Trades United Pension Trust Fund MIL and Vicinity 67.40%.
CWA/ITU Negotiated Pension Plan 66.80%.
UFCW Unions & Employers Midwest Pension Fund 66.70%.
Laborers Pension Fund 66.70%.
Carpenters Pension Fund of Philadelphia and Vicinity 66.40%.
UFCW International Union Pension Plan for Employees 66.40%.
Alaska Teamster-Employer Pension Plan 66.30%.
Steelworkers Pension Trust (2007) 66.20%.
Hotel Industry-ILWU Pension Plan 65.70%.
National Asbestos Workers Pension Fund 65.20%.
IUOE Stationary Engineers Local 39 Pension Plan 65.20%.
SEIU National Industry Pension Fund 65.00%.
Trucking Employees of North Jersey Welfare Fund Inc. Pension Fund 65.00%.
Massachusetts Laborers Pension Fund 64.70%.
California Ironworkers Field Pension Trust 64.50%.
Carpenters Pension Fund of Illinois 64.20%.
Automotive Machinists Pension Plan 63.80%.
NJ Carpenters Pension Fund 63.60%.
The Newspaper Guild International Pension Plan 62.80%.
Minnesota Laborers Pension Fund 62.40%.
Bakery & Confectionery Union & Industry International Pension 62.30%.
Laborers National Pension Fund 62.10%.
Operating Engineers Pension Trust 61.70%.
UFCW Unions and Food Employers Pension Plan of Central Ohio 61.30%.
UFCW Nothern California Joint Pension 61.00%.
Carpenters Pension fund of Western Pennsylvania 60.80%.
Newspaper and Mail Delivers – Publishers Pension Fund 60.50%.
Carpenter Pension Trust for Southern California 60.40%.
BERT Bell Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan 60.00%.
Major League Baseball Players Pension Plan 59.60%.
Sheet Metal Workers Pension Plan of S. CA, Arizona and Nevada 59.50%.
NY District Council of Carpenters Pension Plan 59.30%.
SO CA UFCW Union Joint Pension 58.40%.
National Electrical Benefit Fund 58.20%.
Boilermaker Blacksmith National Pension 58%.
GCIU-Employer Retirement Fund 57.60%.
ILWU-PMA Pension Plan 56.90%.
Masters, Mates & Pilots Pension Plan 56.60%.
Wisconsin Carpenters Pension Fund 56.50%.
Electrical Workers Pension Trust Fund of Local Union 58 55.80%.
Automotive Mechanics Local No. 701 Union Pension Fund 55.60%.
IB of T Union Local 710 Pension 55.60%.
Michigan Laborers Pension Fund 55.30%.
PACE Industry Union-Management Pension Fund 55.20%.
Pipe Fitters Retirement Fund Local 597 55.20%.
Sheet Metal Workers Pension Plan of Northern Calif 55.10%.
Central Pennsylvania Teamsters Defined Benefit Plan 55.10%.
NY Hotel Trades Council and Hotel Association of NYC Pension Fund 55.10%.
Teamsters Joint Council No. 83 of Verginia Pension Fund 54.90%.
National Integrated Group Pension Plan 54.50%.
Plumbers & Pipefitters National Pension 54.50%.
Central Laborers Pension Fund 54.20%.
Iron Workers District Council of Southern Ohio & Vicinity Pension Trust 53.90%.
Carpenters Pension Trust Fund for Northern California 53.70%.
Bricklayers & Trowel Trades International Pension Fund 53.60%.
Western Pennsylvania Teamsters and Employers Pension Plan 53.10%.
Chicago Newspaper Publishers Drivers Union Pension Trust 52.90%.
OE Pension Trust Fund 52.40%.
Indiana State District Council of Laborers & Hod Carriers Pension Fund 51.70%.
NYS Teamsters Conference Pension & Retirement Fund 51.40%.
LIUNA National Industrial Pension Fund 50.30%.
Michigan Carpenters Pension Fund 50.20%.
Twin City Carpenters Pension Fund 50.20%.
Laborers Pension Trust Fund for Northern California 50.00%.
HERE Local 25 and Hotel Association of Washington, DC Pension 49.30%.
Central States SE&SW 48.50%.
Teamsters Pension Trust of Philadelphia and Vicinity 48.50%.
Operating Engineers Local 324 Pension Fund 47.30%.
Laborers District Council of W. PA Pension Fund 46.80%.
Iron Workers Local No. 25 Pension Trust Fund 46.40%.
Local 705 IB of T Pension Trust Fund 46.30%.
Building Service 32B-J Pension Fund 42.30%.
Carpenters Pension Trust Fund Detroit & Vicinity 41.40%.
New England Teamsters & Trucking Industry Pension 40.50%.
FELRA and UFCW Pension Fund 39.80%.
Local 804 I.B.T. and Local 447 IAM UPS Multi-employer Retirement Plan 39.70%.
Sheet Metal Workers National Pension Fund 38.00%
I’m curious, where did you get those funding numbers? By the way, I don’t doubt the numbers. But I am surprised the list isn’t longer.
I don’t like unions but in a lot of cases governments hired and retained people based on a pension benefit, then just proceeded not to fund the pension for decades.
It’s a typical government bait and switch. You tell people you are giving them great benefits and then when the money isn’t there you just screw them. It’s not just restricted to pensions. Happens with all government programs.
If it’s a private union pension fund then the union is to blame. But governments treated public pension funds the same as social security. They just used the money for something else.
All this social welfare spending has come at the expense of the union members the dems claim to be protecting.
So you can have a high minimum or union wage, but the jobs go to illegal aliens who get paid less. And you have a great pension but it isn’t funded. So you either get screwed now and are unemployed, or you get screwed later in retirement.
Your government and unions at work.
I will have to dig around and find the article. I have it saved on my computer I just have to find it.
Those number come from the report that the Union pension funds have to file with the NLRB I believe.
The big mistake historically was that ERISA did not cover government plans.
Why should they get serious?
Isn’t it much better for their expert financial consultants who pull down six-figure salaries or fees to suddenly discover some kind of completely alarming discrepancy that show the pensions go bust in 14 hours? Then they can go to whichever congressional parasites they own and get them to stage a bailout.
If it’s calm, cool, and collected, nobody will give a red rat’s behind.
They have been VERY serious about it!
Oh, you mean about FIXING the problem?
Yes, yes they should...They should start paying (more) into their own F* retirement structures.
I thought we abolished slavery a LONG time ago...goes to show what *I* know.
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