It’s really the members that are already retired that are the problem. They simply do not have the money or the current active membership to fund 100% of their commitment to them. Without the windfall from the taxpayer their benefit would be cut 60%. The way to resolve this going forward is to tell unions the Pension Benefit guaranty will not guarantee defined benefit pensions going forward, only defined contribution plans. When they negotiate new contracts they will have to negotiate them on the basis of the company funding a defined 401 K contribution plan. The investment risk is then with the Union member not the US taxpayer
Exactly. And this isn’t a situation like the steel industry where the demographic collapse is tied to an overall decline in the industry. The trucking industry is booming, but fewer and fewer drivers are interested in union representation. I think there are fewer than a half dozen large trucking firms with Teamsters drivers.