There’s going to be a civil war .... between gov’t workers...and private biz workers.....unless of course they do what they should....go bankrupt! And start over.
Teamsters Make Progress on Pension Relief, Jobs
March 23, 2010
Sen. Bob Casey Announces Pension Relief Bill
(CARLISLE, Pa.) Teamster truck drivers were the first to hear Sen. Bob Caseys plan to stabilize multi-employer pension plans and save thousands of jobs.
They were on hand March 22 at the YRCW loading dock in Carlisle, Penn., where Casey announced that he would file the Create Jobs and Save Benefits Act of 2010.
The bill is extremely important to the Teamsters, who have been working with Sen. Casey on it. Its similar to a House bill that the Teamsters already support, The Preserve Benefits and Jobs Act.
That bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., and Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio. Teamsters have sent thousands of e-mails to Congress urging their elected representative to pass the Pomeroy-Tiberi bill.
Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, explained that his legislation is important to protecting pensions and saving jobs. Its also important to keep promises made to retirees, he said.
We have to fulfill our obligations, Casey said. Pensions are a basic commitment to workers and their families that they will be there for them.
The bill will strengthen the trucking and other industries. It will change the pension funding rules so employers wont have to make payments that could force them into bankruptcy. Employers can use their savings to hire and retain workers.
As part of the event to announce the filing of the legislation, Teamsters Local 776 shop steward Dave Wolf thanked Sen. Casey on behalf of General President Jim Hoffa and General Secretary-Treasurer Tom Keegel. .
Wolf pointed out that working people werent the ones who caused the stock market to crash, which weakened pensions.
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Senator Casey unveiled his Create Jobs & Save Benefits Act of 2010 at an event in Carlisle at YRC Transportation.
Pension plans across the country have taken major losses because of the near economic collapse and the decline in the stock market, said Senator Casey. Multi-employer plans face unique challenges that are overburdening pension plans and the bottom lines of companies. My legislation would help correct these problems to protect the pensions of workers and unburden companies stuck paying a crippling expense that threatens its existence and the jobs of its employees.
Specifically, Senator Caseys Create Jobs and Save Benefits Act would strengthen the funding status of multi-employer plans by making the following changes:
Mergers and Alliances The language in the bill would enable multi-employer funds to combine resources for purposes of reducing administrative costs.
Partition (ERISA Section 4233) If a plan satisfies certain requirements, the plan will transfer to a separate account all benefit liabilities attributed to orphans (participants of employers who withdrew from the plan without paying withdrawal liability) and assets equal to a maximum of 5-years of projected benefit payments. The PBGC will handle the initial application, drafting of partition agreement and monitor financial assistance to the plans. PBGC does not provide notices, calculate benefits or in any other form administer the plan. The orphans benefit will be fully guaranteed as if the orphan was still receiving benefits from the multi-employer plan.
Order the Department of Labor and Department of Treasury to prepare a report on whether the qualified partition program has strengthened the financial condition of the original plans and improved the ability of the contributing employers to these plans to remain in business.
Senator Casey was joined at the event in Carlisle by representatives from YRC Transportation, ABF Freight Systems and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
March 25, 2010
Bill to reform nation’s multi-employer pension program introduced in Senate
Proposed legislation would provide relief for unionized truckers by easing pension obligations.
The Casey bill, the Create Jobs & Save Benefits Act of 2010, mirrors legislation introduced last year in the House by Reps. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) and Patrick Tiberi (R-Ohio).
Of particular interest to the trucking industry is a provision of the Casey bill that would transfer all pension liabilities of “orphan” retireesthose who had worked at now-defunct trucking firms whose pensions are being funded by the surviving truckersto the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC), a federal corporation that protects more than 29,000 pension plans. Under the Casey bill, the benefits to the “orphan” workers would be fully guaranteed so as to assure that the orphans continued to receive the same benefits they had collected under the multi-employer plan.
The bill would spell relief for unionized trucking companies responsible not only for the pensions of their own workers but of employees at failed businesses who may never have worked for the surviving companies. It would be a huge boon to YRC Worldwide Inc. and ABF Freight System, which employ about 45,000 unionized workers represented by the Teamsters. Casey introduced the bill at a YRC facility in Carlisle, Pa., with ABF and Teamster representatives also in attendance.