Posts tagged Pension
Biden’s first veto backs pension investments in ESG
March 22, 2023 // The House is set to vote Thursday on overriding the veto, which requires a two-thirds vote, or support from 290 members. That outcome is unlikely after the resolution of disapproval first passed the House 216-204 last month. The Labor Department regulation was finalized last year and sought to strike a compromise between financial services companies that wanted clear rules and plan sponsors that did not want to be required to consider environmental, social and governance factors. It reversed a Trump administration policy that made changes to how a 1974 law, known as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, is implemented.
Concessions workers at United Center strike ahead of Big Ten Tournament
March 7, 2023 // Compass-Levy responded to the one-day strike, saying in part that it has introduced a new pension plan, wage increases and a new health care plan.
Biden Shoveled $36 Billion In Taxpayer Funds To Bail Out Teamsters For Mismanaged Pensions
March 5, 2023 // Lost in all of this has been one spectacular giveaway: $100,000 per beneficiary of the Central States Pension Fund (CSPF). The fund provides pension benefits to nearly 360,000 private-sector workers and retirees, mostly Teamsters Union members. U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, called the deal out in December, noting it was “the largest private pension bailout in American history” that benefited only “a tiny minority of workers.” He suggested it resulted from the insanity of “allowing those who mismanaged pensions to determine whether their funds qualify for taxpayer assistance with no safeguards.” The $36 billion comes almost two years after the passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. That “rescue” was the Biden administration’s Covid spending bonanza. Biden signed it into law in the spring of 2021, when the economy was already well into recovery. The housing market was booming. The stock market was on a steady upward climb. It was obvious that the “rescue” would cause inflation. It was obvious Democrats were taking advantage of an opportunity to give away public largesse. And did they ever. Lest we doubt the ongoing influence of the Teamsters in American politics, the recent $36 billion giveaway says it all. It says to the union bosses, who make up half of the CSPF board: “You can watch the pension fund’s health decline for decades. You can make unrealistic promises to employees. You can keep the plan below 75 percent funded. You can depend on a pyramid concept where imaginary new members keep coming in to pay for retired members. None of that matters now. The politicians you own will bail you out with the public’s money. In fact, you can take such largesse that union workers in other multi-employer plans get left with only crumbs. Write yourself a check. And, as a bonus, we won’t ask you to change anything.”
Opinion: Collective Manipulation; Whether in courts or in legislatures, public employee unions need to be reined in.
February 22, 2023 // The book contains countless examples of collective bargaining agreements effectively allowing employees to get away with gross misconduct and preventing managers from sanctioning them for lackluster work. An EPA employee was caught surfing porn in his cubicle at work and was paid for nearly two years before agreeing to retire. An IRS agent systematically denied benefits to African immigrants, repeatedly made discriminatory remarks in the office, and tried to run another employee off the road. His union lawyers got him a deal that left him with a clean personnel record when he left the agency, allowing him to get a job with the Forestry Service. “As a practical matter,” Howard writes, “almost no public employee can be dismissed without a massive managerial commitment,” and even that commitment does not guarantee success. California has 300,000 teachers and only about two or three a year lose their jobs because of poor performance. At the federal level, more employees die at work than face termination for poor performance. Public sector unions provide more than direct financial contributions to political campaigns. Howard recounts how they recruit and train candidates, manage phone banks, lead door-to-door canvassing drives, staff campaigns, and run ads. Such union political activity makes them larger and more influential than other political interest groups. The protracted legal battles former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker faced after he proposed reining in public-union power supports Howard’s thesis that union power is formidable. Walker beat a union-led recall effort against him, but union opposition to modest changes led to electoral annihilation in New Jersey in the 1990s.
Union representing Disney World employees urging workers to reject company’s latest wage offer
January 31, 2023 // Disney spokesperson said, "This very strong offer provides our Cast Members with a nearly 10% average increase immediately and guaranteed raises for the next four years with every single non-tipped Cast Member promised at least a $20 starting wage during the contract, and the majority seeing a 33% to 46% increase during that time." All six unions representing workers in the Service Trades Council Union (STCU) are recommending that members vote no on Disney's contract proposal to keep fighting for a better pay rate.
Flanked by Union Allies, Biden Touts $36 Billion Pension Bailout
December 9, 2022 // President Joe Biden announced a $36 billion bailout for the Central States Pension Fund, one of the nation’s biggest multi-employer plans, touting the help for union workers and retirees as he looks to mend ties with organized labor after a contentious rail deal.
After Unionizing And Picketing, Senate Cafeteria Workers Secure $20 Minimum Wage And Benefits
October 24, 2022 // Cafeteria workers at the U.S. Senate have ratified their first contract, securing a $20 per hour minimum wage and benefits like pension contributions and affordable platinum-level health insurance with coverage for family members. The workers are organized with UNITE HERE Local 23. The union’s contract with the workers’ employer, Restaurant Associates, went into effect Tuesday and will remain in effect until Sept. 30, 2026.
Hundreds of Teamsters on strike against food distribution company Sysco Boston
October 3, 2022 // In a statement, Sysco said they did offer a wage increase of 25% over the life of the contract and more health care options at lower costs. The company said the union declared a strike without allowing workers to vote on the offer. "The work stoppage at Sysco Boston is unnecessary and union leaders have taken this action with little regard for the damage it will cause to our associates and our customers. Sysco Boston is willing to continue to bargain to reach a resolution," a company spokesperson wrote.
Report: Kroger eyes possibility of Ohio employee strike
September 19, 2022 // "It's business as usual at Kroger. A strike authorization doesn't mean a strike. Associates should continue to report to work as scheduled." WBNS also quoted the Kroger statement as saying: "The fully recommended agreement on our last best and final offer showed our commitment to the whole person, providing wage increases, high-quality, affordable health care, and a pension benefit for retirement.
St. Louis Machinists union members vote to strike Boeing Aug.1
July 25, 2022 // IAM workers are one of the biggest trade unions in the U.S. and Canada. There are about 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, railroad, transit, healthcare, and other sectors. IAM District 837 members make and manufacture the world’s top weapons and military aircraft, like F-15, F-18, and others. St. Louis, St. Charles, and Mascoutah, Illinois. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace (IAM) District 837