Posts tagged retirees
Plan Sponsors Get Go-Ahead on Alternatives as DOL Shifts Stance
August 22, 2025 // For plan sponsors, this regulatory shift provides much-needed clarity and removes a significant deterrent that had been hanging over alternative investment discussions. The DOL has essentially returned to a neutral, principles-based approach that allows fiduciaries to evaluate all investment options based on their merits rather than facing special scrutiny for considering alternatives.
NYC Employee Pension Payments Cross $6 billion; 70 Members Collect $200k+
June 21, 2025 // The pension plan covering most New York City government agencies, including the City’s subway system, had 70 members with pension payments of at least $200,000 last year, almost quadrupling 2019’s tally of 19, according to new data posted today at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. According to the data collected from the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS), total payments climbed to $6.05 billion in 2024, a five percent increase since 2023 ($5.78 billion).
Safeway, Albertsons union workers to vote next weekend on possible strike
May 27, 2025 // According to UFCW Local 7, which represents the union workers of Safeway and Albertsons, the company and union have been negotiating for eight months, most recently meeting on Friday, May 23. The union stated in an update posted to Facebook that Safeway agreed to “important language items” sought by the bargaining committee, “including a new drug and alcohol rehabilitation policy and protection of Drive Up and Go shopper work.”
Hearing Recap: “Investing for the Future: Honoring ERISA’s Promise to Participants”
May 3, 2025 // The Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee held a hearing examining the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Left’s efforts to manipulate ERISA plans to push a radical political agenda. These benefit plans hold an estimated $14 trillion in assets and benefit 156 million workers, retirees, and dependents.
Act 10, Scourge of Wisconsin Teachers, Faces Uncertain Future in Court
March 4, 2025 // According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the proportion of union members in Wisconsin’s workforce fell by nearly half, from 14.2% to 7.4%, between 2010 and 2023 (since that figure includes workers from all sectors, the drop for government employees is likely much steeper). A report from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, a right-leaning think tank, showed that the total number of unions holding annual recertification votes across the state declined from 540 in 2014 to 369 in 2018. The largest teachers’ union in the state, the Wisconsin Education Association Council, experienced a dizzying loss of manpower and organizing heft. A 2019 study conducted by a pair of researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that WEAC was forced to restructure and cut its staffing by about two-thirds. The retrenchment was made necessary by a freefall in the collection of dues, the payment of which was made voluntary by Act 10. The loss of paid organizers could be offset, in part, by the efforts of teacher volunteers. But the union had no ready replacement for the millions of dollars in government relations funds that had suddenly evaporated; WEAC went from being one of the biggest lobbying forces in Madison to a second-tier player virtually overnight.
NY reaches tentative deal to end prison strike by suspending anti-solitary confinement law
March 2, 2025 // A law restricting the use of solitary confinement in New York’s prisons would remain partly suspended for 90 days if corrections officers accept a tentative agreement the state reached with their union to end an ongoing wildcat strike. There will be no departmental discipline for any of the thousands of corrections officers if they return to work by Saturday, according to a memo the governor released. The agreement also includes provisions to reduce mandated overtime, increase the overtime pay rate and temporarily hire retired corrections officers to assist in transporting incarcerated people.
Colorado King Soopers and Union reach deal to end strikes, resume negotiations
February 19, 2025 // On Monday night, UFCW Local 7 said a “return-to-work” settlement was secured for all striking workers. According to UFCW Local 7, the settlement includes an agreement that King Soopers cannot implement an offer for at least 100 days and will not lock workers out during this time.
US Steel Deal ‘Doomed,’ Says Union ‘Steadfast’ in Opposition
September 13, 2024 // United Steelworkers union says it will not be bullied into accepting Nippon Steel Corp.’s last-ditch efforts to win over workers for its takeover of United States Steel Corp., calling the $14.1 billion acquisition a “doomed deal” and pledging to fight any foreign ownership of the company.
PBGC Announces nearly $650 Million In Taxpayer Monies To Go To Four More Failing Union Pension Plans
June 12, 2024 // On Tuesday, the PBGC announced it approved approximately $545.6 million in special financial assistance (SFA) to the CWA/ITU Negotiated Pension Plan (CWA/ITU Plan), based in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. The plan, which covers 24,288 participants in the printing industry, was projected to become insolvent and run out of money in 2029.
Did AFT Actually Add 30,000 New Members This Past Year? Well, Not Really
October 18, 2023 // In 2023, the union added more than 11,500 retired members, accounting for almost two-fifths of the reported gain in total membership. It now has 471,582 retired members — 27.5% of its total. The other major event for AFT in the fiscal year was the affiliation of the American Association of University Professors. The AAUP has 44,000 members. Previously, about 20,000 AAUP members also belonged to AFT. Now, they all do, accounting for a further increase of 24,000 members to AFT’s total this year. Mergers and new affiliations with existing unions are a fun way to pump up raw membership totals, but they do nothing to increase the share of the overall workforce that is unionized.