Teamster retirees head to Congress to demand pension security

Teamsters met with an aide to House Speaker Ryan.

Teamster retirees from Wisconsin, Ohio and elsewhere met with representatives of House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) today to voice their outrage over proposed Central States Pension Plan cuts.

Bob Amsden, a Local 200 retiree and a spokesman for Wisconsin Committee to Protect Pensions, said retirees are in crisis over the potential cuts, which run as high as 65 percent. After spending the morning at an IRS hearing on the matter, they headed to Capitol Hill this afternoon to let elected officials know their constituents need help from Congress.

Amsden, whose own pension is being cut by more than 55 percent, said:

It is the most immoral and painful set of reforms in the country. And many still don't know that it is coming.

Amsden said there are some 50 committees around the country set up to demand the federal government not adopt the cuts. People can learn more by going to www.mycspensionhandsoff.com.

The Teamsters have made clear they are not satisfied with the proposal put forward by Central States. In a filing earlier this month with the Treasury Department, General President Jim Hoffa and Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall wrote that hundreds of thousands of retirees will been hurt if it is adopted:

In the final analysis, we do not believe that Central States can save itself through more intensive cuts or higher employer contributions. The reality is that Central States will become a "zombie" plan -- its funding ration will sink to 40% and its active worker population will decline by two-thirds. If the Federal government is truly concerned with the economic future of Central States' participants, it will find a way to provide direct financial support to the plan and its participants.

Hoffa and Hall are far from alone in their opposition. Nineteen House members have signed onto two separate letters sent to Special Master Kenneth Feinberg urging him to reject efforts to slash monthly pension payments by as much as 60 percent. One of those letters, signed by Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.) and 16 others, says doing so is a matter of fairness:

Simply put, America's workers are entitled to the pensions they've earned over a lifetime of hard work -- and the big corporations that fall into financial trouble or even declare bankruptcy should not be permitted to take those problems and failures out on employee pensions, especially while executives secure golden parachutes.

The federal government needs to listen to the feedback it is getting from retirees, Teamster leaders and elected officials and oppose the Central States' draconian proposal. Workers deserve better!

TPP is a big, bad deal for workers

Rep. Marcy Kaptur called out TPP as bad for workers this morning.

Several House members gathered on Capitol Hill this morning to let the public know seeing isn't believing when it comes to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Lawmakers rolled out a copy for the 12-nation Pacific Rim trade deal on a dolly -- all 5,600 pages of it -- and said it will take more than 90 days for lawmakers to fully dissect and digest the agreement. But they added what they've read thus far is worse than they imagined.

When it comes to American jobs, trade deficits, expanded rights for foreign investors and food safety, the TPP is a loser for everyday Americans, elected officials stated. It's time for the U.S. to learn from past history on trade deals, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) said:

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is more of the great sucking sound of jobs out of this country. Not a single one has resulted in a trade balance...We are going to lose even more jobs. TPP is just more of the same.

House members said bipartisan opposition to the deal is growing on Capitol Hill. Now that the document is public, lawmakers can delve into it to get the details of the pact. And many are not liking what they read.

The TPP document in all its largeness.

For example, the agreement will allow members to challenge food safety checks made when goods are imported into the U.S. Given the concerns many have raised about seafood brought in from Vietnam and Malaysia, for example, that is not good news for consumers.

TPP also does nothing to curtail currency manipulation, which would lead to even larger U.S. trade deficits with member countries. And investor-state dispute resolution language actually gives investors a great ability to sue these Pacific Rim countries to have their laws overturned.

As Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said, TPP is "too big to pass," given that only five chapters of the agreement even deal with trade. It's just another attempted corporate takeover sanctioned by member governments.

That's why Congress needs to say no to the TPP.

Teamsters demand Congress, feds save pensions

Teamsters President Hoffa and Sen. Sanders talked pensions on the Hill today.

Hundreds of Teamster members and retirees came to Washington today to voice outrage over proposed rules governing pension cuts and support for legislation that would bolster multi-employer plans at the center of the dispute.

They gathered at both a Capitol Hill rally this afternoon and a hearing earlier in the day hosted by the U.S. Treasury Department to share how legislation proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) is needed and how they would be adversely affected by potential cuts to their retirements.

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa told workers during the Hill event that the federal government guaranteed pensions would be there for workers when they enacted the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) more than 40 years ago and must not go back on it now:

You played by the books and they pulled out the rug. It is devastating. We've been fighting it. There was a promise made, and we've got to keep it. 

Sen. Sanders, a Democratic presidential candidate, said the legislation is key because it would protect retirees who could suffer from pension changes imposed by Congress late last year
through no fault of their own. He said it would be a travesty to implement cuts that could reduce benefits by as much as 60 percent:

Tens of thousands of retirees in the middle class today, who intended to retire in the middle class, could slip into poverty. That is unconscionable and we cannot allow that. We have got to send a very loud message.

Teamsters rally against pension changes.

Earlier in the day, Teamsters International Vice President John Murphy and others testified before a panel of federal officials representing the Treasury and Labor departments as well as the International Revenue Service and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. They urged members to do everything they can to protect retirees in failing pension plans.

If cuts are ultimately necessary, Murphy said they should be phased in to minimize the burden on retirees and should be as low as possible to keep a given pension solvent:

The final regulations should not provide methods for plans to make larger cuts than necessary. A phase-in will ease the shock of the reduction. Maybe, instead of $100, you reduce $50 and then two years later, $25. That way it's not an open cut.

Retirees and workers also offered their own suggestions. They noted it is ridiculous that they are getting punished for decisions made by others and said there are better ways to keep pensions afloat, such as cutting the large investment fees paid by pensions.

Paul Flacke, a former president of Local 661 in Cincinnati who worked for 32 years before getting injured and forced to retire, said he knows workers paid their fair share into pensions because he helped negotiate many contracts. He urged the board to consider new pension rules to look at financial fees as a potential way to bolster retirement funds:

We are talking about millions of dollars being charged for moving our money. Why are they moving our money around?

Don't pare back retirement security!

Everyday Americans are finding it increasingly hard to cover their daily expenses. So it's not surprising that saving for retirement is falling behind. But many companies are making it even more difficult by reducing benefits and options for their workers.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur talked pensions on Capitol Hill in June.

A report earlier this year found that the U.S. ranks only 19th in the world when it comes to retirement security, behind Iceland and just barely in front of Slovenia. That's nothing short of an embarrassment for this country. But it is not surprising given the reduction in pensions, the fluctuations in 401(k) savings plans and continued talk of raising the retirement age for Social Security.

The Teamsters have taken an active role in fighting to protect retirees' and workers' nest eggs. The IBT and other unions got behind the Keep Our Pensions Promises Act (KOPPA), introduced earlier this year by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio). It's more essential now than ever.

On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department will hold a hearing in Washington on finalizing a rule that opens the door to pension cuts. This would be the first time since President Ford signed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) into law that pension retirement security would be compromised. 

The futures of some 1.5 million workers who are enrolled in about 200 retirement plans nationwide are at risk, and potentially many more in the future if we do not act. The U.S. must take action now and stand up to these cuts. Lawmakers owe it to hardworking Americans who have earned the ability to retire with dignity. They must stand up to these cuts and restore ERISA’s protections before time runs out.

Similar attention needs to be focused on expanding, and not shrinking, Social Security. More lawmakers seem interested in making hardworking Americans work even longer to receive benefits than expanding the successful program to make sure people can have a more comfortable life in their golden years. It's nothing more than a trick, as the National Journal noted:

Raising the Social Security retirement age ... means that future retirees will get smaller payouts than previous ones did after starting to collect benefits at the very same age. The differences can be dramatic, as the following example illustrates: If, under the current cutoff, you’re eligible for $1,000 at age 67, you could instead choose to get $700 a month for retiring at 62 or $1,240 a month for retiring at 70. But if the retirement age was increased to 70—a number mentioned by John Boehner, Jeb Bush, and Chris Christie—the $1,000 benefit at 67 turns into $800, the $700 benefit at 62 turns into $565, and the $1,240 benefit at 70 turns into $1,000. 

These cuts matter significantly on the level of the individual. But, even if Social Security as a whole were in crisis (it’s not), cutting the benefits that people can collect before age 70 wouldn’t even be a particularly effective way of closing any budget gaps: Increasing the retirement age from 67 to 68 would erase 12 percent of the deficit that Social Security is expected to face 75 years from now.

As it stands, nearly two-thirds of retirees count on Social Security for half or more of their retirement income. For more than 30 percent of retirees, the funds make up 90 percent or more of their income. It may not be right, but it is true.

Policymakers cannot in good faith turn a blind eye to these numbers. Everyday Americans are counting on them. It's time to take a stand for workers and retirees who don't have friends in high places. They must do the right thing.