Nyhan Says Congress Holds Key to Pension

[Apostolic]

Looks like our government is allowing all of the contractual pension funds to be cut,or reduced nation wide.
So much for union protection & government looking out for the best interest of all citizens.

What is wrong when illegals get the same,or even better benefits then freeborn working folks?
You think I sound bitter,no not really,just disappointed.

 

[jimmy g]

Looks like our government is allowing all of the contractual pension funds to be cut,or reduced nation wide.
So much for union protection & government looking out for the best interest of all citizens.

What is wrong when illegals get the same,or even better benefits then freeborn working folks?
You think I sound bitter,no not really,just disappointed.

I don't like giving money to illegals, so there we agree.

But it's not Government's job to make up money for a mismanaged private product. If pensions aren't cut, the Oldsters get all the money, and anyone not currently about 58 or older gets nothing when they retire. None of us are happy. Just realistic...

 

[henry j]

So henry j it looks like you have really got to the bottom of the decline of our forced retirement savings account.
I say forced due to monies that were in written contracts over the years per agreements with the union LTL's,as part of our wage & benefits package.
Of course we can reflect back,however can't change anything that is in the past..
Hindsight,had we not agreed to those pension contributions in the NMFA contracts.
We would of had higher,hourly & milage pay,that we could of been investing a portion of our pay into our own personal retirement funds.
So hey forth-sight is golden where as hindsight is worthless.

You have found in your research that the upper management has squandered our pension.
Well news flash, as far as I know being a Teamster from 1965 that has been an on going practice I believe from the dawn of the contracted fund.
Way back then I knew of a practice called Ghost payrolls where friends & relatives of my local officials from the president, VP, & Treasurer,all were receiving paychecks for nothing.
None of us working Teamsters had better say anything if we knew what was good for us.
Now that I'm retired I doubt theres much they can do to me now,other than stop paying my pension which is going to be reduced by 31%.

But the bottom line is the upper management down to a lot of the locals, have been draining our fund,like forever.
With nothing anybody could do about it without getting themselves in a jam.
Heres one more thing that really ticked me off since I'm going down memory lane.
The president of my local had a car provided to him by the local.

The first Teamster company I worked dock & city for had a gas powered fork lift.
Seeing I was the newbie I was given the chore of going to the fuel island to fill up the gas can every morning after punching in.
Well the first time out I see the local president waiting at the pump,the pump was kept locked & I had to take the key out with me to unlock it.
I was puzzeled about seeing that guy sitting there,but I didn't say anything.
I just unlocked the pump,& he gets out & takes the hose out of my hand & proceeds to fill up his car,says,you didn't see anything & drives away.
I filled up the can,then relocked the pump,turned to walk back up on the dock.

When I saw one of my co-workers standing in the doorway.
He asked me what the president said to me,I told him he said I didn't see anything.
Well then my co-worker says he's right, if you know whats good for you,you didn't see anything,he says he fills his car there all of the time.
I'm thinking well what a no good cheap skate,but I didn't say anything.
Next thing I'm out making deliveries on my route.

Don't this guy pull me over on the side of the road with his car & a car behind him,asking to see my drivers license & union card.
I'm thinking what the heck does he need 2 car loads of suites to check me out?

Well he seemed to be happy that my paperwork was in order & drives away.
After I got back I shared what happened with my co-workers.
They said the guy must have been nervous,that I blew him in for stealing the gas.
He was sending me a message by pulling me over,to make sure I was a teamster in good standing.

So yeah I know all about the good old Teamsters union.
Although not all negative, we did have some pretty good contracts over the years.
It is no secret the ones who were corrupt,had no problem doing their shady deals when the fund had a lot of LTL's contributing.

However now that theres little going in we are all suffering,except I'm thinking maybe the fund wasn't all squandered.
That some of the money has been socked away to take care of the upper management golden parachutes.

Apostolic - Glad to read your response. I'll put in my 2 cents worth. On the pension contributions, you are right. It was OUR money being contributed as part of our contractual pay pkg automatically with-held out of each paycheck, held in escrow & supposedly sent in by the company to CSPF at least quarterly toward our future retirement. Some companies "forgot" about the last part and just kept it. The Fund and IBT did not force the pmts - then many of those companies closed taking the money with them.

I joined the union in about 1970, and yes we did have some good contracts and most, if not all members were happy then, even knowing about the corruption and money skimming. It seemed there was plenty to go around then, and the members had no way of knowing how bad it was or how to change it. There were no elections. The teamster bosses controlled everything including CSPF money and choosing the IBT president up until 1991. After the mob was exposed as using millions in CSPF funds to build Vegas, the gov't stepped in to stop that. They sent Hoffa, Sr, Roy Williams and a few other lesser bosses to prison, passed ERISA in '72 and created a couple "oversight committees" to watch over and control corruption and mob ties. As it turns out, they weren't watching anything. The corruption and money skimming went on as always, it just no longer went to Vegas. Instead it went into the pockets of corrupt Teamster bosses and politicians to keep them "looking the other way" while members' money was being siphoned off.

Not until 1991 did the members finally get the right to vote for union bosses with a secret ballot (first by voting machine at each local then by mail). 32% voted in the first election,. Carey won, but was forced to resign because of phoney charges claimed by unhappy mobsters and longtime union bosses. He was later cleared of all allegations, but in the meantime, Hoffa, Jr was elected in 1998. In spite of all the corruption, dwindling membership, concessions to the companies, the UPS exit with Hoffa's blessing and billions in CSPF money being lost by Nyhan in bad investments, both of these turkeys (Hoffa & Nyhan) keep their jobs along with their huge salaries. Hoffa claims he has no part in running the Fund, you can bet he has connections in high places to make sure his co-conspirator, and key holder to the CSPF "piggy bank", keeps his job.

What ticks me off is that the members keep allowing this to happen by not using their right to cast a secret ballot every 5 years. The latest election had the worst turnout ever at only 16.5% (out of 1,300,000 eligible Teamster voters, only 214,000 bothered to get off their ass and send in a ballot). Pathetic. We are indeed our own worst enemy. Some I've talked to have the attitude "Why vote, it's all rigged anyhow?" or "I don't want the hall to know who I voted for." or "I don't care who wins." or "I've got a good job. I don't want to Rock the Boat". Voter apathy, fear of the union bosses (intimidation), ignorance and laziness (to actually think and send in a ballot) are just some of the reasons we are in so much trouble with bad union leaders and a near bankrupt Fund. Hoffa should have been voted out a long time ago and there should have been an uprising of demand that Nyhan be removed. Now, you are right, it's too late to do anything about all the Fund's missing money. If only minor changes in contributions and/or benefits had been done starting 30 years ago, there wouldn't be a crisis now. The union leaders chose to lie to the members and pretend everything was A-OK with the retirement fund when the KNEW it wasn't. They were only worried about their own re-election time and time again and their own fat paycheck and their own retirement fund. To tell the truth about the Fund being in trouble maybe 20 or 30 years in the future would mean unhappy members who would vote them out (the old "kill the messenger" theory). They chose to bury the truth to keep the members happy with good contracts and lies that did nothing to help the Fund for future retirees. The IBT and CSPF were very happy about "keeping members in the dark" about the sad financial shape of the Fund. Not until 2006 when the PPA was passed, and then by law, the members were informed about the truth. In 2007, Hoffa agreed to let UPS exit the fund with a $6.1 billion cash payout. He gave it to Nyhan who in turn lost all of it plus several billion more in CSPF pension fund money over the next couple years through bad investments and bad choices of money managers on Wall St. The UPS exit meant $600 million less in Fund contributions every year thereafter. UPS had been trying to exit the Fund ever since 1997 and Hoffa finally caved in. After the exit cash of $6.1 billion was paid, UPS officials said they could recoup that amount in about 3 years. Even after all that, most of the members chose to keep their heads in the sand. Nyhan has kept his $694,000 per year job to this day and Hoffa has been re-elected again.

As you found out after the gas pump incident, there are a lot of "snitches" among our so-called "brotherhood" that just love to run down to the hall to "rat out" a brother in order to get brownie points with the union bosses. Since retirement, very few know where I live in a very rural area, but still I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple black suburbans come up my driveway, since I've voiced my opinion on Teamster and CSPF corruption. If that happens, I'm prepared.

For many years, I was a strong supporter of my Local and the Teamsters in general, but there are two thing I cannot tolerate.
That is being lied to or being stolen from. It turns out that the Teamsters and the CSPF have been doing both to me for over 40 years.

 

[Apostolic]

After posting just a few run-ins with my local rep.'s,when there were many more.
Because I never totally agreed with their way of thinking,& not being a yes man during some of the union meetings I attended.

I was hung out to dry so to speak, with no representation when I needed it,even though I asked my business agent.
This is what you do for me after being a Teamster, always up to date on my dues payments,after 21 years?
Then I said well I may have to take a withdrawal & go to a non-union LTL.
He tells me well we hate to lose a member,but you have to do what you have to do.
After slamming the phone down.
I did just that & hired on with Overnite, worked for them 19 years till we became UPS Freight then 5 more years till I retired.

After a 45 year LTL city driving career it turned out that I have pension payments from UPS,& the 21 Teamsters years.
So then having a 31% cut of the Teamsters pension will hurt,it isn't going to kill my finances like some Teamsters.

With all thats gone on,& the current corruption of the Teamsters I wonder how they hope to sign up any more members?

 

[henry j]

After posting just a few run-ins with my local rep.'s,when there were many more.
Because I never totally agreed with their way of thinking,& not being a yes man during some of the union meetings I attended.

I was hung out to dry so to speak, with no representation when I needed it,even though I asked my business agent.
This is what you do for me after being a Teamster, always up to date on my dues payments,after 21 years?
Then I said well I may have to take a withdrawal & go to a non-union LTL.
He tells me well we hate to lose a member,but you have to do what you have to do.
After slamming the phone down.
I did just that & hired on with Overnite, worked for them 19 years till we became UPS Freight then 5 more years till I retired.

After a 45 year LTL city driving career it turned out that I have pension payments from UPS,& the 21 Teamsters years.
So then having a 31% cut of the Teamsters pension will hurt,it isn't going to kill my finances like some Teamsters.

With all thats gone on,& the current corruption of the Teamsters I wonder how they hope to sign up any more members?

I know what you speak of, personally.....When I retired, I had nearly 35 yrs paid in and accredited (more at another Local, but they managed to "lose" the microfiche that those records were stored on from 1969-70) (their story). For the first few yrs I was happy with the Teamsters because, like so many others I was ignorant of what was going on.
As time went on, it became apparent to me that most in my local were being manipulated by the union bosses as to how "a good union member" should think and who they should vote for in both union and political elections. I resented that because unlike so many other members, I like to make my OWN decisions. Just lay out the facts, I'll decide. When I refused to join the political PAC "DRIVE" or a local-led PAC for our state and refused to sign a "pledge" to vote for the local's PREFERRED union candidates and also refused to contribute to the local's campaign fund for specific Democrats both in our state and nationally, I was blackballed by my crooked and incompetent BA and my equally incompetent pair of shop stewards at the time. Any grievances I filed from that point forward went nowhere (except probably in the trash can).

While I did have a good BA for 20 years, after he retired things began to unravel fast. A couple years later IRB corruption charges were brought against multiple members of my Local. They were never prosecuted even though to charged were specifically laid out publicly in a Fed IRB report. They were "forced out" but will be able to return to the same local in a couple yrs. They got an "exit bonus" when they left and are now running successful non-union businesses. No prosecution. No jail time for stealing members' money. That left a real sour taste in my mouth. One of those temporarily forced out was my BA (after the good one retired) until I retired. He was a worthless POS, never there when you need him, constantly siding with the company and busy finding ways to make himself more money by being appointed to many other positions, in addition to BA including president of our Local to provide for him multiple salaries and multiple pensions. Nobody at the hall will say if these A-holes are now getting or will still get those retirement bonuses and pmts. I think the silence at the hall answers that question.

A good friend of mine that joined the union in the late 90's became a shop steward after I retired and since then has also become a trustee at a Teamster Local. I still talk to him occasionally on the phone, but I have not been to the hall nor have I seen him in about 8 yrs. (I have told him and others that I will never set foot in that union hall again since finding out about the corruption that took place there before and after I retired.) He was not a steward or officer at the local when the thefts occurred. He's a good guy, but I think he's now an insider, just looking out for his own interests within the Teamster leadership framework. He says he is now part of an organizing drive to sign up Fed Ex and two or three other non-union companies. I told him "Good luck on that. What do you have to offer? Lower starting pay that takes years to get to the top scale? Forced contributions into a Fund that the Fund itself says will be bankrupt in less than 9 years? Part time workers that slow or stop casuals from ever getting on the list? More and more corruption charges at the IBT and Locals nationwide. Declining membership. Sharply declining contributors to the CSPF (44,000 allowed to leave in 2007, thanks to Hoffa and Hall), many more grocery houses and their drivers are preparing to leave CSPF and form their own pension fund which will make the bankruptcy happen even sooner. No amount of recruiting will find enough new contributors to replace those already lost.) He knows my former company is so desperate for warm bodies, they will hire anyone (part-time or casual). The smart ones that know the real story won't even apply anymore. After that, he had no answers. I still consider him my friend, but in my opinion, he is like a member of the ships crew on the Titanic, rearranging the deck chairs just before the ship sank. I also told him that, since it has become known that the Teamsters and the CSPF has lied and stolen from me and hundreds of thousands of others for at least all the years I was there, I now regret ever setting foot in a Teamster union hall. Now, I know I could have done better for myself somewhere else, but at age 25, I was gullible enough to believe in the Teamster promise of a comfortable retirement.
I am not saying the entire Teamster organization is going down, just the Freight Division and the CSPF. I guess that's why he prefers to be a trustee instead of being a BA to a freight company that may be gone soon. The local represents many other parts of the labor force (including police officers). Anyhow, I guess he was offended or embarrassed by what I had to say, since he has not called in over a year now. He knows I know. Thanks for letting me "vent". My wife of 52 years is getting tired of hearing it !

 

[henry j]

I don't like giving money to illegals, so there we agree.

But it's not Government's job to make up money for a mismanaged private product. If pensions aren't cut, the Oldsters get all the money, and anyone not currently about 58 or older gets nothing when they retire. None of us are happy. Just realistic...

The can has been "kicked down the road" about the looming failure of the CSPF for many years. Everybody knew about it. The insiders knew about the growing likelihood of the failure of CSPF that was growing worse every year. Nobody in the gov't watchdog committees did anything about it. The union officials did not want to talk about it. Being the bearer of bad news might mean exposing their own incompetence and corruption once again. The chose to keep the impending CSPF failure quiet to ensure their own re-election. It was GOOD for them, BAD for the retirees, but they didn't care. They all are still going to get their fat salaries, perks, and retirement packages that also include bonuses. They will not lose a dime. Not until the 2006 PPA law was passed did the truth start surfacing about the death spiral of the fund when the first required status reports on the Fund's financial health were mailed out to CSPF participants. Even after the UPS debacle in 2007 by Hoffa and Hall and Nyhan's further mishandling of $6.1 billion in CSPF in funds, nothing was done except a feeble attempt by Nyhan in 2010 to get a gov't bailout. In spite of complete control of Congress and the White House at time, Nyhan was told to go packing. No more attempts were ever made. The "can" was kicked down the road. Nothing has been done for the Teamster in spite of heavy Democrat backing at every campaign I can ever remember. The issue of the CSPF likely failure has been covered up for all of Obama's 8 years in office. Now the Democrats are thrilled with the opportunity to dump the problem into the lap of new Republican controlled Congress and especially in the lap of the new President that they hate so much, Donald Trump.
Obama and the Dems did not hesitate to dump huge amounts of money into "mismanaged private product companies".
As of Dec 2016, during Obama's 2 terms, gov't bailouts were given out to 968 recipients totaling $622 Billion according to the gov't watchdog group (projects.propublica. org/bailout/list).... Not a nickel for the teamsters and their retirees that have given millions to elect Democrats..........but I guess we don't want to talk about that.

 

[papajohn]

I don't like giving money to illegals, so there we agree.

But it's not Government's job to make up money for a mismanaged private product. If pensions aren't cut, the Oldsters get all the money, and anyone not currently about 58 or older gets nothing when they retire. None of us are happy. Just realistic...

Sounds to me like you are bitter. You helped cause this and you ran. Sorry this is on you. Either stand up and fight or get out of the way!!!

 

[jimmy g]

PJ, all I see when you post is: 'This member is on your ignored list'.

 

[Apostolic]

papajohn,almost looks like you are not just a dues paying Teamster.
But perhaps a trustee,or higher-up,that you can accuse someone who has been dumped on.
I myself personally know henry j is not in a minority of Teamsters who have had bad experiences through out their trucking career.

 

[henry j]

PJ, all I see when you post is: 'This member is on your ignored list'.

Cowards (and Democrats) refuse to listen to opposing views. That is the Democtats' trained strategy. The three "D's".
...Deny, Deflect and Discredit. If a message exposes the Democratic Party in a negative light.
Deny the truth......Deflect the story to another subject........and if that don't work...... Discredit the messenger or opposition. IF all that fails, revert to the RACE CARD.
Persons that are comfortable in their own skin and are not afraid of the truth can and should defend their own beliefs and/or opinions with an open mind, willing to hear and consider other opinions.

 

[Apostolic]

Here is another injustice at the hands of my local union hall.

One of my fellow city drivers working at one of the LTL's I worked at.
Was at a union meeting,& at the end of the minutes that were read from the last meeting,the treasurers report was read.
At the end of that report the secretary said so much for miscellaneous.
Well this driver raised his hand & was recognized to speak.

So he asked to have the miscellaneous funds explained.
Our president said it was really none of his business.

He was told to sit down,however he being hard headed, stayed on his feet & asked I want to know what that money was for.
Even though he had every right to know where the money was going as a dues paying Teamster,we all thought he probably should have just sat down.

However the president & VP started shouting at him to shut up & sit down.
Next thing they send two guys down,which grabbed him by the arms & dragged him out of the meeting.

The hall revoked his union card,but by law he was able to keep his job,& even received his pension when that company went bankrupted.
He retired with a pension because the company was paying into the Teamsters fund as part of his benefits.
If he had of left our company to work any other LTL,he was black listed where he wouldn't have been able to get any other LTL jobs.

No none of us ever found out then,or any other union meetings, where the miscellaneous money was being spent.

So if any Teamster ever worked an entire LTL career without any run ins with the union I'd say they were really blessed.

 

[henry j]

I don't like giving money to illegals, so there we agree.

But it's not Government's job to make up money for a mismanaged private product. If pensions aren't cut, the Oldsters get all the money, and anyone not currently about 58 or older gets nothing when they retire. None of us are happy. Just realistic...

Here is another injustice at the hands of my local union hall.

One of my fellow city drivers working at one of the LTL's I worked at.
Was at a union meeting,& at the end of the minutes that were read from the last meeting,the treasurers report was read.
At the end of that report the secretary said so much for miscellaneous.
Well this driver raised his hand & was recognized to speak.

So he asked to have the miscellaneous funds explained.
Our president said it was really none of his business.

He was told to sit down,however he being hard headed, stayed on his feet & asked I want to know what that money was for.
Even though he had every right to know where the money was going as a dues paying Teamster,we all thought he probably should have just sat down.

However the president & VP started shouting at him to shut up & sit down.
Next thing they send two guys down,which grabbed him by the arms & dragged him out of the meeting.

The hall revoked his union card,but by law he was able to keep his job,& even received his pension when that company went bankrupted.
He retired with a pension because the company was paying into the Teamsters fund as part of his benefits.
If he had of left our company to work any other LTL,he was black listed where he wouldn't have been able to get any other LTL jobs.

No none of us ever found out then,or any other union meetings, where the miscellaneous money was being spent.

So if any Teamster ever worked an entire LTL career without any run ins with the union I'd say they were really blessed.

Sounds an awful lot like the way my local became during my last 8 years before I retired. Anybody that said or asked anything that was not completely in agreement with the speaker at the podium, was shouted down, insulted, belittled and labeled as a trouble maker before being threatened with physical removal. So much for democracy and freedom of speech. Of course most of the members are afraid to speak up or have any opinion on anything. They are nearly all trained to say "Aye" when asked "Those in favor?" to approve expenditures and just keep their mouth shut when asked "Those opposed?" They are the same ones that never have a "run in" with the union leaders at a meeting or anywhere else. Not surprisingly, they are also the same ones that always vote for the politicians and union candidates that the union bosses tell them to, if they bother to vote at all. (Only 16.5% of all those that were sent ballots in the last General election even bothered to fill it out and send it in). Sad to see it's getting worse.

 

[papajohn]

papajohn,almost looks like you are not just a dues paying Teamster.
But perhaps a trustee,or higher-up,that you can accuse someone who has been dumped on.
I myself personally know henry j is not in a minority of Teamsters who have had bad experiences through out their trucking career.

As usual you speak with no facts. Who is Henry J. and where have I accused him of anything... You as a super moderator should know better than to spreading lies. Get your facts straight before you start with accusations. Shame on you!!!

 

[Apostolic]

All righty point taken papajohn,you are right I don't know much about you.
However I do know a lot of horror stories of my 21 years as a Teamster.
Yes great pay & benefits better than non-union,however very poor representation,unless you were a yes man.

 

[henry j]

All righty point taken papajohn,you are right I don't know much about you.
However I do know a lot of horror stories of my 21 years as a Teamster.
Yes great pay & benefits better than non-union,however very poor representation,unless you were a yes man.

Well said.