ABF | Butch Lewis Act

A number of us are questioning the figures on the pension reduction vote. It appears that more than half of the participants did not vote.
And there was an overwhelming rejection...2 to 1.......by those that did vote....

Under the.....peculiar......rules of the Department of Treasury, it appears our fate is decided by people who don't want to be bothered to....vote.

Seems to be the very antithesis of democracy, don't you think?
And when you run the numbers, it seems rather strange that the total amount of participants minus the actual votes.......

......is within a couple of votes, if you minus the non-voting "yes" votes from the total.....

Hmmmm........almost seems like someone noticed the pension reduction vote was getting shot down 2 to 1,.....and decided to.....make the rest of the ballots "disappear" into yes votes.......
Almost.......

I know for a fact this is a very emotional issue for many. I saw retirees I haven't seen for decades show up at Union meetings to put in their 2 cent's worth.....
So.......it seems a little strange when more than half of our members "didn't vote"....

Especially when those that DID vote,....were voting down the pension reduction.

I already tried the Department of Treasury website for a Freedom Of Information Act on the particulars of this ......vote.
They weren't no help,....didn't have that selection..
Time to brush up my letter-writing skills...

"Inquiring Minds Want To Know......."
 
A number of us are questioning the figures on the pension reduction vote. It appears that more than half of the participants did not vote.
And there was an overwhelming rejection...2 to 1.......by those that did vote....

Under the.....peculiar......rules of the Department of Treasury, it appears our fate is decided by people who don't want to be bothered to....vote.

Seems to be the very antithesis of democracy, don't you think?
And when you run the numbers, it seems rather strange that the total amount of participants minus the actual votes.......

......is within a couple of votes, if you minus the non-voting "yes" votes from the total.....

Hmmmm........almost seems like someone noticed the pension reduction vote was getting shot down 2 to 1,.....and decided to.....make the rest of the ballots "disappear" into yes votes.......
Almost.......

I know for a fact this is a very emotional issue for many. I saw retirees I haven't seen for decades show up at Union meetings to put in their 2 cent's worth.....
So.......it seems a little strange when more than half of our members "didn't vote"....

Especially when those that DID vote,....were voting down the pension reduction.

I already tried the Department of Treasury website for a Freedom Of Information Act on the particulars of this ......vote.
They weren't no help,....didn't have that selection..
Time to brush up my letter-writing skills...

"Inquiring Minds Want To Know......."
Well you would think that people drawing out of the fund would be the ones that would vote. I’m guessing the retirees outnumber the people working like in the rest of our funds. Seems as though they didn’t receive a ballot. How could you actually prove if they were sent the ballot or not? It does seem pretty fishy!
 
The vote count, in this highly charged and emotionally upsetting pension “reduction” plan for JC #40 went like this:

21,460 eligible participants

7,133 voted to reject the reduction

2,265 voted to accept the reduction

11,801.......DID NOT VOTE!

So,.......according to the Dept. of Treasury, who ran the election........the fate of our pension plan was decided by people who DIDN’T EVEN BOTHER TO VOTE!

Isn’t that the very antithesis of.......democratic procedure?

Something seems fishy here......21,460 minus 11,801 is....9,659
According to figures,......only 9,398 ballots were sent back.....

Under the .......peculiar.......rules of this Treasury-run election,.....a “non-vote” counts as a.....”yes” vote........

They didn’t even have to open the ballots to declare the pension reduction had passed........

Or.............did someone see that the ballots coming in were overwhelmingly ( 2 to 1)...against the pension reduction......

.......and “accidentally “ dropped just enough ballots into the trash?

Since when do the people who.....supposedly.......don’t care enough to vote...........outweigh the votes of people who ACTUALLY DID vote?

Did we make some sort of......history....here?

The Treasury Department obviously didn’t get the “message” out.......and why wouldn’t they invalidate the vote.....to find out why?

All I know is that every pension meeting I went to,...had guys I hadn’t seen in decades, showing up to .....voice their opinion.....A very contentious subject......

And,....based on that, I might’ve believed ...maybe 2,000 non-votes.......
It would be stretching credulity to conceive of more.....
And......11,801? ......More than.....half?

Something stinks in Denmark,.......I believe the saying goes.....
 
I think this may be only the second time , since Red Star shut down in 2004, that I can agree with you on part of your many anti-Teamster posts. But would you call our TENJ pension a ponzi scheme if the congress hadn't screwed things up? Do you remember back in the 80s when we were close to being fully funded? Do you remember that it was congress that passed the laws that would have penalized us for fully or over funding the plan? Not having extra funds set aside for the down years. Having to raise the accrual and assessorial benefits or have any reserves penalized.

Do you remember that congress set the PBGC premiums for the SEPFs and MEPFs? Do you remember when then PBGC Directer Joshua Gotbaum pleaded with congress for a PBGC premium increase? Do you remember that congress approved the increase for the Single Employer Pension Funds but said the Multi Employer Pension Funds were in better shape and didn't need an increase?

In this months AARP Bulletin it says that the PBGC's maximum annual benefit for retirees in failed single employer plans is $67,295. But the PBGC's maximum annual benefit for retirees in failed multiemployer plans is only $12,870. I'd say that congress screwed up the PBGC too.

I agree that the failure of the Teamsters to organize any new LTL freight companies hurt our pension funds. But I put the blame squarely on the lawmakers in congress who wrote the Motor Carrier Act of 1980. Congress deregulated the trucking industry. It wrote the bankruptcy laws that classifies the company's unfunded pension liability as unsecured creditors and we go to the bottom of the list and rarely get paid.................Will you agree that the blame for the failing pension funds or ponzi scheme rests mainly on the congress?

I agree with you 100%. But I think our pensions were doomed back when the deregulated the trucking industry. Back in the 70's and 80's the biggest reason most wanted to join the Teamster union was the pension. Take away the pension and most won't go for a union job. I believe this was part of a plan to take down the unions that was started by the Kennedy's. I even think that when Zollars bought Roadway and then USF it was also something that pushed the government's agenda...That deal should never have happened. Over 100,000 employees at one time and now down to what? 30,000 or so. Slowly but surely it has worked...I have since being retired talked to many non union drivers and told some that all the union companies were hiring. Their answer?? Union pensions are in the crapper...Unions are in the past. Tried to explain that that is what Corporate America wants you to think.
I wrote a long email to my senator here in PA. Sen . Toomey. Back in I think was 2016 the pension issue was added on at the last minute to the budget deal and according to what Toomey told me back then was he had to vote to keep the government open.. But did say it should have been a stand alone issue.. Well now it is and from the last letter I got from him was he is on the committee that will hear it.. So if you know anyone in PA give them a reminder to sends a letter ,a phone call or an e-mail to Toomey.. Or you can do all of the above..
 
I agree with you 100%. But I think our pensions were doomed back when the deregulated the trucking industry. Back in the 70's and 80's the biggest reason most wanted to join the Teamster union was the pension. Take away the pension and most won't go for a union job. I believe this was part of a plan to take down the unions that was started by the Kennedy's. I even think that when Zollars bought Roadway and then USF it was also something that pushed the government's agenda...That deal should never have happened. Over 100,000 employees at one time and now down to what? 30,000 or so. Slowly but surely it has worked...I have since being retired talked to many non union drivers and told some that all the union companies were hiring. Their answer?? Union pensions are in the crapper...Unions are in the past. Tried to explain that that is what Corporate America wants you to think.
I wrote a long email to my senator here in PA. Sen . Toomey. Back in I think was 2016 the pension issue was added on at the last minute to the budget deal and according to what Toomey told me back then was he had to vote to keep the government open.. But did say it should have been a stand alone issue.. Well now it is and from the last letter I got from him was he is on the committee that will hear it.. So if you know anyone in PA give them a reminder to sends a letter ,a phone call or an e-mail to Toomey.. Or you can do all of the above..

Sen. Toomey is one of my Senators, too. Sen. Bob Casey is a co-sponsor of the Butch Lewis Act. Sen. Toomey has yet to express support.
Sen. Casey has been one of the greatest advocates for pension action and relief, working closely with Sen. Sherrod Brown, and Congressman Richard Neal.
My own Congressman.....Guy Reschenthaler(R).....was one of two no-shows at the Congressional hearings for reauthorization of the 9/11First Responders bill that Jon Stewart got so upset about.
When I wrote to Congressman Reschenthaler about that, he sent me a whole list of legislation he co-sponsored,......but no excuse as to what was so important that he couldn’t show up for the hearing...

I see the vote totals to reauthorize the First Responders Funding passed yesterday with unanimous support from the Democrats
,......and 12 Republican “Nays”.........

Ahem..........

I hope my Congressman wasn’t one of the “Nays”........

Once again,.........as I said for years as the PAC fund Treasurer for our Local.........” Vote with your Eyes,.....Not your Ears..”
Read and do the research......Sometimes the loudest voices proclaiming how much they support the working man....
.........are the ones doing the most damage to Labor Rights and issues.....

Vote smart.org..........greatest web site out there.....completely non-partisan.
 
This act is doomed, my former Senator said it will never reach a vote, she co sponsored the original bill. A Co sponsor stating it will never reach a vote.. Not too optimistic.
 
This act is doomed, my former Senator said it will never reach a vote, she co sponsored the original bill. A Co sponsor stating it will never reach a vote.. Not too optimistic.
Since she was a senator she probably means a vote in the senate. I guess she doesn't have much faith in the republican majority leader McConnell acting in a bi-partisan manner.
 
A bill to actually help....working people? Pshaw!......Senate has More Important Things to do....Wall Street desperately needs lower interest rates.....
 
This act is doomed, my former Senator said it will never reach a vote, she co sponsored the original bill. A Co sponsor stating it will never reach a vote.. Not too optimistic.
Anyone who actually listened to the ARCB conference call head Judy and Humphrey says there was nothing new on the pension in congress.
 
Response from one of our pa senators, Keep writing and calling your rep's




Thank you for taking the time to contact me with your thoughts and concerns about pensions. I appreciate hearing from you about this issue.



Over the last few decades, traditional employer-sponsored pension plans, known as defined benefit plans, have been on the decline. In 1980, 38 percent of private-sector workers were covered by defined benefit plans; by 2017, that number shrank to 15 percent of the private-sector workforce. The decline of coverage by defined benefit plans has trended with the overall decline of union representation. In 1983, 16.8 percent of the private-sector workforce belonged to a union. In 2018, that share was 6.4 percent. This decline in defined benefit plans has left millions of retired workers facing severe financial challenges. I believe a healthy pension system provides workers with an earned safety net for retirement and should be fostered. To accomplish this goal, efforts should be made to reinvigorate our pension system so that proper saving for retirement is shared by workers and their employers.



The economic recession of 2008 severely impacted the funding status of defined benefit plans. While Wall Street has more than recovered from the financial crisis, our pensions have not. That is why I am a cosponsor of S. 2254, the Butch Lewis Act, which was introduced by Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio on July 24, 2019. The Butch Lewis Act would ensure that pension plans at risk of insolvency are able to meet their commitments to current and future retirees without cutting earned benefits. The Act achieves this by creating the Pension Rehabilitation Administration (PRA), a new agency under the Treasury Department that would lend financially-troubled multiemployer pension plans the funds they need to remain solvent. The funds for these low-interest, 30-year loans would come from federally-guaranteed bonds. To ensure that pension plans can repay the loans, plans would be prohibited from making risky investments with borrowed funds, and would be required to submit reports every three years to demonstrate that they are on track to regain solvency.



Please be assured that I will continue to advocate for a solution that protections Pennsylvanians' hard-earned pensions. Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.



For more information on this or other issues, I encourage you to visit my website, http://casey.senate.gov. I hope you will find this online office a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.



Sincerely,

Bob Casey

United States Senator
 
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Thank you, Brother! Senator Casey is a great guy......quiet,...no flash,.....but he believes in what he says....
And......thanks also for the Central States phone numbers......

They got billions to throw at farmers because of their .......lack of soybean sales to China....
What about our deferred wages that went to pension plans that got wrecked by Wall Street?
 
Thank you, Brother! Senator Casey is a great guy......quiet,...no flash,.....but he believes in what he says....
And......thanks also for the Central States phone numbers......

They got billions to throw at farmers because of their .......lack of soybean sales to China....
What about our deferred wages that went to pension plans that got wrecked by Wall Street?

"Wrecked by Wall Street"? Come on Canary, you know there's much more to the story than that simplistic excuse of an explanation. Why is Western Conference pension in such great shape with the very same "Wall Street"?
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Why is Western Conference pension in such great shape with the very same "Wall Street"?
Maybe they had a more diverse portfolio of investments. Maybe they have more diverse companies contributing besides freight. I certainly have to agree with canary in blaming Wall Street for CSPF's situation
 
Maybe they had a more diverse portfolio of investments. Maybe they have more diverse companies contributing besides freight. I certainly have to agree with canary in blaming Wall Street for CSPF's situation

Who is/was responsible for other funds lack of foresight in not diversifying in other companies besides freight? Not Wall Street. Who is/was responsible for other funds lack of foresight in not diversifying their investment portfolios? Not Wall Street. Seems to me that making "Wall Street" the problem is just ignoring what little our representatives did to insure the viability of our pensions. I've invested in "Wall Street" over the years and done reasonably well. Why couldn't the funds?
 
What we need do is put the blame game aside, what's done is done. What we do now is talk to everybody to take 5 min and call your senators to get behind the Butch Lewis act. We can't change history, But we can damn sure do everything in our power to help our fellow brothers and sisters. Just because your pension is in great shape (I'm in central pa and we are), it's no skin off your back to make a call. Remember one bad large investment mistake can put safe fund in trouble!!!
 
Who is/was responsible for other funds lack of foresight in not diversifying in other companies besides freight? Not Wall Street. Who is/was responsible for other funds lack of foresight in not diversifying their investment portfolios? Not Wall Street. Seems to me that making "Wall Street" the problem is just ignoring what little our representatives did to insure the viability of our pensions. I've invested in "Wall Street" over the years and done reasonably well. Why couldn't the funds?



I think the bankers made a run at all the "low-hanging fruit"....Our pension fund was in great shape up until 2008...We had even issued a thirteenth check to retirees,....to keep the fund from "fully-funded" status.....I think you know what it means when a fund is in that category......
So,.....Blame short-sighted ERISA laws that didn't allow Funds to put aside for a "rainy day'.....Blame Wall Street for confabulating a catastrophy in the financial world.......and no one paid a "penalty"....except working people and their pension funds.....
Think of how much.....richer....you'd be now,...if the collapse of 2008 didn't occur......Maybe you'd've retired sooner......
Maybe pension funds wouldn't've gotten crippled......

All I know is,.....I'm not to blame,....I was too busy delivering food, clothing, and shelter,.......A little more noble calling than dabbling in filthy lucre like the usurious shylocks on Wall Street do.......

Just who do YOU think is to blame for the state of some of the pension funds?

And,....By the way.......remember to tell Congress they have a Fiscal responsibility to fully fund Pension Benefit Guarantee INSURANCE.........in spite of what their Big Donor Wall Street Overlords are telling them......
Runs out of money in 2023........
 
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