- Credits
- 540
Notes from last night's conference call:
From the Minneapolis Committee:
The May 13th conference call with IBT's John Murphy, Sherman, and Brad Vaughn, was sponsored by Local 120 and it's principal officer, Tom Erickson.
John Murphy started out the call by summarizing the 'Heroes Act' portion of H.R. 6800. Contained within the Heroes Act is the 'Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act, targeting the Central States Critical and Declining status. Not only does it address our plan's decline, but I believe John Murphy mentioned over 300 other pension plans in a critical status or worse.Correct me if I'm wrong on the number.
This Relief Act is not a bridge loan like the Butch Lewis Act, but will instead separate, or partition, active members from retirees. Actives stay with Central States and keep the remaining assets for re-investment, along with member and employer contributions. This should allow the Pension plan to again start building assets for future use.
Retirees are separated and leave Central States. The Treasury at this point will fund the PBGC, and the PBGC will take control of retiree pensions. There are no cuts planned for retirees, and those who have seen cuts to their benefits, like Local 707 in New York, will have their benefits fully restored. This Relief Act will also provide full benefits to surviving spouses, and totally eliminate the 2014 MPRA that encouraged cuts to pensions across the board! This is a very important provision!
The H.R. 6800 bill is the 4th stimulus bill to be introduced. It is a 3 TRILLION dollar bill, and covers many, many aspects of the American Economy. The bill is expected to pass the House ( they vote on it Friday, May 15th.)
The strategy of including the Relief Act as part of the Heroes Act of H.R. 6800is that Senators will find it difficult to reject the bill, since it contains many benefits for their home States.
U.S. Senators will be targeted next week, and for 3-4 weeks thereafter. There are 10-15 Senators who will be encouraged by us to approve this bill, making sure all the key elements of the Relief Act are included, not eliminated.Very important!
But for now, the focus is on our own district Representatives. We need to call their state district offices, e-mail them, and write letters telling them to support this bill and our Relief Act portion! Remember, all members of the House are up for reelection this year. Remind them of that!
We must work fast, since the House vote is this Friday, May 15th. Good luck and get to work. More next week. Thanks
Steve Baribeau
Save Our Pensions-Minnesota
From the Minneapolis Committee:
The May 13th conference call with IBT's John Murphy, Sherman, and Brad Vaughn, was sponsored by Local 120 and it's principal officer, Tom Erickson.
John Murphy started out the call by summarizing the 'Heroes Act' portion of H.R. 6800. Contained within the Heroes Act is the 'Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act, targeting the Central States Critical and Declining status. Not only does it address our plan's decline, but I believe John Murphy mentioned over 300 other pension plans in a critical status or worse.Correct me if I'm wrong on the number.
This Relief Act is not a bridge loan like the Butch Lewis Act, but will instead separate, or partition, active members from retirees. Actives stay with Central States and keep the remaining assets for re-investment, along with member and employer contributions. This should allow the Pension plan to again start building assets for future use.
Retirees are separated and leave Central States. The Treasury at this point will fund the PBGC, and the PBGC will take control of retiree pensions. There are no cuts planned for retirees, and those who have seen cuts to their benefits, like Local 707 in New York, will have their benefits fully restored. This Relief Act will also provide full benefits to surviving spouses, and totally eliminate the 2014 MPRA that encouraged cuts to pensions across the board! This is a very important provision!
The H.R. 6800 bill is the 4th stimulus bill to be introduced. It is a 3 TRILLION dollar bill, and covers many, many aspects of the American Economy. The bill is expected to pass the House ( they vote on it Friday, May 15th.)
The strategy of including the Relief Act as part of the Heroes Act of H.R. 6800is that Senators will find it difficult to reject the bill, since it contains many benefits for their home States.
U.S. Senators will be targeted next week, and for 3-4 weeks thereafter. There are 10-15 Senators who will be encouraged by us to approve this bill, making sure all the key elements of the Relief Act are included, not eliminated.Very important!
But for now, the focus is on our own district Representatives. We need to call their state district offices, e-mail them, and write letters telling them to support this bill and our Relief Act portion! Remember, all members of the House are up for reelection this year. Remind them of that!
We must work fast, since the House vote is this Friday, May 15th. Good luck and get to work. More next week. Thanks
Steve Baribeau
Save Our Pensions-Minnesota
