Will Congress stick up for Teamsters, past and present?

[ABFwife]

My guess is probably not!

The Treasury has until May 7 to decide on Central States’ proposed pension cuts. Approving them, however, could set up a vaudevillian scenario for everyone involved—what Teamsters president Hoffa calls the “false illusion of participatory democracy.” If the application is approved, 407,000 stakeholders will need to vote on it. The catch? The outcome will already be decided, because Treasury has an obligation under the MPRA to impose approved cuts anyway. This is because Central States is classified as “systematically important,” meaning it would cost the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) over $1 billion to assist in the event of plan failure. Looking beyond Central States, however, the whole affair has exposed the underlying weakness of multiemployer plans in the wake of financial crises, company bankruptcies, and irresponsible management—putting workers’ retirements at risk through no fault of their own. One potential solution has already been introduced to Congress: the Keep Our Pensions Promises Act (KOPPA) of 2015 would solve the issue of “orphaned” retirees by spinning them off from larger multiemployer plans and having the PBGC cover promised pensions (using Treasury funds obtained by closing tax loopholes). Sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), KOPPA already has seven Senate and 41 House co-sponsors. Without some kind of federal guarantee, retired seniors under multiemployer plans will remain at the mercy of the market.

For Hoffa and the Teamsters, meanwhile, the ongoing battle over Central States is a stark reminder of just how much the once-notorious union has changed over the course of the past few decades. The same Teamsters-backed pension fund now trying to cut benefits once bankrolled the construction of mob-run hotels and casinos in Las Vegas in the 1950s and 60s, primarily through a funding scheme Hoffa’s father Jimmy brought into existence. While the younger Hoffa still faces demands for change from within the union, grassroots actions like the Airgas protest are a far cry from the Teamsters’ tainted past.

And now we have a tainted government!

Will Congress stick up for Teamsters, past and present? | TheHill

[bean]

My guess is probably not!





And now we have a tainted government!

Will Congress stick up for Teamsters, past and present? | TheHill

Thomas Nyhan didn't go to Congress asking for help after Congress agreed to pension cuts

This is because Central States is classified as “systematically important,” meaning it would cost the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) over $1 billion to assist in the event of plan failure.

This is not true. It will cost the PBGC nothing assuming the cuts prevent a plan failure. Cuts will be less then what would trigger a PBGC bail out.