APWA Newsletter: Here We Go Again!

Overpaid Union Thug

Well-Known Member
I just got this email and it bugs me because...

a) if it is true then that means my that not only will social security by wiped out when I get older but my pension as well

b) I never recieved the letter from Central States mentioned below. But then again....I don't think our union even knows I exist even though I've given them my new address several times. My dues come out on time every time though. Thats the only thing they seem good for lately.

No one likes to hear I told you so but sometimes we all need to hear it to protect ourselves. By now all of us have received the letter (required by law) from Central States once again telling us that our pension fund is in the red zone. The red zone means once again Central States is teetering on bankruptcy. This is just a mere few years after UPS gave the Central States Fund 6 billion dollars. Yes you are right the Teamsters have already thrown away 6 billion of your dollars and there is no UPS to bail them out again.
Folks it will only take another bad stock market or Yellow/Roadway filing bankruptcy to break your Central States Fund. Something will happen sometime; then what will you do? UPS isn’t going to bail their buddies the Teamsters out again.
NO, UPS does NOT guarantee your Central States pension for your lifetime. NO, your Central States pension is NOT guaranteed for life IF you retire before the current contract expires. The fact of the matter is UPS only guarantees the Central States portion of your pension for the life of the current contract OR until you obtain 65 years of age. Then you will only have the amount you have earned with the new pension fund and $1,068.00 you will receive from the government because your Central States Fund went bankrupt. Are any of you out there naive enough to believe that UPS will guarantee the Central States fiasco again? Just in case you haven’t heard Santa Claus is not real!
You know we can stop this!! Don’t believe it? Look at what you did!!! You caused the Teamsters to release the pension fund to UPS. YES you were the cause of this. If you don’t believe this either then ask yourself why UPS bailed out Central States and left the New England States fund to drown???? If UPS bailed out Central States for the publicity then why didn’t UPS bail out the smaller New England Fund; it would have been much cheaper! Also, if I were the people on the west coast I don’t believe I would be looking too smug right now. The Teamsters have again drained Central States of their money but you can well believe that the Teamsters appetite for money has not gone away. There is no money in the New England Fund or the Central States Fund but there certainly is in the Western Conference Fund. You best better believe the Teamsters will soon have their grubby little fingers on it soon.
The Teamster’s track record proves it; no amount of money will ever be enough for the Teamsters. Furthermore there is nothing the Teamsters will not do to obtain money and try to keep their sinking ship afloat. That’s right eventually there will be no Teamster Union because they can not keep their hand out of your pocket. YES THE NUMBER OF TEAMSTERS IN THIS COUNTRY HAS DWINDLED OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS AND CONTINUES TO DO SO! Is this not telling you something?
Again look at what you did the last time and you did it with nearly no money and with few members. You had many supporters. Members were the ones that paid the bills and invested their time. We can do this but we will not start this time without the necessary funds to win our objective. It takes money to rid ourselves of the Teamsters and replace them with a union that is made up entirely of UPS people. A union that is accountable to its members. A union the members run. The ball is in your court. Will we throw our hands up in the air and quit or will we fight for what is ours. Please e-mail us and let us know what you want and think. As it was in the beginning, it’s your money and your pension.
 

bluehdmc

Well-Known Member
Just about every pension fund particpant got this kind of letter. Not just Central States, not just Teamsters. I live in NJ and the public employeess pension funds are supposed to be in the red. In that case some of it had to do with a governor's choice not to fund it because investments were doing so well. Now that we are in a "recession" the funds aren't doing well.
It was explained to me that these letters are the result of a federal law that became effective this year.
I wouldn't be too concerned about a letter I recieved over the internet. I'm not worried about my retirement. I just recieved a letter over the internet from an attorney in Niarobi, or Kenya, or someplace like that who had a client die without any heirs, (some oil company employee). He wants me to pose as the long lost nephew, and will split my "uncle's" $37,000,000 estate with me. I should be set for life then.
 

brett636

Well-Known Member
Its still a bit decieving. Something like 94% of union managed pension funds are underfunded. This isn't simply a Teamster specific issue. Also the letter points to dwindling Teamster membership as a reasoning for the Teamsters poor way of doing things, but again I must point out that union membership as a whole has been dwindling since it peaked in the 1950s which may be a major reason why union pension funds are so poorly funded. I still don't think the APWA has a chance in hell of becoming our union, but it appears they are back playing their propaganda game again.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
We have retirees making more in retirement than they were when they were working. That could be part of the reason our fund (NYS Teamster Fund) is in critical status.
 

brownmonster

Man of Great Wisdom
We had a couple retirees in our building 15 years ago. We have about 30 now with less, drivers on the payroll. It's an unsustainable system. As far as The APWA, I'm looking forward to more entertainment.
 

moreluck

golden ticket member
_ Package Workers _

I forget what the 2 A's stand for. There used to be a whole thread on here dedicated to them. It was going to be the alternative to the teamsters.
 

bluehdmc

Well-Known Member
The APWA you are referring to was created as a result of the Great Depression and is responsible for much of the infrastructure built in the 30's and 40's.

The APWA I found was an educational and professional association .

During the depression the was the "Public Works Administration" PWA, then later in the depression was the "Work Progess Administration" They are the ones formed as part of the "New Deal" along with the Civilian Conservation Corps, "CCC", which developed a lot of state and national parks.
 

FracusBrown

Ponies and Planes
We had a couple retirees in our building 15 years ago. We have about 30 now with less, drivers on the payroll. It's an unsustainable system. As far as The APWA, I'm looking forward to more entertainment.

It's only unsustainable because it's been mismanaged. You are supposed to receive benefits based upon the contributions made on your behalf. Unfortunately, many of the pension funds are using the contributions made on an employees behalf for someone other than the person the contribution was made for.

It shouldn't matter how many people are collecting payments because they should be collecting from their own contributions.

There are many pension funds that are well managed and sustainable.
 

JonFrum

Member
It's only unsustainable because it's been mismanaged. You are supposed to receive benefits based upon the contributions made on your behalf. Unfortunately, many of the pension funds are using the contributions made on an employees behalf for someone other than the person the contribution was made for.

It shouldn't matter how many people are collecting payments because they should be collecting from their own contributions.

There are many pension funds that are well managed and sustainable.
Can you name some?

All pension funds invest their money in the same stock markets, bond markets, and money markets.

When those markets sink, as they have several times in recent memory, all funds suffer.

All pension fund investments are probably handled by one or more of the same top investment management firms.

Some pension funds do better than others for a while, because of luck, educated guessing, and a little wisdom.

It may well be impossible to "beat the market" over the long haul.

Sooner or later the top performing funds, like the Western Conference of Teamsters fund, for example, run out of luck and begin to sink down toward the long term industry average.
 

User Name

Only 230 Today?? lol
I wish they would just give me that money, that way if I lost all my money in the stock market then I would only have myself to blame......
 

705red

Browncafe Steward
Looks like Vance and Danny are out of money again. Please people stop sending them money and they will go away forever!!!!!!

For new people here these two nut jobs are SCABS! They withdrew from the Teamsters and say they know whats best for us. BS
 

grgrcr88

No It's not green grocer!
Looks like Vance and Danny are out of money again. Please people stop sending them money and they will go away forever!!!!!!

For new people here these two nut jobs are SCABS! They withdrew from the Teamsters and say they know whats best for us. BS

+10101010101010101101101011010101010
 

Blizzard

Well-Known Member
Its still a bit decieving. Something like 94% of union managed pension funds are underfunded. This isn't simply a Teamster specific issue. Also the letter points to dwindling Teamster membership as a reasoning for the Teamsters poor way of doing things, but again I must point out that union membership as a whole has been dwindling since it peaked in the 1950s which may be a major reason why union pension funds are so poorly funded. I still don't think the APWA has a chance in hell of becoming our union, but it appears they are back playing their propaganda game again.

I agree the information is slanted but I do like having the opposing opinions just like we have the TDU site to give us their spin. The truth is in the middle somewhere.
 

hellfire

no one considers UPS people."real" Teamsters.-BUG
Looks like Vance and Danny are out of money again. Please people stop sending them money and they will go away forever!!!!!!

For new people here these two nut jobs are SCABS! They withdrew from the Teamsters and say they know whats best for us. BS
being in central states, im disgusted with the teamsters
 
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