Are You Getting Tired Of Sacrificing Your Pension Money?

Bill

Well-Known Member
On August 1, 2007, UPS contributed an EXTRA $28 per employee, per week into your pension fund. Do you know how much you received? The answer is nothing. That's right. Zero, nil, nada. In 2006, an additional $24 was added, in 2005, $24 was added and again in 2004, another $24 was added to your pension fund. Again, you received nothing. At the same time, nothing was added for your health and welfare benefits, resulting in weaker health and welfare benefits and higher payments from us. UPS has increased our pensions by $100 per employee, per week, and is now depositing $238 per week per employee into our pension fund, but instead of increasing our pensions, we are taking reductions. Where is our money going? It is going to employees of other companies that are in the multi-employer pension fund in CS. We receive only 40% of the total money that UPS contributes. As long as we are burdened with CS, we can not receive an increase until the pension fund is 100% funded (never will be for many reasons), because of the RED ZONE AMENDMENT signed into law starting in 2008. We can and probably will receive additional cuts even though UPS continues to pour billions of dollars into our pension fund. You can be content, do nothing and allow the Teamsters to negotiate another " best ever contract", or you can say enough is enough, and vote the Teamsters out. They have had years to work for us, but they no longer have our best interests in mind when contract time comes around. It is time for a change. The choice is yours: Receive 40% (Teamsters), or 100"% (APWA) of UPS benefits.
 

705red

Browncafe Steward
On August 1, 2007, UPS contributed an EXTRA $28 per employee, per week into your pension fund. Do you know how much you received? The answer is nothing. That's right. Zero, nil, nada. In 2006, an additional $24 was added, in 2005, $24 was added and again in 2004, another $24 was added to your pension fund. Again, you received nothing. At the same time, nothing was added for your health and welfare benefits, resulting in weaker health and welfare benefits and higher payments from us. UPS has increased our pensions by $100 per employee, per week, and is now depositing $238 per week per employee into our pension fund, but instead of increasing our pensions, we are taking reductions. Where is our money going? It is going to employees of other companies that are in the multi-employer pension fund in CS. We receive only 40% of the total money that UPS contributes. As long as we are burdened with CS, we can not receive an increase until the pension fund is 100% funded (never will be for many reasons), because of the RED ZONE AMENDMENT signed into law starting in 2008. We can and probably will receive additional cuts even though UPS continues to pour billions of dollars into our pension fund. You can be content, do nothing and allow the Teamsters to negotiate another " best ever contract", or you can say enough is enough, and vote the Teamsters out. They have had years to work for us, but they no longer have our best interests in mind when contract time comes around. It is time for a change. The choice is yours: Receive 40% (Teamsters), or 100"% (APWA) of UPS benefits.

E79 just want to point out that theres more than 1 pension plan then cs. So not all of our money is going into the cs plan. How do you know that the teamsters dont have our best interests at hand during the contract talks? No matter what the teamsters do for you (e79) its not enough now is it? It looks like you will be getting out of cs and receive a new pension plan and your still not happy! You believe that 2 scabs with no experience are a better option to deal with and bargain with a company who has endless resources. Your nothing more than a company plot to decertify us from the teamsters!
 

wildgoose

WILDGOOSE
E79 just want to point out that theres more than 1 pension plan then cs. So not all of our money is going into the cs plan. How do you know that the teamsters dont have our best interests at hand during the contract talks? No matter what the teamsters do for you (e79) its not enough now is it? It looks like you will be getting out of cs and receive a new pension plan and your still not happy! You believe that 2 scabs with no experience are a better option to deal with and bargain with a company who has endless resources. Your nothing more than a company plot to decertify us from the teamsters!
I do believe that Danny and Van are more honest then that of Hoffa. The idea of paying someone to not understand what his duties to the ups employee and the outrageous moneys to maintain a loosing CS fund. Red you just don`t get it that in any other venue whether it be banking-buying grocery`s-purchasing a car-or looking for a mate. If in any one of those things that don`t satisfy your needs your not opting for another option ?
I and many others are ready for a change because at present it has not improved. How can you force them to do a better job when they are sunk with this situation and have to have the company bail them out ?
That in my eyes is totally absurd that we are in this position in the first place. We are ready for a change in the south.
 

Bill

Well-Known Member
E79 just want to point out that theres more than 1 pension plan then cs. So not all of our money is going into the cs plan. How do you know that the teamsters dont have our best interests at hand during the contract talks? No matter what the teamsters do for you (e79) its not enough now is it? It looks like you will be getting out of cs and receive a new pension plan and your still not happy! You believe that 2 scabs with no experience are a better option to deal with and bargain with a company who has endless resources. Your nothing more than a company plot to decertify us from the teamsters!
You are correct that there are more than one pension fund, but according to the report by Raymond James (see the web address on the original post, go to page 6) most of the multi-employer pension plans are badly underfunded. How many times are you going to believe all the propaganda that the Teamsters keep telling you? Best contract ever, and then immediately afterwards, our pension and health benefits get slashed. This was right after Hoffa stated that no cuts were going to be implemented. You know the saying: fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. At least these two "scabs" have a plan to remedy the problems that the Teamsters created. The Teamster leadership doesn't. They won't even answer questions when they are confronted with this dilemma because they have no answers. Look at the salaries the BA's are getting. They just took a 10% increase over last year, even at a time when we are suffering cuts. Way to go, TEAMSTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

705red

Browncafe Steward
You are correct that there are more than one pension fund, but according to the report by Raymond James (see the web address on the original post, go to page 6) most of the multi-employer pension plans are badly underfunded. How many times are you going to believe all the propaganda that the Teamsters keep telling you? Best contract ever, and then immediately afterwards, our pension and health benefits get slashed. This was right after Hoffa stated that no cuts were going to be implemented. You know the saying: fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. At least these two "scabs" have a plan to remedy the problems that the Teamsters created. The Teamster leadership doesn't. They won't even answer questions when they are confronted with this dilemma because they have no answers. Look at the salaries the BA's are getting. They just took a 10% increase over last year, even at a time when we are suffering cuts. Way to go, TEAMSTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

E79 i just have to ask, did you vote in the last election? If so was it a vote for hoffa?
 

Bill

Well-Known Member
E79 i just have to ask, did you vote in the last election? If so was it a vote for hoffa?
No, I did not vote for Hoffa, and most of the people where I work did not either. What difference does it make anyway? The Teamsters are obligated to give away our pension money to employees of other companies as we are in a multi-employer pension fund.
 

705red

Browncafe Steward
No, I did not vote for Hoffa, and most of the people where I work did not either. What difference does it make anyway? The Teamsters are obligated to give away our pension money to employees of other companies as we are in a multi-employer pension fund.
See you just showed your true colors with that last statement! "What difference does it make" It makes a big difference brother E79, how can you attempt people to take you serious on your plight to decertify us from the teamsters to join this make believe world of yours when you make statements like that!
 

Bill

Well-Known Member
See you just showed your true colors with that last statement! "What difference does it make" It makes a big difference brother E79, how can you attempt people to take you serious on your plight to decertify us from the teamsters to join this make believe world of yours when you make statements like that!
You have not told me how it makes a big difference. Give me examples, not your opinion. If someone else beside Hoffa ran the Teamsters, would 60% of our pension money still be going to fund employees of other companies?
 

705red

Browncafe Steward
You have not told me how it makes a big difference. Give me examples, not your opinion. If someone else beside Hoffa ran the Teamsters, would 60% of our pension money still be going to fund employees of other companies?

You want me to take a guess if someone else ran the teamsters what would happen? I will leave that for you and your apwa campaign! To be honest E79 im not sure were to begin to fix your pension mess. If i had to, i personally would fire everyone at central states and i mean everyone, then i would start looking into another investment company, probably the one that my local has. I would cut all plans for all union reps to measure upto the worst fund within our membership and begin transferring the agents monthly payments to that fund until it recovered. Im pretty sure none of this is legal but as the president of the ibt i could guarantee you that no local officer would be benefiting more than the worst of member. I would eliminate 3,4,and 5 salaries from the teamster officials and use those funds to balance out some of the loses in those pension funds. Theres no need for an elected officail to make $100,00 as a local rep, then receive a salary for being on the joint council and than again if they are elected as a regional officer, to make $300,000 $400,000 a year! Heres some of my ideas, when it comes to investments and the know how i do lack on the knowledge so please forgive me, i invest through family members ideas.
 

Bill

Well-Known Member
You want me to take a guess if someone else ran the teamsters what would happen? I will leave that for you and your apwa campaign! To be honest E79 im not sure were to begin to fix your pension mess. If i had to, i personally would fire everyone at central states and i mean everyone, then i would start looking into another investment company, probably the one that my local has. I would cut all plans for all union reps to measure upto the worst fund within our membership and begin transferring the agents monthly payments to that fund until it recovered. Im pretty sure none of this is legal but as the president of the ibt i could guarantee you that no local officer would be benefiting more than the worst of member. I would eliminate 3,4,and 5 salaries from the teamster officials and use those funds to balance out some of the loses in those pension funds. Theres no need for an elected officail to make $100,00 as a local rep, then receive a salary for being on the joint council and than again if they are elected as a regional officer, to make $300,000 $400,000 a year! Heres some of my ideas, when it comes to investments and the know how i do lack on the knowledge so please forgive me, i invest through family members ideas.
At least we agree that CS is a mess. You agree that we need to look into another investment company, other than CS. That is what we are trying to accomplish. If the Teamsters were to exit CS and manage our pension money more wisely, there would not be a need for another union (APWA). Unfortunately, the Teamsters are dead set on staying with CS, even though our pension fund and benefits get bleaker each year. This being the case, the only alternative is to rid ourselves of the Teamsters and start with new representation that is in our best interests. I like some of your ideas about salaries, but once again, we don't make the rules.
 

sawdusttv

Well-Known Member
You want me to take a guess if someone else ran the teamsters what would happen? I will leave that for you and your apwa campaign! To be honest E79 im not sure were to begin to fix your pension mess. If i had to, i personally would fire everyone at central states and i mean everyone, then i would start looking into another investment company, probably the one that my local has. I would cut all plans for all union reps to measure upto the worst fund within our membership and begin transferring the agents monthly payments to that fund until it recovered. Im pretty sure none of this is legal but as the president of the ibt i could guarantee you that no local officer would be benefiting more than the worst of member. I would eliminate 3,4,and 5 salaries from the teamster officials and use those funds to balance out some of the loses in those pension funds. Theres no need for an elected officail to make $100,00 as a local rep, then receive a salary for being on the joint council and than again if they are elected as a regional officer, to make $300,000 $400,000 a year! Heres some of my ideas, when it comes to investments and the know how i do lack on the knowledge so please forgive me, i invest through family members ideas.

We have been demanding that the teamsters fire CS and move our money to a more secure fund for years, and the teamsters absolutely refuse to do so. They have backed us into a corner and we came out swinging. NO, we don't like having to fight the very entity that should be protecting us from this kind of think. But, after many year of frustration with the teamsters unwillingness to do the right thing and can CS. They left us with no choice but to get rid of them ourselves, and with the teamsters stonewalling our attempts, it has become neccessary to rid ourselves of the teamsters in order to get rid of CS.
 

tieguy

Banned
We have been demanding that the teamsters fire CS and move our money to a more secure fund for years, and the teamsters absolutely refuse to do so.
And this is an issue thats still in a smokey room somewhere. Many of us have a chance to manage our own 401 K plans. We read up on it and see the sensible money managers encourage you to diversify your investments into a variety of options some more secure. I had a chance to see that theory in practice during 2000/2002 when the market turned sour. I saw that I could still make money, though less by being vested in the stable fund and the bond market. I am no financial gury by any means. So the question that we have to ask of those plans is what was their investment strategy during this time and what should it have been. The 9/11 event by itself would have been hit on anyones portfolio but the signs were there before 9/11 that the market was tanking. What did the money managers of these pension plans invest in. Were they wise decisions. Theres a lot of argument here about multi employer versus private plan but I think more scrutiny has to be turned towards those that are hired to manage either plan. The best investment firm may not be the one that gets you twenty percent during the good years but the one that can provide consistent results through all years. How is their performance monitored , how is it reviewed. What criteria is set. Pension funds are so large that they cannot move money quickly when the market sours , so their plan has to be solid with a minimum of risk. The final solution is no good unless the money managers are held accountable. Accountablity is not possible until your leadership and its members understand what it is they expect from the money managers. From what I've seen we have blanket statements that the market turned sour but not enough explanations as to how the money managers reacted to changing conditions.
 

wildgoose

WILDGOOSE
We have been demanding that the teamsters fire CS and move our money to a more secure fund for years, and the teamsters absolutely refuse to do so.
And this is an issue thats still in a smokey room somewhere. Many of us have a chance to manage our own 401 K plans. We read up on it and see the sensible money managers encourage you to diversify your investments into a variety of options some more secure. I had a chance to see that theory in practice during 2000/2002 when the market turned sour. I saw that I could still make money, though less by being vested in the stable fund and the bond market. I am no financial gury by any means. So the question that we have to ask of those plans is what was their investment strategy during this time and what should it have been. The 9/11 event by itself would have been hit on anyones portfolio but the signs were there before 9/11 that the market was tanking. What did the money managers of these pension plans invest in. Were they wise decisions. Theres a lot of argument here about multi employer versus private plan but I think more scrutiny has to be turned towards those that are hired to manage either plan. The best investment firm may not be the one that gets you twenty percent during the good years but the one that can provide consistent results through all years. How is their performance monitored , how is it reviewed. What criteria is set. Pension funds are so large that they cannot move money quickly when the market sours , so their plan has to be solid with a minimum of risk. The final solution is no good unless the money managers are held accountable. Accountablity is not possible until your leadership and its members understand what it is they expect from the money managers. From what I've seen we have blanket statements that the market turned sour but not enough explanations as to how the money managers reacted to changing conditions. [/quote} They must have been visiting Margarittaville when it came time to watch our investments ? Or maybe Doobyville :crying:
 

brez3903

Member
tieguy, it's not being diversified enough that causes the problem with the pensions, it was the failure to forsee the trucking outfits that would go belly up when they were brought into the plan. multi-employer plans were used to cut costs to insure our pensions, my local pushed the multi-employer plan like it was the best thing since sliced bread. since we went to a multi- employer plan we went from 90 percent funded to 50 percent, local 710 stayed a single employer plan, their payout is twice what a multi-employer pays out for a thirty and out pension, so your theory on being diversified dosen't hold water.
 

tieguy

Banned
tieguy, it's not being diversified enough that causes the problem with the pensions, it was the failure to forsee the trucking outfits that would go belly up when they were brought into the plan. multi-employer plans were used to cut costs to insure our pensions, my local pushed the multi-employer plan like it was the best thing since sliced bread. since we went to a multi- employer plan we went from 90 percent funded to 50 percent, local 710 stayed a single employer plan, their payout is twice what a multi-employer pays out for a thirty and out pension, so your theory on being diversified dosen't hold water.

Brez I think you either misunderstood my post or I didn't explain it well enuogh. My point is that they are not diversifying their investments enough. My point is we need to ask more questions as to what the money managers are doing with the money.
 

Bill

Well-Known Member
Brez I think you either misunderstood my post or I didn't explain it well enuogh. My point is that they are not diversifying their investments enough. My point is we need to ask more questions as to what the money managers are doing with the money.
Why don't we start by looking at the excessive administration fees. $61,000,000 for the health fund and another $120,000,000 for the pension fund.
 

sawdusttv

Well-Known Member
Why don't we start by looking at the excessive administration fees. $61,000,000 for the health fund and another $120,000,000 for the pension fund.

Fixing these two items and addressing the multi-pension situation with teamster officers would go a long way towards balancing the funds books.
 

wyobill

Well-Known Member
Brez I think you either misunderstood my post or I didn't explain it well enuogh. My point is that they are not diversifying their investments enough. My point is we need to ask more questions as to what the money managers are doing with the money.

The Teasmsters have been notorious for imbezzeling moneys out of pension funds in years past. That is capital that can never be recovered.
Central States has always been severely underfunded. This is something that has not just happened in recent years. I can remember asking a union rep in the early 80's what was cs funded at and his reply was 60%
Just beware the company wants out of cs but current ups employees
will get to keep the years they have in it. Is this a good deal or not???
My question to Tie is back in 97 was UPS going to assume our pension? When UPS offered a 30 and out who were they talking to?
Brand new employees or was this offer for everyone??? In 97 I had 15 yrs in with cs. What would have happened to those vested years if UPS
would have pulled out???
 
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