Congress' backroom pension-cutting deal is even worse than expected - LA Times
The actual language of the 161-page pension measure wasn't made public until Tuesday night; at midday Wednesday, pension advocates were still working their way through it. But it's already clear that some descriptions of the provisions provided to reporters Tuesday by its drafters, Reps. John Kline (R-Minn.) and California's George Miller (D-Martinez), were flagrantly misleading.
They said, for example, that a controversial "carve-out" for United Parcel Service, which employs Teamsters and would be on the hook for their retirees' benefits if they're slashed under the plan, was not in the bill.
But it is in the bill, right there on page 82, artfully concealed behind convoluted legal language. The provision generally applies to "orphans" -- retirees whose employers have either gone out of business or exited the pension plan. UPS exited the Teamsters' huge Central States pension plan in 2007, then agreed with the union to establish a separate new plan for its workers while committing to covering any benefit cuts for workers still in the old plan. Central States is perhaps the shakiest pension fund in the nation, so it's most likely to take advantage of the Kline/Miller bill.
The new provision effectively places UPS retirees last in line for benefit cuts among all "orphans" getting their benefits from Central States. Pension experts say that arrangement materially reduces the likelihood that the UPS retirees will suffer more than minimal cuts, if any cuts at all. In turn, that reduces the liability of UPS.
The actual language of the 161-page pension measure wasn't made public until Tuesday night; at midday Wednesday, pension advocates were still working their way through it. But it's already clear that some descriptions of the provisions provided to reporters Tuesday by its drafters, Reps. John Kline (R-Minn.) and California's George Miller (D-Martinez), were flagrantly misleading.
They said, for example, that a controversial "carve-out" for United Parcel Service, which employs Teamsters and would be on the hook for their retirees' benefits if they're slashed under the plan, was not in the bill.
But it is in the bill, right there on page 82, artfully concealed behind convoluted legal language. The provision generally applies to "orphans" -- retirees whose employers have either gone out of business or exited the pension plan. UPS exited the Teamsters' huge Central States pension plan in 2007, then agreed with the union to establish a separate new plan for its workers while committing to covering any benefit cuts for workers still in the old plan. Central States is perhaps the shakiest pension fund in the nation, so it's most likely to take advantage of the Kline/Miller bill.
The new provision effectively places UPS retirees last in line for benefit cuts among all "orphans" getting their benefits from Central States. Pension experts say that arrangement materially reduces the likelihood that the UPS retirees will suffer more than minimal cuts, if any cuts at all. In turn, that reduces the liability of UPS.
THE GOVERNMENT, bunch of crooks with their own agenda in their fake world.
