Teamsters voice anger with pension trustee

[cheryl]

A member asked me to post a link to the following articles.

Teamsters voice anger with pension trustee - Cincinnati.com

Emotions ran high Saturday morning as current and retired Teamsters learned the gory details of why their pensions were being cut.

Many could not contain themselves when they found that $6.1 million in union funds are being used to pay lobbyists to persuade lawmakers to vote for pension cuts.

Report: Cincinnati-based Teamsters misused funds - Cincinnati.com

Report released as union's $18 billion pension reduces payouts to retired union members

Inflated salaries, questionable spending and a lack of basic financial controls at the Ohio Conference of Teamsters are detailed in a recent report from an all-star federal investigative panel, which included a former FBI and CIA director as well as a former U.S. attorney general. And Cincinnati was the backdrop for the union's problems.

The most startling conclusion: The conference spent 70 percent of the money it took from members on things that investigators said didn't benefit members.

 

[BigUnionGuy]

Cheryl,

With all due respect....

This is a complex issue.

Certainly, not worthy of "assumptions" based on (slanted) Media Articles.


But hey.... (I've said it before)

It's your site.... and your rules.



-Bug-

 

[cheryl]

Cheryl,

With all due respect....

This is a complex issue.

Certainly, not worthy of "assumptions" based on (slanted) Media Articles.


But hey.... (I've said it before)

It's your site.... and your rules.



-Bug-

I have no dog in this fight.

Just posting articles that someone sent to me that seemed like something people concerned about these issues would want to read, slanted or not.

 

[Bubblehead]

Cheryl,

With all due respect....

This is a complex issue.

Certainly, not worthy of "assumptions" based on (slanted) Media Articles.


But hey.... (I've said it before)

It's your site.... and your rules.



-Bug-

Which of the issues do you consider complex?

 

[Bubblehead]

I have no dog in this fight.

Just posting articles that someone sent to me that seemed like something people concerned about these issues would want to read, slanted or not.

It wasn't me, by the way.
Right @cheryl ?
Just read it for the first time as I ate dinner and watched the football game.

This particular journalist, from my hometown newspaper, has taken quite an interest in these issues.

 

[cheryl]

It wasn't me, by the way.
Right @cheryl ?
Just read it for the first time as I ate dinner and watched the football game.

This particular journalist, from my hometown newspaper, has taken quite an interest in these issues.

Nope, it wasn't you.

 

[cheryl]

Another article:

Trustee of troubled Teamsters fund resigns - Cincinnati.com

The Teamsters official who oversaw lavish spending on salaries, parties and golf equipment is stepping down from his oversight of an $18 billion pension fund that is on the verge of chopping retirees' benefits substantially.

 

[Brownslave688]

Cheryl,

With all due respect....

This is a complex issue.

Certainly, not worthy of "assumptions" based on (slanted) Media Articles.


But hey.... (I've said it before)

It's your site.... and your rules.



-Bug-

I'm sorry but federal investigations finding 70% of funds were misused isn't very complex.

 

[Inthegame]

I'm sorry but federal investigations finding 70% of funds were misused isn't very complex.

The point BUG was making is the linkage is complex and unfair. An eight month trustee hardly has culpability for the decline of the CSPF. The reduction plan was being created before BL was appointed Trustee.
Now time will tell how much wrongdoing was actually involved in the Ohio Conference fiasco but connecting the two bodies is journalistic sensationalism, not factual reporting.

 

[rod]

The pension cuts made the front page of the Minneapolis newspaper today. If you believe that article there isn't anything that can be done to stop the cuts and no mention was made of misused funds or teamster officials stepping down. As far as I'm concerned the more this whole farce is made public- the better.

 

[Bubblehead]

The point BUG was making is the linkage is complex and unfair. An eight month trustee hardly has culpability for the decline of the CSPF. The reduction plan was being created before BL was appointed Trustee.
Now time will tell how much wrongdoing was actually involved in the Ohio Conference fiasco but connecting the two bodies is journalistic sensationalism, not factual reporting.

Perhaps it's the title "trustee" and it's root word trust that makes people take pause and tribulation in the "linkage"?

 

[worldwide]

Cheryl,

With all due respect....

This is a complex issue.

Certainly, not worthy of "assumptions" based on (slanted) Media Articles.


But hey.... (I've said it before)

It's your site.... and your rules.



-Bug-

Not having followed this as closely as you have, what points in the article are "assumptions" and not facts? Of these "assumptions," what are the true facts?

 

[Catatonic]

Cheryl,

With all due respect....

This is a complex issue.

Certainly, not worthy of "assumptions" based on (slanted) Media Articles.


But hey.... (I've said it before)

It's your site.... and your rules.



-Bug-

I have no dog in this fight.

Just posting articles that someone sent to me that seemed like something people concerned about these issues would want to read, slanted or not.

Just another Hoffah lapdog wanting to suppress any dissent against the Teamster's Union.
Don't worry about it Cheryl.

 

[Catatonic]

It wasn't me, by the way.
Right @cheryl ?
Just read it for the first time as I ate dinner and watched the football game.

This particular journalist, from my hometown newspaper, has taken quite an interest in these issues.

Maybe Chincinnatti will take interest

 

[InsideUPS]

Not having followed this as closely as you have, what points in the article are "assumptions" and not facts? Of these "assumptions," what are the true facts?

Put simply, the financial problems of the CSPF and the investigation of the OCT should not be combined into one article. It is both confusing and inflammatory. I've found that most people rarely take the time to read past the the first sentence or two of an article....

For example:

The TITLE of the article is " Teamsters voice anger with pension trustee - Cincinnati.com " however..... the article starts out like this... ---> "Emotions ran high Saturday morning as current and retired Teamsters learned the gory details of why their pensions were being cut.

Many could not contain themselves when they found that $6.1 million in union funds are being used to pay lobbyists to persuade lawmakers to vote for pension cuts."

The article then goes into how 70% of Teamster funds were allegedly used improperly...... which is a totally different issue isolated to the OCT investigation and...NOT the CSPF.

Whether you are a BL fan or not, it makes no sense to write an article that serves only to misguide and inflame people into believing that one person was responsible for the CSPF crisis. I personally refuse to be a "political pawn" for any specific political agenda.

The key point in the article that I found to be worthy was knowing the actual reasons for the CSPF crisis. " BL said increased foreign trade, fewer new active Teamster members and China's involvement in the global economy are to blame for the pension fund's decreasing assets" One I might add is poor return on historical investments. Knowing the problems causing the CSPF financial crisis, it does seem clear that coming up with solutions to fix the problem can be quite complex.

 

[rod]

You just know that when the dust settles and our pensions are cut to crap there will be a news article about big multi million dollar bonuses being paid to the Teamster leaders. It never fails. They always manage to figure out a way to rub a little salt in the wounds.

 

[govols019]

When was the last multi million bonus paid out to a Teamster leader?

 

[ezmoney5150]

When was the last multi million bonus paid out to a Teamster leader?

There wasn't and there probably never will be in our lifetime. But it's always nice to throw some innuendo out there to get the sheep stired up.

 

[rod]

There wasn't and there probably never will be in our lifetime. But it's always nice to throw some innuendo out there to get the sheep stired up.

So you are saying there won't be an announcement shortly after the pensions are cut that bonuses are being paid? Maybe not millions but they will prosper off our losses.

 

[speedbug577]

So you are saying there won't be an announcement shortly after the pensions are cut that bonuses are being paid? Maybe not millions but they will prosper off our losses.

Will the employer side of the CSPF board of trustees get a bonus also? I bet you didn't know half the board is from employers side.