Press Releases
Teamsters Laud Introduction of Pension Reform Legislation by Chairman Neal
Retirements of Some 1.5M Americans in Multiemployer Plans Would Be Preserved
Press Contact: Ted Gotsch Phone: (703) 899-0869 Email: tgotsch@teamster.org
(WASHINGTON) – The Teamsters today are hailing the introduction of the Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act (EPPRA) by House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.), a bill that would boost the viability of pension plans currently in financial jeopardy.
This legislation preserves retirees’ earned pensions by creating a special partition program for multiemployer pension plans that would expand the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s existing authority, increase the number of eligible plans, and simplify the application process. The union is a long-time advocate of pension reform and is pleased to continue to have Chairman Neal in its corner.
“With a new administration and new Congress now in place, the Teamsters want to let elected officials know it is time to work together across party lines to secure the hard-earned retirements of retirees and workers,” Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said. “These hardworking Americans deserve to receive the benefits they were promised.”
As it stands, there are more than 300 multiemployer plans across the country — including the Teamsters’ Central States Pension Fund — that are in danger of failing. The Teamsters have been fighting for years for a legislative solution and are anxious again to work with members of both parties to guarantee that a solution passes congressional muster.
The need for pension reform has grown even more significant during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the resulting economic crisis has threatened the pensions of many essential Teamsters as well as other frontline workers such as truck drivers, food processing workers, grocery workers and others. It’s time for Congress to pass EPPRA and allow these workers to rest easy knowing their pension promise will be honored.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.