The Coming Union Pension Plan Collapse

On March 4, 2010, in Congress, Corruption, Economy, Unions Revealed, by Warner Todd Huston

At the blog YidWithLid.blogspot.com Sammy Benoit has posted an interesting piece about the mess befalling so many failing union pension funds across the nation. The post includes a very useful chart that shows the trouble in which some of the largest union pension funds find themselves.

The upshot is that these pensions are on the verge of total collapse which will leave millions of retiring union members and those already retired bereft of the pensions that they had assumed would carry them into their golden years.

The list is extremely scary. This is a disaster for many people. But what is the solution? Naturally the unions are hoping that government is the solution. But the problem with a government bailout is that should a bailout happen the unions will not learn the important lesson that they should learn from the necessary collapse, necessary to reign in their excess. Sadly, many will be hurt by this reigning in of unions, but these same members should never have allowed their unions to get so out of hand in the first place!

So, courtesy of YidWithLid…

The list of 108 union pension plans below is from the Moody’s September 2009 report. The ones in green print are at the endangered level, the ones in red are critical.

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.	Union Pension Plan	% Funded
.	Alaska Hotel & Restaurant Employees Pension Plan	79.70%
.	American Federation of Musicians & Employers Pension	78.90%
.	Teamsters Local 639 Employers Pension Trust	76.10%
.	Producer-Writers Guild of America Pension Plan	75.90%
.	Ohio Operating Engineers Pension Plan	75.70%
.	Laborers District Council and Contractors Pension Fund of Ohio	75.40%
.	Southern Nevada Culinary & Bartenders Pension Trust	75.40%
.	Alaska Electrical Pension Plan	74.30%
.	Alaska Laborers – Employers Retirement Fund	73.70%
.	Electrical Contractors Assoc. of City of Chicago Union 134, IBEW Jt. Pension 2	73.70%
.	Carpenters Retirement Plan of Western Washington	73.10%
.	Automotive Industries Pension Plan	72.40%
.	American Maritime Officers Pension Plan (2005)	72.40%
.	United Mine Workers of America 1974 Pension Plan	72.30%
.	GCIU Local 119B NY Printers League Pension Fund	71.40%
.	National Elevator Industry Pension	71.00%
.	Western Conference of Teamsters	70.60%
.	Newspaper GUILD of NY the New York Times Pension Plan	70.50%


.	Chicago District Council of Carpenters Pension Fund	70.10%
.	District No. 9, IAM and Aerospace Workers Pension	69.70%
.	Rocky Mt. UFCW Unions & Employers Pension Plan	69.50%
.	Hotel/Casino – Summary	69.50%
.	NECA-IBEW Pension Trust Fund	69.20%
.	Central Pension Fund of the IUOE and Participating Employers	69.20%
.	AFTRA Retirement Plan	68.90%
.	Carpenters Pension Trust Fund of St Louis	68.60%
.	MA State Carpenters Pension Fund	68.60%
.	National Automatic Sprinkler Industry Pension	67.80%
.	Midwest Operating Engineers Pension	67.80%
.	Retail Clerks Pension Plan	67.70%
.	Electrical Workers Pension Fund, Local 103, IBEW	67.50%
.	Building Trades United Pension Trust Fund MIL and Vicinity	67.40%
.	CWA/ITU Negotiated Pension Plan	66.80%
.	UFCW Unions & Employers Midwest Pension Fund	66.70%
.	Laborers Pension Fund	66.70%
.	Carpenters Pension Fund of Philadelphia and Vicinity	66.40%
.	UFCW International Union Pension Plan for Employees	66.40%
.	Alaska Teamster-Employer Pension Plan	66.30%


.	Steelworkers Pension Trust (2007)	66.20%
.	Hotel Industry-ILWU Pension Plan	65.70%
.	National Asbestos Workers Pension Fund	65.20%
.	IUOE Stationary Engineers Local 39 Pension Plan	65.20%
.	SEIU National Industry Pension Fund	65.00%
.	Trucking Employees of North Jersey Welfare Fund Inc. Pension Fund	65.00%
.	Massachusetts Laborers Pension Fund	64.70%
.	California Ironworkers Field Pension Trust	64.50%
.	Carpenters Pension Fund of Illinois	64.20%
.	Automotive Machinists Pension Plan	63.80%
.	NJ Carpenters Pension Fund	63.60%
.	The Newspaper Guild International Pension Plan	62.80%
.	Minnesota Laborers Pension Fund	62.40%
.	Bakery & Confectionery Union & Industry International Pension	62.30%
.	Laborers National Pension Fund	62.10%
.	Operating Engineers Pension Trust	61.70%
.	UFCW Unions and Food Employers Pension Plan of Central Ohio	61.30%
.	UFCW Nothern California Joint Pension	61.00%
.	Carpenters Pension fund of Western Pennsylvania	60.80%
.	Newspaper and Mail Delivers – Publishers Pension Fund	60.50%


.	Carpenter Pension Trust for Southern California	60.40%
.	BERT Bell Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan	60.00%
.	Major League Baseball Players Pension Plan	59.60%
.	Sheet Metal Workers Pension Plan of S. CA, Arizona and Nevada	59.50%
.	NY District Council of Carpenters Pension Plan	59.30%
.	SO CA UFCW Union Joint Pension	58.40%
.	National Electrical Benefit Fund	58.20%
.	Boilermaker Blacksmith National Pension	58%
.	GCIU-Employer Retirement Fund	57.60%
.	ILWU-PMA Pension Plan	56.90%
.	Masters, Mates & Pilots Pension Plan	56.60%
.	Wisconsin Carpenters Pension Fund	56.50%
.	Electrical Workers Pension Trust Fund of Local Union 58	55.80%
.	Automotive Mechanics Local No. 701 Union Pension Fund	55.60%
.	IB of T Union Local 710 Pension	55.60%
.	Michigan Laborers Pension Fund	55.30%
.	PACE Industry Union-Management Pension Fund	55.20%
.	Pipe Fitters Retirement Fund Local 597	55.20%
.	Sheet Metal Workers Pension Plan of Northern Calif	55.10%
.	Central Pennsylvania Teamsters Defined Benefit Plan	55.10%


.	NY Hotel Trades Council and Hotel Association of NYC Pension Fund	55.10%
.	Teamsters Joint Council No. 83 of Verginia Pension Fund	54.90%
.	National Integrated Group Pension Plan	54.50%
.	Plumbers & Pipefitters National Pension	54.50%
.	Central Laborers Pension Fund	54.20%
.	Iron Workers District Council of Southern Ohio & Vicinity Pension Trust	53.90%
.	Carpenters Pension Trust Fund for Northern California	53.70%
.	Bricklayers & Trowel Trades International Pension Fund	53.60%
.	Western Pennsylvania Teamsters and Employers Pension Plan	53.10%
.	Chicago Newspaper Publishers Drivers Union Pension Trust	52.90%
.	OE Pension Trust Fund	52.40%
.	Indiana State District Council of Laborers & Hod Carriers Pension Fund	51.70%
.	NYS Teamsters Conference Pension & Retirement Fund	51.40%
.	LIUNA National Industrial Pension Fund	50.30%
.	Michigan Carpenters Pension Fund	50.20%
.	Twin City Carpenters Pension Fund	50.20%
.	Laborers Pension Trust Fund for Northern California	50.00%
.	HERE Local 25 and Hotel Association of Washington, DC Pension	49.30%
.	Central States SE&SW	48.50%
.	Teamsters Pension Trust of Philadelphia and Vicinity	48.50%


.	Operating Engineers Local 324 Pension Fund	47.30%
.	Laborers District Council of W. PA Pension Fund	46.80%
.	Iron Workers Local No. 25 Pension Trust Fund	46.40%
.	Local 705 IB of T Pension Trust Fund	46.30%
.	Building Service 32B-J Pension Fund	42.30%
.	Carpenters Pension Trust Fund Detroit & Vicinity	41.40%
.	New England Teamsters & Trucking Industry Pension	40.50%
.	FELRA and UFCW Pension Fund	39.80%
.	Local 804 I.B.T. and Local 447 IAM UPS Multi-employer Retirement Plan	39.70%
.	Sheet Metal Workers National Pension Fund	38.00%