We are joining together as representatives of labor and management to ask for your strong support of the multiemployer pension plan proposal that has been developed by the Retirement Security Review Commission of the National Coordination Committee for Multiemployer Plans. Their proposal is known as Solutions Not Bailouts (SNB). It will significantly benefit both the 325,000 skilled craft men and women in the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) and the 2,800 employers that belong to the Mechanical Contractors Association (MCAA) by making the retirement plans in our industry more secure. This will be done without a government handout. It will be done by labor and management working out solutions together through bargaining and through cooperation at the pension fund level.
Solutions not Bailouts
For decades, millions of working class Americans have relied on the hard-earned retirement benefits made possible by multiemployer pension plans. Private sector solutions can ensure that workers continue to count on these plans for generations to come without putting taxpayers at risk.
Joint Labor-Management SupportWhy Our Critics are Wrong
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
... our "Solutions, not Bailouts" plan will work to prevent the need for future taxpayer assistance by dramatically reducing the agency's exposure to plan failures, thereby improving the financial outlook of the PBGC multiemployer insurance program.
-- Sean McGarvey, President of the North America's Building Trades Unions
We believe the additional tools for deeply troubled plans that are recommended by the NCCMP, the Retirement Security Review Commission, would go a long way to help us with those plans’ survival.
-- Anthony "Marc" Perrone, Secretary-Treasurer, United Food and Commercial Workers
The fact that labor and management were able to come together and agree on a comprehensive proposal to protect the pensions of millions of middle-class families is a significant development.
-- U.S. Sen.Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Today’s report is further proof that there is no easy way to address the challenges facing the multiemployer pension system. It also serves as an important reminder that common ground can be found when stakeholders work together in good faith and are willing to make tough choices. Workers and retirees deserve no less. We commend NCCMP for its efforts and look forward to reviewing the recommendations carefully.
-- U.S. Reps. John Kline (R-MN) & Phil Roe (R-TN), House Education & Workforce Committee
The Commission’s plan represents a pragmatic, reasonable and – most importantly for taxpayers – self-sufficient approach to preserving and protecting nearly half a trillion dollars’ worth of multiemployer retirement plans.