The Local 804 Health Fund has lost another $1.9 million in assets, according to documents obtained by 804 Members United.  The Fund has lost nearly $20 million over a five-year period. Its assets have dropped from $32.2 million in 2003 to just $12.5 million on May 31, 2008.

These figures come from the Fund’s own Form 5500 documents filed with the Department of Labor.

The good news is that the Fund’s losses have started to level off. The Fund lost less than $2 million in the 2007 plan year, compared to losses of $4.5 and $6.8 million the previous two years.

Local 804 is supposed to give us an updated report on how much money is in the Fund at the general membership meeting. Hopefully, the Executive Board will announce that after five years of massive deficits, our Health Fund is operating in the black.

In the fall of 2007, our union trustees on the Health Fund voted with UPS to hike members’ co-pays. It remains to be seen whether those cuts and the contributions negotiated in the current contract will be enough to stop our Health Fund from running million dollar annual deficits.

Millions Diverted From Our Health Fund

Some Executive Board members have started blaming the cost of retirees for the Fund’s problems.

What Local 804 officials don’t tell the members is their own role in creating the financial problems at the Fund. The money negotiated in the 2002 “Best Contract Ever” was not enough to pay for members’ health benefits.

Instead of telling the truth about that contract and leveling with the members about the state of our Health Fund, our officials spent down the Fund’s reserves to make up for the shortfall.

Starting in 2003, our Fund lost millions of dollars every year. Then in 2005-2006, Local 804 officials poured gasoline on the fire by voting with UPS to divert contributions from the Health Fund to the Pension Fund.

After the diversion, the Fund’s assets nosedived, dropping a whopping $11.3 million in two years. The Local 804 Executive Board never told members a word about the losses or the diversion of funds.

Rebuilding Our Funds; Rebuilding Our Local

This Executive Board inherited Pension and Health Funds that were the envy of Teamsters across the country. As Local 804 members we got spoiled. We didn’t ask a lot of questions about how the funds were doing. We assumed our benefits were in good hands. .

It won’t be easy to rebuild the Local 804 Health Fund after $20 million in losses over five years. It will be even harder for this Executive Board to rebuild the membership’s trust after what they’ve done to our benefit funds and how they’ve kept us in the dark about it.

Click here to download Schedule H (Financial Information) of the most recent Local 804 Health Fund 5500 form (June 1, 2007 - May 31, 2008).

Click here to download the most recent Local 804 Health fund Form 5500 form (June 1, 2007 - May 31, 2008).

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