Our pension fund has mailed a funding certification notice to members as required by the Pension Protection Act.

The notice is long on legal jargon and short on details. In fact, it provides the minimum information required under the law. In the meantime, the fund continues to stonewall on turning over documents that would allow members to learn more.

Here is what the funding notice does tell us:

• The Local 804 pension fund is in endangered status, also known as the “Yellow Zone.”

• Under the law, our fund has to adopt a plan that will increase its funding level to 80 percent over a ten-year “rehabilitation period.” The clock for the ten-year period starts ticking on January 1, 2011.

• The trustees say no cuts will be needed for the fund to reach 80 percent funding before 2021.

No Cuts. What About Improvements?

The good news is that the trustees from UPS and Local 804 have finally stopped pushing pension cuts. It’s about time. UPS cut our pensions in 2006 and our own Executive Board supported eliminating 25 & Out benefits for new Teamsters last year.

But what about a timeline for pension improvements?

Last year, we got stuck with massive concessions in our contract. The only saving grace was the record contributions to our pension fund. Will that money be used to increase our benefits, which are falling behind many other UPS Teamster pensions?

Pension Increases: What We’re Not Being Told

Benefits can be raised in one of two scenarios.

1. Fund trustees can vote to increase benefits when the fund is out of the Yellow Zone
2. Fund trustees can raise our pensions while we are still in the Yellow Zone provided that there is enough money coming in to pay for the improvements and still get the fund up to 80 percent funding before 2021.

Our fund trustees have the data to calculate the cost and viability of making improvements while we’re still in the Yellow Zone. And they can also tell us when the fund is scheduled to be out of the Yellow Zone-when the restrictions on benefit increases will be lifted.

But members aren’t being given any of this information. The notice from the fund only says that the plan will be out of the Yellow Zone “before 2021.” That’s an incredibly wide range! Are we talking about 2010? 2015? 2020?

One date is certain. Our pensions are frozen at the 2002 level. Most other UPS Teamsters will get an automatic increase in their pension accrual every year during the current contract. Our accrual is frozen until the trustees vote to increase it.

We expect the company to keep us in the dark. But why aren’t our union trustees giving members more information?

Pressing for Pension Information

Local 804 Members United is working to get members the pension information they deserve.

In January, we asked the fund to turn over actuarial and investment documents that we’re entitled to under the law. The Pension Protection Act gives the fund 30 days to provide this information. More than 100 days have passed and they still refuse to turn over the documents.

At the April 20th general membership meeting, Howie promised to get us the information. But the fund still has not even replied to a letter from our pension attorney Ann C. Thompson.

We will continue to demand the information that members are entitled to.

Click here to read the Funding Certification Notice.

Click here to send a comment to Local 804 Members United.

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