Retired Union Members Speak Against Plan To Cut Pensions

Dozens of retired Teamsters harshly condemned a proposed pension restructuring plan at a town hall meeting in Milwaukee Wednesday night.

The multi-employer supported Central States Pension Fund said it needs to cut benefits for retired teamsters by up to half, or the fund will go broke in about a decade. But almost every teamster who spoke at the meeting urged the U.S. Treasury Department to reject the plan. Charles Constable said he wants the full pension he was promised years ago.

“I worked when it was it was 30 below zero, in an unheated dock,” said Constable. “I worked when it was 100 degrees outside. Nobody handed me this pension. I earned it.”

Some retirees said if Central States is allowed to make the pension cuts, other private multi-employer pensions will try to follow suit.

The Treasury Department said it will decide on the proposal in a few months.