Teamsters Make Progress on Pension Relief, Jobs

(CARLISLE, Pa.) – Teamster truck drivers were the first to hear Sen. Bob Casey’s plan to stabilize multi-employer pension plans and save thousands of jobs.

They were on hand March 22 at the YRCW loading dock in Carlisle, Penn., where Casey announced that he would file the “Create Jobs and Save Benefits Act of 2010.”

The bill is extremely important to the Teamsters, who have been working with Sen. Casey on it. It’s similar to a House bill that the Teamsters already support, The Preserve Benefits and Jobs Act.

That bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., and Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio. Teamsters have sent thousands of e-mails to Congress urging their elected representative to pass the Pomeroy-Tiberi bill.

Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, explained that his legislation is important to protecting pensions and saving jobs. It’s also important to keep promises made to retirees, he said.

“We have to fulfill our obligations,” Casey said. “Pensions are a basic commitment to workers and their families that they will be there for them.”

The bill will strengthen the trucking and other industries. It will change the pension funding rules so employers won’t have to make payments that could force them into bankruptcy. Employers can use their savings to hire and retain workers.

As part of the event to announce the filing of the legislation, Teamsters Local 776 shop steward Dave Wolf thanked Sen. Casey on behalf of General President Jim Hoffa and General Secretary-Treasurer Tom Keegel. .

Wolf pointed out that working people weren’t the ones who caused the stock market to crash, which weakened pensions.

“It was fraud and corruption on Wall Street that caused the crash,” Wolf said. “Now working people are losing their jobs and their pensions because of it.

“The government says it has to bail out the banks when they get into trouble because they’re “systemically important.”

“Well, we’re the people who move the goods and pay the mortgages and support our communities. I think we’re “systemically important” too.

“We’re not asking for trillions of dollars like the banks get. We’re just asking for temporary relief for pensions that lost money in the stock market crash.”

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters was founded in 1903 and represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.