UPS subsidizing non ups pensions

[JonFrum]

Welcome to freeErisa.com!
Oh, joy! The Annual Reports (Form 5500) for 2005 are finally available on FreeErisa Dot Com. Well 70% of them, at least. The reports are free, but you do have to register first by giving your email address, so you may want to visit using an alternate email account that you feel comfortable giving out. (I haven't had any problems.)

Reports are available for pension funds, health & welfare funds, and other plan types as well. When you search the database, you first get a very short version of the annual report displayed on your computer screen. At the top, click on Show All and you will get the much longer version. Rather than read it online, click on File (in Windows XP) and select Save As from the drop-down menu. Give the report a descriptive name and save a copy to your desktop, or to a folder you create with a name such as FreeErisaAnnualReports. Note that even this fuller version of the report is not the complete version. The really full version is available from the fund itself or the Labor Department, but you have to pay for it. The really full versions sometimes have Actuary's Reports included, and those are invaluable because the actuaries explain the status of the fund in more understandable terms, without spin.

Locating specific fund reports in the 5500 database can be tricky, so use these methods:
Always click the radio button on the right that searches for Name Contains, not Name Begins With.
Limit the search to the fund's home State or Zip Code.
Since you can only search for a single word, not the entire name of the fund, search for the least common word in the name of the fund, otherwise you will get too many results to sift through.

Some funds, and how to locate them easily . . .

Western Conference of Teamsters fund
Name Contains: Conference
Limit Zip Code to: 98102

Central States fund
Name Contains: Central
Limit Zip Code to: 60018

New England fund
Name Contains: Industry
Limit Zip Code to: 01803
(Note that the New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund doesn't use the standard calendar year as their fiscal year so the "2004" Report, the latest one just posted, actually covers only three fourths of 2005. Go figure. Just one more way this messed up fund of mine keeps us in the dark as long as legally possible. We'll have to wait until 2008 to find out how the last three months of 2005 finished out!)

International Association of Machinists fund
Name Contains: IAM
Limit Zip Code to: 20036
(This is the National fund some of our Auto Mechanics are in.)

New York State fund
Name Contains: NYS
Limit Zip Code to: 13221

Local 710 fund
Name Contains: 710
Limit Zip Code to: 60609

Local 705 fund
name Contains: 705
Limit Zip Code to: 60612

Local 804IBT-IAM447 fund
Name Contains: 804
Limit Zip Code to: 30328

Western Pennsylvania fund
Name Contains: Teamsters
Limit Zip Code to: 15206

Central Pennsylvania fund
Name Contains: Teamsters
Limit Zip Code to: 19612
(There are three funds in one, in this wacky arrangement!)

UPS itself runs a lot of plans that can be located by several searches . . .
Name Contains: Parcel
Select State: Georgia

Name Contains: UPS
Select State: Georgia
(For Fritz, UPS Freight, Supply Chain Solutions, and Local 177)

Name Contains: Overnite
Limit Zip Code to: 23218

Name Contains: Motor Cargo
Limit Zip Code to: 84110

I could go on and on. Visit . . .
Welcome to freeErisa.com!

 

[my2cents]

Excellent post Jon Frum on searching the Free Erisa database. I've been reading your posts on the pension issue for the past several months and finally decided to respond. I used to post on this board, but stopped over a year ago because of all the negative and loopy posts. It's refreshing to come here and find a nugget of information that's worth my time to read.

The database search tip is a good one. Personally, I had trouble finding the New England Fund because I always used the term "New England" as my search term. The word "trustees" always threw off the search results, even though it really shouldn't. Anyway, as a fellow NETTIPF participant, I've been ordering the Form 5500 filings from the DOL and performing my own calculations in regards to the funding ratio. My own calculation takes the Total Net Assets of Schedule H, Part 1 Section 1(friend)(b) and dividing this figure into the current liability on Schedule B, Part 1, Section 1(d)(2)(a). After performing this calculation on the 2004 Form 5500 filing, I have the New England Fund clocking in at 52% - 3.4 billion in assets divided by 6.5 billion in liabilities. The next Form 5500 should be interesting because it should show the sale of the Heritage REIT. I'm wondering if the sale of the REIT will lift the funding ratio any.

There is one research project I would like to do if I knew the names of all the funds. I would like to calculate the funding ratios of all 21 multi-employer pension plans UPS contributes to. This research could be extended to include other important factors one finds on the site Know Your Pension. FWIW, they have created some useful tables of information using criteria from the 36 largest pension plans in America. Your Pension Health

 

[JonFrum]

Some Teamsters Officials collect two or three pensions. The annual reports for some of these additional pension plans can be easily located in the FreeErisa Dot Com database by two seperate searches for . . .

Name Contains: joint council
(leave the rest blank)
and
Name Contains: affiliates
Limit Zip Code to: 20001

Note that the Form 5500 for the Teamsters Affiliates Pension Plan is available online for 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005, but not 2003. The 2002 and 2004 reports contain a seperate Schedule T for each participating Teamster Affiliate so these reports are huge! Look at the short report version first, then decide if you really want to click on "Show All" to see the huge version.
Welcome to freeErisa.com!

 

[JonFrum]

The Retirement And Family Protection Plan, the additional "Rolls Royce" benefit plan available to top Teamsters officers, and several other IBT plans, are available on FreeErisa by searching for . . .
Name Contains: Teamsters
Limit Zip Code To: 20001
- - - - -
GuideStar Dot Org is another website that has financial info on Teamsters organizations and benefit funds, as well as many other non-profit and charitable organizations. Most non-profits must file an annual Form 990 with the IRS. If you search GuideStar's free database for: Teamster* you will get a list of 1,050 Teamsters Health & Welfare and other plans, (but not pension plans.) The asterisk (*) after "Teamster" insures that the search includes plans that use the words Teamster or Teamsters in their title. Like FreeErisa, GuideStar is free, but you do have to register before you can view the Form 990s. The Teamster* search will work even if you haven't yet registered, so check out . . .
GuideStar

The IRS Form 990s are in Adobe PDF format, and are a megabyte or so in size, so they may take a few minutes to display on your screen if you have a slow dial-up connection. Create a "GuideStar" folder on your hard drive, and click Save A Copy to save each displayed report.

 

[my2cents]

According to a 2005 UPSPAC brochure, UPS contributes to 21 separate multi-employer pension plans and 17 of them are attached with funding ratios calculated. Despite a lack of hard data to truly verify all of them as multi-employer plans UPS contributes to, this poster believes the compiled list is fairly accurate. If a reader of this board finds one or more of the plans listed in error, please post the corrected information. On the other hand, if one is a participant in a plan not listed, please post the name of the plan and I will search it out in the free Erisa database and post the resulting calculations in the same manner demonstrated below. There are a couple of more plans, which I suspect could be on the list, although I could be wrong. These plans are Maryland based ones - Truck Drivers & Helpers Local Union No. 355 Retirement Pension (Baltimore) and the Hagerstown Motor Carriers and Teamsters Pension Plan. Furthermore, and this is purely speculation on my part, the other two could be IAM plans.

The latest available Form 5500 data was used for performing the calculations by searching the database on freeERISA.com. The method for the calculation follows the one employed in Trucking: The Less-than-Truckload (LTL) Industry and Pension, Safety, and Security Issues, Congressional Research Service Report RL32257, April 19, 2004. The Total Assets figure is derived from Schedule H, Part 1, Line 1df(b). The Current Liability uses the RPA 94 figure from Schedule B, Part 1, Line 1d(2)(a). Assets were divided into liabilities to obtain the funding ratio.

 

[JonFrum]

My2cents,
Most readers on this website are not registered members of BrownCafe, so if you want us to see your PDF file attachment, you'll have to republish it as a regular posting. As non-members, we're blocked from seeing file attachments. I don't know why. I'm looking foreward to viewing it, as well as any other contributions you may make. Thanks.

 

[my2cents]

Sorry Jon,

I wanted to post the data as a table on the forum, but due to formatting issues, it couldn't be done. The character limit did me in, so I was forced to create a .pdf file. Anyway, below is an abridged version. I had to leave off the assets and liabilities data though.

Central States - 56%
Western Conference - 99%
New England Fund - 52%
NYS Teamsters - 59%
Local 804 IBT & 447 IAM - 53%
Local 177 - 57%
Central Penn. Teamsters - 66%
Western Penn. Teamsters - 61%
Trust Fund of Phil. & Vicinity - 62%
Local 639 - 100%
Locals 175 & 505 - 65%
Joint Council No. 83 - 73%
Local 705 - 73%
Local 710 - 89%
Milwaukee Drivers - 70%
Teamsters Negotiated - 70%
IAM National - 119%

I realize there are other ways of calculating funding ratios and I have seen other types, but I like to use the method from the Congressional Research Service Report because it is simple, plus there are other calculations inside the Report, such as active participants to retiree ratios, etc. In short, all the methods necessary for calculating pension health from a standard Form 5500 are in there.

 

[my2cents]

Hey Jon,

If you would like a copy of the CRS Report, I can email it to you if you wish, although it is a 1.35 MB .pdf file attachment. I just found the CRS file buried on my drive. I can also send my calculation .pdf as well. I found your email address on another thread and can send it to that address. If you reply yes, I will use a subject header with the phrase "Pension Stuff" in it, so you won't delete it as spam.

 

[JonFrum]

My2cents,
Yes, go right ahead. I'd be glad to receive whatever you have. Thanks again.

[ Maybe Webmistress Cheryl could change her policy and allow regular users full use of all the BrownCafe features, even if they aren't registered members. Hint, hint. ]

 

[JonFrum]

To easily locate the Form 5500 annual reports on FreeErisa of the additional pension funds mentioned above by My2cents, search for . . .

Local 639
Name Contains: 639
Limit Zip Code To: 20018

Joint Council 83 of Va
Name Contains: Council
Limit Zip Code To: 23229

Milwaukee Drivers
Name Contains: Drivers
Limit Zip Code To: 53226

Trust Fund of Philadelphia & Vicinity
Name Contains: Vicinity
Limit Zip Code To: 19106

Locals 175 & 505
Name Contains: 505
Limit Zip Code To: 25304

Teamsters Negotiated
Name Contains: Negotiated
Limit Zip Code To: 63103

Truck Drivers & Helpers Local Union 355
Name Contains: 355
Limit Zip Code To: 21223

Hagerstown Motor Carriers & Teamsters
Name Contains: Carriers
Limit Zip Code To: 21740

Welcome to freeErisa.com!

 

[JonFrum]

New Central States pension plan proposed!!!

UPS Negotiations Update
May 10, 2007

The following is a statement from hall, Director of the Teamsters Parcel and Small Package Division and Co-Chairman of the National UPS Negotiating Committee:

"The Teamsters Union entered into early negotiations with UPS with the central objective of protecting our members’ pensions and health care.

The Negotiating Committee presented an economic proposal to UPS at the end of March, which included a demand for an increase in health and welfare and pension contributions by $2 per hour in the first year. Our proposal also included significant increases in wages and other economic conditions.

When National Master negotiations resumed after a break in which the supplemental committees met, United Parcel Service responded to our economic package with its own opening offer. What will capture the headlines is an offer to create a new, joint Teamsters-Company pension plan to cover full-time UPS employees who currently obtain their pension benefits from the Central States Fund.

In the past, the Company has attempted to create a Company plan that it would administer by itself. The current proposal would create a plan jointly administered by UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters with an equal number of Teamster-appointed and Company trustees.

The Company also proposed increases in pension and health and welfare contributions for other benefit funds covering UPS members. While smaller than the Union's demands, the Company proposal is greater than the amounts contained in the 2002-2008 contract.

The Company proposes to pay in a lump sum the withdrawal liability owed to the Central States pension fund, an amount subject to negotiation between the Company and that Fund. The Company contends that depositing a large amount of money into the Fund will improve its stability and protect the Fund from some of the requirements of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 and which will go into effect in 2008. These determinations require complicated economic calculations. The Teamsters Negotiating Committee has retained its own actuaries to examine the figures that have been received from Central States in order to independently determine the impact on the Fund if the Company withdrew.

I can assure you that the Negotiating Committee will not consider any plan that jeopardizes the benefits of members in Central States or members of any other Teamster fund. The Company’s proposal is not a negotiating tactic. It is a serious proposal that must be seriously evaluated and compared with the other options available for improving and protecting the pension benefits of our members.

The Company’s pension proposal is included in a wide range of contract changes which the Company wants to offset the cost of the new plan. These proposals are almost universally unacceptable. Most of them are too farfetched to even discuss at this point because the Negotiating Committee will never bring them back to the members or trade away these contract protections.

In summary, at this point in negotiations, we have made progress on a number of non-economic issues and still have significant non-economic issues open on the table. Each side has an opening economic proposal on the table. Each side has some serious aspects of its proposal that require consideration, and that is certainly what the proposal on the pension funds deserves. I urge Teamster members to not fall for unfounded rumors but to count on the communications you receive from your International Union as we move forward in these negotiations. We will be studying these issues and will keep you advised as we develop the information we need to determine whether some, or any, of these proposals help solve the problems that brought us to the table."
http://www.teamster.org/07news/hn_070510_3.asp

 

[JonFrum]

Central States Fund Expands to $21 Billion

Central States Fund Expands to $21 Billion
April 2, 2007

"The Central States Pension Fund ended 2006 with a $1.4 billion gain in assets, reaching $20.7 billion—up from just $15 billion a few years ago. The fund projects that by the end of 2007, assets will be up to $21.2 billion, with expected investment returns. With better returns, the Fund projects that they will surpass $22 billion.

These figures are in the fund’s Financial and Analytical Reports obtained by TDU in February 2007.

This big gain in assets at Central States shows the impact of benefit accrual cuts imposed on members, and diversion of money from health and welfare to the pension fund for the third year in a row.

In addition, 2006 was a good year for investors, with the Fund’s investments earning 14.5 percent.

What Will it Take To Restore Benefits?

Last fall, UPS chief negotiator hall met with representatives from the Central States and other Teamster funds to get briefed on what it will take to protect and improve our benefits over the life of the UPS contract. The same figures will apply to the 2008 National Master Freight Agreement.

To date, that information has been kept secret from the members.

In December, the fund informed all Locals that all new contracts negotiated must contain eight percent annual increases in pension contributions, or those members will be kicked out of fund participation.

This mean that in the UPS contract there must be pension contributions of at least 40¢ per hour the first year, then 50¢, and then 60¢ by the fifth year if the contract is that long. These are minimums required to stay in the fund, not to restore benefit cuts."
http://www.tdu.org/node/972

 

[JonFrum]

All Teamsters (LM-2) Annual Financial Reports 2000-2006 available online

Go to the Department of Labor search page. . .

and from the UNION ABBREVIATION menu select: IBT
Then click the Submit button. Leave everything else blank. What could be simpler?

You will get a single, long page of useful summary infomation on all 537 Teamsters entities. Each Local, Joint Council, and the International (called the Teamsters National Headquarters) is listed. They are all hyperlinked so just scroll down and click on an organization and you will get a specific listing of the last six or seven Annual Financial Reports (LM-2) which you can then view online. Some 2006 reports are already online, the rest should be added shortly.

My advice is to save a copy of that initial list of 537 Teamsters organizations to your hard drive. It contains, at a glance, the entire list of Teamsters organizations, their File Numbers, their number of members, their total assets, liabilities, receipts, and disbursements. You can also save any individual LM-2 reports, like the ones from your own Local.

Alternatively, you could always search for a specific Local's report by entering its six-digit File Number in the File Number field and hitting Submit. The International's file number, for example, is 000093. Be advised, the International's LM-2 reports are big files and will take a while to load. You can also download a copy of the 2006 IBT Constitution from the International's page, (another big file.)

The Change To Win organization only has an LM-2 report for 2006. It can be viewed either by selecting CTW from the Union Abbreviation field, or by entering 000385 in the File Number field.

Selecting IAM from the Union Abbreviation field will generate a complete clickable list of all entities of the International Association of Machinists.

 

[JonFrum]

TDU's View on UPS's New Central States Pension Proposal

"Will Hoffa Let UPS Split Up the Central States Pension Fund?

Management has put a proposal on the table to pull UPS Teamsters out of the Central States Pension Plan - the plan that covers 42,000 full-timers in 25 states.

UPS wants to create a new pension plan to be run jointly by trustees from UPS and the Teamsters--similar to the [New York] Local 804 plan where the company recently forced through a 30 percent pension cut over the opposition of Teamster trustees.

Management knows what they want and they'll throw money at us to get it. To pull out of Central States, UPS would be legally required to pay some $4 billion to the fund in withdrawal liability. The company sees this as an investment in weakening our union, dividing UPSers from other Teamsters, and busting up Teamster pension plans.

According to the CEO of ABF, another company that wants to break out of Teamster pension plans, the withdrawal penalty can easily be made up over time in company savings on future benefit costs.

The Hoffa administration is considering accepting the proposal, calling it "a serious proposal that must be seriously evaluated." Many Teamsters believe it is a done deal.

Pension Improvement?

UPS's pension grab would hurt our union in the long run--in exchange for not much benefit in the short run.

Under the company's proposal, the UPS-only fund would pay a 25-and-out benefit of $2,500, a 30-and-out benefit of $3000, and a 35-and-out benefit of $3,500. Benefits would be capped at a maximum of $3,500 a month no matter how many years you work.

At $100 per year of service, the proposed UPS pension would actually pay less than Central States which pays $108 per year of service. The main improvement is that the UPS-only plan would restore early retirement by eliminating the 6 percent per year penalty for retiring before 62.

Of course, UPS can sweeten the pot and improve their initial offer. We fully expect that to happen, and we understand that many UPS Teamsters may be open to company proposals that restore cut benefits.

UPS Teamsters shouldn't have to be pulled out of Central States in a company scheme to get the benefits they deserve. It's our union's job to win full 25 and 30-and-out benefit at any age and affordable retiree healthcare in a Central States plan.

In 1997 when UPS management tried a similar pension grab, Ron Carey backed UPS off and won enough benefit contributions to increase our Teamster pensions. That's a positive example to follow.

Long Term Problems

Employers often sweeten their offer in an effort to weaken our union. That's what's happening here. The implications for our pension funds and the future of our union are huge.

If UPS is allowed to bust out of Central States, which fund is next? Other employers will want to follow. ABF's CEO says busting out of the Teamster pension plans in the NMFA bargaining is his top goal.

The Central States Fund would lose its largest and youngest group of participants. We should be building our pension plans, not managing their decline or demise. That's not union leadership.

Our union needs to organize. The multi-employer pension plans are a key selling point to bringing in members and building our union for the future.

Our union needs to think long term. Not just this year or this contract. A UPS worker who is 35 right now could well be drawing a pension 50 years from now. Sure, UPS is the big dog today. Will it be 30 to 40 years down the road?

Think 30-40 years ago about General Motors, United Airlines, or IBM. Who knew then they would shrink and slash pensions and possibly go into bankruptcy. That's why the multi-employer plans are so much safer for the long run.

What do you think of the company's proposal? We want to hear from you. Post a comment online at www.tdu.org. Or send us your opinion confidentially."

 

[badpas]

Re: TDU's View on UPS's New Central States Pension Proposal

Jon, that is good to know but it draws alot of questions. Such as, your talk of a multi-emp. pension fund being safer? That is being vague at best. It may have devercification in it but it also handcuffs at the same time. IF we are going to fix the pension problems for the long run the last group of people we want running it is a combination of the people we are trying to vote out and then bargain with every time its contract season. This is putting all our eggs in one basket and we all see where that can lead. The only way to fix this is to set up a pension fund similar to the mechanics which is as close to a individual retirement as you can get. The way it is now just isn't going to cut it and if you can't fix it there is no where to go but down. And until they offer something like it, there's no way anyone can say its going too be. And lets put the leaving the retirees out to dry to bed because legally that can't happen either. Lets just hope people see this as a starting point and not the finish line because what I've seen so far doesn't catch my eye in the least. This is our future, not the teamsters, not the companies, if we want change then we need to stand up now while we can before our representation makes a deal with whats for all teamsters instead of whose contract their supposed to be settling.

 

[Cezanne]

I sure wish we did live in a perfect world. Bottom line is that most of us who are eligible for retirement with UPS want out. My greatest fear is my health and the ability to enjoy any retirement, admit it most of the physical work at UPS was not meant for anybody over the age of 40, let alone waiting till 60. Even if you slow down to be safe, the wear and tear over the decades has already done their damage. You really start feeling it in your 50's no matter how well you are in shape. It is a matter of attrition, just recently I was told by a life insurance representative that between the ages of 50 and 65 the statistics show 25 percent of the male population dies. I do not know just how many of that age group become totally disabled, but can imagine it is high also.

For our union members in more healthier benefit plans, more power to you but the only response that we are getting from you for those under the Central States fund is basically "it sure sucks being you" and that doesn' t cut it. Same union, same monetary contributions, same time in and same age and we are going to end up with probadly less than a half of what you will get. Where in my book does that spell union brotherhood, not giving any hope of fixing this problem will doom the teamsters more than anything that UPS can do. When this Central States underfunding came to light I suggested that the teamsters should bring all it's pension and health and welfare trusts into one massive fund and pay a fixed total for all retirement benefits, including any union official's benefit packages. I get the general feeling that alot of union members got their piece of the pie and would not be willing to give any of it for the good of the total membership. Don't blame you, human nature and such.

 

[Fullhouse]

"Our union needs to organize. The multi-employer pension plans are a key selling point to bringing in members and building our union for the future." Jon Frum
How about tell the Executive Board at Local 509 that! They were invited buy the employees of Caterpillar in South Carolina to give them some help in getting organized. 3000 potential new members. Yea they showed up and passed out 1 leaflet and never went back. You know why? Cause those clowns at the Local do not want to organize any large number of people because they simply do not want to be voted out of office.When you have a Local that has 3700 members with estimated 25 barns and the largest barn has 450 people and then you throw in a barn of 3000 from one company, Well need I say more. Problem is those clowns avoid situations like that, because they know they will get canned the first time those people become eligible to run for office. I know they shouldn't think like this but it's called self preservation. The job they do now just plain "sucks' and they know it. to bad we have such low life in office.The way I look at it "if you can do the job no worries,but if you can't, well you just do not organize anybody that has the numbers that can beat you buy banning together"

 

[patrickroll]

That was fantastic post. I was now very clear about subsidizing non ups pensions thats because of your post. Thanks for that.


financial reporting manual

 

[Holdemhook68]

Wow, articulate, educated.......great stuff, but where is your math? If you take the amount of monies UPS puts in the plan for UPS people and the 600 million they put in anualy, after 30 years a fulltime vested package driver should draw between 6,000 and 6,500 a month with minumun cost of health care. That was calculated by an independant company that did the figuring for Chrysler. This company came up with those figures when the pension fund became dangerously low about 6 years ago and a portion of our health care monies where redirected into the pension fund. Those funds have yet to be returned. UPS pays to dollar per employee into the fund. Mathematicaly the return is far less than the investment......please excuse all gramatical/spelling errors. ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[govols019]

First, this thread is 5 years old.

Second, sounds like some APWA "numbers".

Third, Bama sucks.