President Brian Clardy and Secretary/Treasurer Mike Powers spent some time with our Charleston Movie Industry members on the set of the Netflix show, "Outer Banks." They are currently working hard on episodes for Season 4! Local 509 members are also hard at work for the 4th Season of the HBO show, "Righteous Gemstones.
Multiemployer pension funds in our country are facing a crisis and there is no time to lose in finding a solution. Without rapid congressional action 1.5 million retirees and hundreds of thousands of active workers in some 300 failing multiemployer plans – including the Teamsters’ Central States Plan-- will be at risk of losing the pensions they earned through a lifetime of hard work.
Earlier this year, Congress created a Joint Select Committee and tasked it with crafting legislation that will solve the crisis. Fortunately, there is already legislation that has been introduced that will provide a path to financial health for troubled pension plans, alleviate pressure on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, and ensure that retirees and active Teamster members receive all of the benefits that they earned. That legislation is known as the Butch Lewis Act (H.R. 4444/S. 2147).
We need the constituents of the Joint Select Committee’s membership to reach out to encourage their congressperson(s) to join together and report out a bipartisan solution to America’s multiemployer pension crisis that does not include cuts to benefits. Tell your Congressperson that you support the only legislation that satisfies those conditions, the Butch Lewis Act (H.R. 4444/ S. 2147).
Individuals who do not have a member of Congress appointed to the Committee can help too by reaching out to their Senators and Representative to urge them to either cosponsor the Butch Lewis Act or encourage their colleagues to add their support to the legislation -- The more bipartisan support the legislation garners, the more likely it is to be adopted by the Committee.
Please follow the below link. A letter has already been drafted on the teamster site like the one below and the site will aid you in sending it to correct person.
Dear Senator/ Representative:
I know the Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans is currently working to resolve the multiemployer pension crisis that this country is currently facing and that they are considering a number of proposals to achieve this goal.
The Butch Lewis Act (H.R. 4444 / S. 2147) is the only proposal that will provide a path to financial health for troubled pension plans, alleviate pressure on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, and ensure that retirees and active Teamster members receive all of the benefits that they earned. I hope that the committee will ultimately adopt this legislation as its proposed solution to the multiemployer pension crisis, but you can also help.
As their colleague, the members of the Committee are inclined to be persuaded by your support of the measure. This is why I am asking you to cosponsor the Butch Lewis Act. Your support for this legislation will mean so much to your constituents who depend on the pension benefits they earned through a lifetime of dedication and hard work. Working families didn’t create this problem and it shouldn’t be on them to solve it.