tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17027928.post113330302341020918..comments2023-10-12T03:49:49.914-05:00Comments on The "Bush"-Whacked Administration: A Guest Post about Pensions & UnionsScotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03286608669581380412noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17027928.post-1133488036233116022005-12-01T19:47:00.000-06:002005-12-01T19:47:00.000-06:00The Union pension funds you're talking about are c...The Union pension funds you're talking about are called Multi-Employer Plans (MEPs) and are a different program for different employees. These union-funded plans exist because many tradesmen work for different companies, with placement provided through their unions.<BR/><BR/>The plans referenced in the post aren't "union" plans. They're pension plans for, say, Ford employees who've worked for Ford for 30 years. Just because they're negotiated by unions doesn't mean that the union is the employer. <BR/><BR/>Just a clarification.<BR/>-ChrisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17027928.post-1133461372413522242005-12-01T12:22:00.000-06:002005-12-01T12:22:00.000-06:00(continuing)Having said that, I'd agree that Congr...(continuing)<BR/><BR/>Having said that, I'd agree that Congress should leave their hands off it (don't they have steroids in MLB to worry about, and didn't Arlen Specter just take up the cause of Terrell Owens in the name of NFL anti-trust violations? I'm so glad we don't have term limits in Congress, aren't you?), and I do agree that the contract is the contract, and if the CORPORATE stewardship was dumb enough to agree to something they knew would kill them in the long run, then *shrug* I guess your business is no longer viable...but don't expect the American citizen to bail you out. <BR/><BR/>Fat corporate pension funds have been a problem for a long time, and underfunded pensions should never have been allowed...but then, those that wrote the laws that allow pension funds to be underfunded, also themselves cannot keep their hands out of the biggest cookie jar in the country: Social Security. So, it should come as no surprise that lawmakers see it is reasonable to put "IOU's" in pension funds when it's a matter of course in their daily course of business.<BR/><BR/>In the end, this sort of activity comes down to us, the American citizen, who have allowed this to go on far too long. The credit-consumer public is as guilty as anyone for underfunded pension plans: have it now, pay for it later, and someone else is left holding the bag. Of course, politically, that sort of truth gets you vilified, not elected, so I guess the beat goes on. We'll continue to see self-righteous posts like this about man's inhumanity to man, and nothing will change. Too bad. I guess. What's on "Survivor" this week?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17027928.post-1133460500103945242005-12-01T12:08:00.000-06:002005-12-01T12:08:00.000-06:00My father worked for 30 years as a union tradesman...My father worked for 30 years as a union tradesman...and his union funds their own pension. Hence, there's no worry about whether the company goes under.<BR/><BR/>Why do not the UAW et al fund their own damn pensions? The mere fact that unions have continued to force companies to fund pension even in the face of clear evidence of American un-competitiveness on the global market (and the inevitable loss of revenue and market share that would keep the pensions funded) smacks of negligence at the least, and fiduciary malfeasance at the worst, in the ranks of union leadership. Of course, the author would have us also believe that union bosses are all golden angels whose sole concern is for the working man, and that they are not guilty of any number of misdemeanors or felonies in the handling of their unions' finances, but the she probably also believes in fairies at the bottom of the garden and that Washington and Detroit have suppressed the "magic wand" of energy independence too. But I digress.<BR/><BR/>Unions all should long ago have abandoned company-funded pensions in favor of self-funded pensions when it became clear that American companies could no longer compete (for the dozens of reasons we'll leave for another discussion). I see this as a "reap-what-you-sow" outcome, and unions have at the very least partially contributed to the increasing number of massive corporate bankruptcies we've seen in the past year. You can only milk a company for so much, and when a company has the option of taking your job to somewhere far less expensive, you. as a union member or leader, really has to consider what's best in the long run: keep a job with fewer benefits, or join the rest of your colleagues in the unemployment queue.<BR/><BR/>Union leadership has failed their membership. I have no pity for those who got the leadership they deserved.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com