Today, November 30, is the date that was set as the deadline for the Joint Select Committee to agree upon legislation for troubled multi-employer pension plans and the impending insolvency of the PBGC.
Co-Chairmen Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) released a statement that said, in part, “While it will not be possible to finalize a bipartisan agreement before November 30, we believe a bipartisan solution is attainable, and we will continue working to reach that solution.”
This means that the disastrous proposal we recently saw will not be moving forward at this time. It doesn’t mean that we should stop what we are doing. Thousands of SMART members answered the call to come together to protect our retirement. We need to ensure that multi-employer defined benefit pension plans that have made difficult decisions in the past to get on the right path aren’t harmed by attempts to help troubled plans. At the same time, we need solutions for those plans and for the PBGC to keep healthy plans on track.
Thank you for all your efforts, when we asked you to mobilize, you answered the call.
Thanks to you, Congress heard the voice of labor through over 40,000 calls, letters and emails from SMART sheet metal members and their Transportation Division brothers and sisters who joined in solidarity.
I encourage you to keep your eye on this issue as Congress continues to work on solutions in the future.
Fraternally,
Joseph Sellers, Jr
SMART General President
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