Members of Teamsters Local Union 687 in Potsdam to benefit from pension bailout

POTSDAM — Members of the Teamsters Local Union 687 in Potsdam were among 33,000 Teamsters beneficiaries and their families who will benefit from a pension-fix bailout from the American Rescue Plan, according to Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office.

The bailout plan will pay more than $960 million into ailing multi-employer pension plans for union workers across Upstate New York, Long Island, and New York City, Schumer’s office said.

Schumer said he has spent years advocating for relief for the ailing pension plans.

After the 2008 financial crash, many union workers’ in multiemployer pension plans were in danger of collapse, Schumer claimed.

Multiemployer plans are created through agreements between employers and a union, with plans typically involving multiple employers in a single industry or related industries, he said. Union families and workers faced the prospect of losing out on retirement savings – through no fault of their own, Schumer said.

Schumer fought to include the Butch Lewis Act in the American Rescue Plan – securing pension solvency in his very first major bill as majority leader.

Before the American Rescue Plan over 200 multiemployer plans were on pace to become insolvent in the near term, risking benefits for millions of workers and their families, Schumer said.

The law created the Special Financial Assistance program administered by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to protect benefits for millions of workers, reverse harsh pension cuts, and put existing plans on a path to solvency through 2051, the senator claims.