ABC Member Discusses Failing Union Pension Plans on Fox Business Network
TruthAboutPLAs.com readers familiar with provisions in wasteful and anti-competitive project labor agreements (PLAs) that force employers to contribute to failing union multi-employer pension plans on behalf of their employees have likely reviewed Required Reading on Multi-Employer Pension Plan Crisis.
April 29, Fox Business Network’s Americas Nightly Scoreboard program invited the Small Business All-Stars to discuss Wall Street reform in light of the protests on Wall Street led by Big Labor today.
Brett McMahon of ABC member Miller & Long Concrete Construction discusses the taxpayer funded bailout of union pension plans and the hypocrisy of this reform at 2:30.
McMahon cites data from Moody’s Global Corporate Finance September 10, 2009 report, “Growing Multiemployer Pension Funding Shortfall is an Increasing Credit Concern,” which measures the crisis faced by construction industry multi-employer pension plans (MEPPs).
Using 2007 numbers as a starting point, Moody’s estimates that 2008 underfundings for construction MEPP’s ballooned to $72.484 billion or a 54 percent funded level. In other words for every dollar that these construction MEPPs owe, they hold only 54 cents of invested assets. Today the underfundings are much likely higher and the amount of assets to cover future liabilities is much lower.
Is there any doubt why nonunion contractors avoid participating in MEPPs? Is there any question why nonunion employees would rather remain nonunion and participate in 401(k) and Roth IRA retirement plans than join a union and rely on MEPPs?