Biden to announce $36 billion in reduction for main pension fund to keep away from profit cuts

President Biden on Thursday will announce $36 billion in monetary reduction to stave off pension cuts for 1000’s of union employees, the White Home stated.

Biden will probably be joined by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and union leaders and employees to element the funding for the Central States Pension Fund, which offers advantages principally for Teamsters union staff that embody truck drivers, warehouse employees, development employees and others. The cash will come from the American Rescue Plan’s Particular Monetary Help Program, the White Home stated.

The Central States Pension Fund reported in August that it had $7.4 billion belongings and had utilized for $35.1 billion in reduction. The White Home estimated that retirees would have confronted a roughly 60 p.c discount in advantages with out monetary reduction.

With the funding to be introduced Thursday, it will likely be capable of shield pensions earned by Teamsters staff by way of a minimum of 2051. The White Home estimated that it’s going to shield the advantages of greater than 350,000 retirees and present union employees.

“Guaranteeing that employees and their households benefit from the retirement safety they earned by way of a lifetime of labor is a central a part of President Biden’s financial plan,” the White Home stated in a truth sheet.

The announcement comes as a serious present of help from Biden for union staff, as he has billed himself as essentially the most pro-union president ever to take workplace. It additionally comes on the heels of Congress imposing a labor contract on railroad employees to avert a strike, an motion they took with help from Biden, who warned of extreme financial penalties if freight rails shut down.

That deal didn’t embody extra sick days that union employees had been advocating for, however Biden careworn that he hoped Congress might return to the difficulty sooner or later and cross laws guaranteeing sick depart for all employees.