In Your Best Interest 2 The ELEVATOR CONSTRUCTOR Frank Christensen General President Living a nice retirement after decades of hard work is the dream we all have. You know, six Saturdays and a Sunday. The work we do is fulfilling and gratifying and it’s certainly rewarding in pay and benefits. But all of this is only possible because of the dedication of the members who came before us, those currently working today and the ones yet to come. Our union, and all of our benefits funds, are strong because of past successes, the battles being fought today and the challenges that will be overcome by the generations to come. As I have traveled to local unions, I have heard some retirees say that they don’t really need to worry about things like Davis-Bacon, pension reform and organizing because, after all, they are already retired. I completely disagree with this line of thinking. To understand my point of view you need to understand how our pension plan is funded. The dollar that a working member today contributes to our plan from his/her wage package is not directly earmarked for him/her when they retire 20 or 30 years from now. That dollar actually covers the pension for our current retirees. Contributions from our current working members cover the pension payments of current retirees. When our plan was created in 1961, its creators set up the plan to provide a pension as soon as possible, not wait until those younger members contributing to the plan were of age to collect their pension check. This is why the plan is designed to make pension payments for current retirees from the contributions of current working members. Social Security is designed in the same way as our pension plan. There is no doubt that you have heard about the funding challenges Social Security will be facing over the next decade. The biggest reason that Social Security is at risk of “running out” is because there are fewer workers paying into the system. Since the social program was created in 1935, there were big waves of workers retiring (think Baby Boomers) coupled with a declining birth rate which means, over the long term, fewer workers to contribute into the system to cover current retirees. Now, don’t get me wrong; our pension plan is NOT in same dire straits as Social Security. It is well funded, carefully managed and strong, and has been since its creation, but none of that is etched in stone. None of that can be guaranteed forevermore. If a serious turn of events were to happen, our plan could be affected, just like every other retirement plan in every possible industry. The pension payments our retirees collect are not locked in, impervious to major economic or political challenges. This is why all of our members, active and retired, should and must care about policies and initiatives, from Capitol Hill to our International to our local unions, that affect the ability of our current members to reach their maximum possible earning potential and the ability of the IUEC to grow. The work we perform under DavisBacon laws is good work and we need to keep it securely in our pocket. We cannot let the wage floor drop from underneath us by electing anti-labor politicians to office. Retirees can and should play a huge role in our political goals of electing the right people to office. Additionally, when legislation that affects labor comes to the floor of a state government or the U.S. Congress, such as legislation on pension reform, continued on page 13 Retirees Should Care About Challenges Affecting Our Union Today
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