New York, NY – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer has announced that New York Teamsters will receive a pension-fix payout from the American Rescue Plan — at over $960 million for more than 33,000 union beneficiaries and their families across New York.
“Teamsters and their families who rely on these plans could have lost the benefits they earned over a lifetime of work, through no fault of their own — putting their financial security, retirements, and families’ futures at risk. I stood shoulder to shoulder with our union workers and promised them if I became majority leader, I would not stop fighting till they got the relief they needed and kept their hard-earned pensions and benefits. Today I can finally say a promise made is a promise kept to the tune of over $960 million for over 33,000 Teamsters across New York State,” said Senator Schumer. “The American Rescue Plan provided the most significant effort to protect the solvency of the multiemployer pension system in almost 50 years – and it is now delivering almost a billion dollars in benefits directly to hard-working New Yorkers.”
After the 2008 financial crash, many union workers in multiemployer pension plans were in danger of collapse due to speculation on Wall Street. There were over 200 multiemployer plans on pace to become insolvent risking benefits for millions of workers and their families.
President of Teamsters Joint Council 18 and President of Teamsters Local 294 John Bulgaro said, “Chuck Schumer got it done for Teamsters, and now our members will finally have the hard-earned pensions and benefits they deserve. This is life-changing for Teamster brothers and sisters across New York. After 2008, there were gut-wrenching stories of workers who put money in every week to their pension only to see it disappear overnight.“
Through the American Rescue Plan, over 33,000 NY Teamsters from every corner of New York will have over $960 million dollars in benefits restored. Members will be eligible for back pay from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation including those from:
Local Union 118 – Rochester
Local Union 264 – Cheektowaga
Local Union 294 – Albany-Utica
Local Union 317 – Syracuse-Binghamton
Local Union 449 – Buffalo
Local Union 687 – Potsdam
Local Union 812 – Great Neck
Local Union 560 — Union City, NJ
