YOUR LETTERS: Congress must pass bill to protect workers’ pensions

A bipartisan bill in the U.S. House of Representatives is providing a vehicle to help Teamsters, retirees and other union members who paid into faltering multi-employer pensions to receive the retirement security they deserve.

As it stands, there are more than 300 multi-employer plans across the country that are in danger of failing. Congress needs to find a solution that will help these workers who are paying or have paid into the pension pool.

Fortunately, the Rehabilitation of Multiemployer Pensions Act (H.R. 397) will solve the problem.

Introduced by Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), and Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), the measure is not just a single-party plan. Republican co-sponsors understand the value of the bill and should be lauded for supporting this legislation.

I urge Congress to work together to pass a bipartisan solution that will make workers and retirees whole. They have waited long enough.

MARVIN KROPP
President, Teamsters Joint Council 13
(Originally published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch)