Westbank Louisiana News

U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, has introduced legislation aimed at improving transparency in union elections. While Cassidy supports workers' rights to join a union, the bill specifically aims to prevent unions from misleading workers about the state of the union's pension benefits during recruitment efforts.

Unions often promote potential benefits of joining their pension plan as part of their efforts to convince workers to organize. However, they are not required to disclose if the pension fund is financially sustainable and capable of delivering promised benefits. This stands in contrast with single-employer, primarily non-unionized pension funds which are obligated to provide annual reports on the financial state of the fund to participants. The Defined Benefit systems frequently used by labor unions have faced financial challenges leading to multi-billion-dollar bailouts due to mismanagement.

The proposed bill mandates that if a union has a pension fund, it must provide information detailing the financial state of the fund and its ability to pay out full benefits as promised. If underfunded, labor organizers must disclose exact benefit details and explain how employer contributions will be allocated. Unions would also be required to cover costs for an independent financial advisor to assist potential recruits in understanding their benefits.

"Workers shouldn't be misled when it comes to their retirement savings. If unions are promoting a pension fund to drive up membership dues, workers should know if that fund is financially stable," said Dr. Cassidy. "This bill ensures workers have the proper information when making crucial decisions that affect their ability to retire."

Cassidy has been instrumental in Congress in ensuring accountability within our nation's pension system. He recently secured the return of $127 million in taxpayer funds wrongfully paid to the Central States Pension Fund as part of Democrats' $90 billion pension bailout included in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). As a result of Cassidy's efforts, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is currently conducting a full audit of 66 other pension plans that received a bailout through ARPA to determine if they too received an overpayment of taxpayer dollars.

Furthermore, Cassidy is leading several bipartisan efforts to improve Americans' access to quality retirement savings. Specifically, the Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act aims to help more Americans aged 18 to 20 years old access employer-sponsored retirement plans by removing barriers that discourage companies from offering these benefits to younger employees.

The Auto Reenroll Act of 2023 assists workers who previously declined participation or contributed little to their employer's pension plan. This act allows businesses to periodically auto-enroll employees back into their plans, so employees have the option to opt out but don't accidentally miss out on retirement benefits.