30,000 Michigan Teamsters face pension cuts

The Detroit News reports:

The Central States Pension Fund, one of the largest Teamsters funds, has filed for reorganization and has sent letters to an estimated 30,000 Michigan members warning that their benefits must be cut.

James P. Hoffa, general president of International Brotherhood of Teamsters, last month called the move in a letter to the fund executive director “tantamount to highway robbery.”

According to Teamsters for a Democratic Union, a Detroit-based grassroots organization of thousands of members across North America, the proposal was submitted to the U.S. Treasury Department on Sept. 25, and individualized letters were mailed out Tuesday to all retirees, working participants and those vested in pension plans.

“This is only a proposal, which has not been approved by the U.S. Treasury Department,” according to a statement on the website of the Teamsters for a Democratic Union. “That process will take several months. And, there will be a vote on the proposal. It is important that all retirees and active Teamsters cast a vote and stand in solidarity to vote NO.”

Gulp.