Ranking Member Cassidy Introduces Bill Protecting Workers from Union Deception, Ensuring Transparency
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced legislation to improve transparency in union elections. While Cassidy supports workers’ ability to decide to join a union, the bill specifically prevents unions from misleading workers about the state of the union’s pension benefits during recruitment efforts.
As part of their efforts to convince workers to organize, unions will often tout potential benefits of joining a union’s pension plan. Despite this, unions do not have to disclose if the pension fund is financially sustainable and able to deliver the promised benefits. This is contrary to single-employer, mainly non-unionized pension funds, which are required to provide annual reports to participants on the financial state of the fund. The Defined Benefit systems often used by labor unions have faced financial challenges, resulting in a multi-billion-dollar bailout due to union mismanagement of the funds.
Under the bill, if a union has a pension fund, they are required to provide information to potential members detailing the financial state of the fund and if the fund is able to pay out full benefits as promised. If the plan is underfunded, the labor organizers must disclose details on exact benefits and explain how employer contributions will be allocated. The union is also required to cover costs for an independent financial advisor to assist potential recruits in better 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 led the charge in Congress in ensuring accountability with our nation’s pension system. Recently, Cassidy secured the return of $127 million in taxpayer funds that were wrongfully paid to the Central States Pension Fund as part of the 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.
Additionally, Cassidy is leading multiple bipartisan efforts to improve Americans’ access to quality retirement savings. Specifically, the Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act helps more Americans ages 18 to 20 years old access employer-sponsored retirement plans by removing barriers that discourage companies from offering these benefits to younger employees.
Additionally, the Auto Reenroll Act of 2023 assists workers who previously declined to participate or contributed little to their employer’s pension plan. To save money for bills and expenses, younger workers who make less money often decide not to pay into their retirement. As their wages grow, these workers often forget to opt back in and start contributing to their retirement, losing out on crucial benefits. The Auto Reenroll 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.
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