Teamsters Canada Rail Conference

Mike Wheten, National Legislative Director, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, and Phil Benson, Lobbyist, attended the kick-off of the Pension Reform consultations in Ottawa on March 13th. Brother Wheten and Brother Benson made well received interventions during the meeting. Teamsters Canada participated in the 2005 and 2006 round of consultations that have so far failed to produce any changes that address the underlying problems within the pensions system.

Though employers may sponsor a plan, it should never be forgotten that pensions are foregone wages. The only reason for a pension to exist is to eventually pay the promised pension to workers. There should be no pension surpluses; as such surpluses mean that companies are taking a larger risk than needed with pension funds. Companies have a vested interest in taking this risk. Surpluses lead to higher profits for shareholders and higher payments to CEOs. On the other hand, if companies go bankrupt, unfunded pension liabilities mean reduced or no pensions to workers.

Teamsters Canada position is No to corporate greed, No to payment holidays to pension plans, and No to increased risks to workers and beneficiaries of pension plans. We are demanding that pension liabilities go first in line in bankruptcy right behind unpaid wages and employee benefits.

Teamsters Canada was one of the first groups to meet privately with Mr. Ted Menzies, Parliamentary Secretary of Finance, on the afternoon of March 13th. Several senior bureaucrats also attended the meeting, and during our forty-five minutes we had the opportunity to build on the interventions we made during the public meeting held earlier in the day. Mr. Menzies thanked us for our candour and welcomed our participation in the consultations.

Teamsters Canada will be attending meetings in other locations across the country during the consultation, and we will be actively pursuing our positions with parliamentarians and bureaucrats over the coming months.

The Teamsters Union represents 125,000 members in Canada in all trades. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with which Teamsters Canada is affiliated, has 1.4 million members in North America.

Information:
Phil Benson, Lobbyist for Teamsters Canada
pbenson@teamsters-canada.org