Blog
May 23, 2017
TARA-EF Secretary Padilla At National Meeting
The following was submitted by our Texas Alliance Secretary, Tony Padilla:
Tony Padilla Activity Report TCU-IAM Legislative Conference May 7-11, 2017
Tony Padilla, Secretary of the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans joined IAMAW Machinist IP Bob Martinez and other groups in a rally and Press Conference to support Pension protection Legislation introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) in the House.
“Congress needs to act now to save the retirement security provided by pensions,” IAM International President Bob Martinez said at a news conference alongside Sens. Bernie Sanders, Tammy Baldwin and Al Franken on Capitol Hill.
Martinez was joined by hundreds of Machinists Union members and other allies to promote the Keep Our Pension Promises Act, or KOPPA. The legislation would restore the long-standing rule prohibiting multi-employer pension plans from cutting benefits to current retirees.
“Too many Americans have already had their earned retirements ripped away from them through no fault of their own,” said Martinez. “Where I’m from in Texas, we call that highway robbery.”
Congress did away with what’s known as the “anti-cutback rule” in 2014. Until then, ERISA, or the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, protected retirees in so-called “troubled” multi-employer pension plans from cuts to their earned benefits.
It would also adequately fund the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, which steps in to pay retirees when pension plans become insolvent.
A comfortable retirement or a retirement at all, is becoming out of reach for a troublingly large number of middle-class Americans, Sanders said.
“Retirees all over this country are waking up to the reality that the pension benefits they are receiving today may soon be cut by 20, 30, or even 65 percent,” said Sanders. “Imagine that. Imagine working your whole life and sacrificing to ensure that your family has a secure retirement and one day you wake up and find out there are plans to cut your retirement.”
Machinists Union members from all over the U.S. were in attendance to a union Legislative Conference and packed the room, along with other pension advocates. IAM members visited members of Congress all week to promote KOPPA and security for Railroad Retirement, Amtrak, Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid and other legislation that would help working families.
“Retirees all over this country are waking up to the reality that the pension benefits they are receiving today may soon be cut by 20, 30, or even 65 percent,” said Sanders. “Imagine that. Imagine working your whole life and sacrificing to ensure that your family has a secure retirement and one day you wake up and find out there are plans to cut your retirement.” Officers of the National association of Retired and Veteran Railway Employees (NARVRE) President Thomas Dwyer, Legislative Director Gary Faley and VP Tony Padilla also delivered strong message to the members of congress to protect retiree Health Care benefits and provide coverage for existing Conditions which could leave over 24 million Americans without health care insurance.
We also lobbied on over 14 issues but the retirees from NARVRE and ARA concentrated on issues affecting Seniors, Amtrak, Medicare, Medicaid and the ACA taking opposition to the Administration’s American Health Care Act.
May 9, 2017 — Congress needs to act now to save the retirement security provided by pensions, IAM International President Bob Martinez said at a news conference alongside Sens. Bernie Sanders, Tammy Baldwin and Al Franken on Capitol Hill.
Anthony (Tony) Padilla
TCU-Iam Retiree Coordinator
Texas Alliance for Retired Americans – Secretary, and
National Association of Retired and Veteran Railway Employees, Inc., (NARVRE)
National Vice President
303 Black Cap Run
Buda, Texas 78610
H-512-523-8465
C-512-552-8703
tonypadillatcuiam@austin.rr.com