F224

You can only terminate a pension plan under two conditions;

1) It's fully funded
2) Distress, or a bankruptcy hand over to the PGB&C, if you go banckrupt just to do that, the BOD and Officers go to jail.

FDXLAG

But both sides can agree to freeze one anytime one side offers up enough goodies or enough threats.

angry tanker

Fred has petitioned Yale to change his grade to an A. He has decided that now his GPA has gone up enough to get a real job, he is shutting down this little experiment. Thanks to everyone for playing. Good luck!!!

Timeoff2fish

How did we arrive at terminating the pension plan?

RedeyeAV8r

Exactly..... Stop the Madness!

Flyinhigh

I guess when FedEx went to a Defined Contribution Plan rather than the Defined Benefit Plan for the majority of the employess it didn't count as a "termination." It was merely a "change in the pension plan." Probably a subtle difference, but not to the folks impacted by the change. Sure felt like a termination to them.
The only difference is, they didn't have a contract. For this change to be implemented for the pilots, it would require an amended contract. Not gonna happen!
Anyway, I guess we will see what the big announcement is later this week.

RedeyeAV8r

FedEx Management did not Terminate the plan they "Froze" all the non Union Employees Defined Benefit plan.

There is a very Bid difference.
A Distress Termination is what happened to Usairways, UAL and DAL.
Their Defined Benefit Plans are now handled by the PBGC and subject to their reduced MAX benefits as well as Age limit for retirement.

The FedEx employees got a bad deal but they still have whatever benefit they had earned up to the date which Management changed it with the stroke of a pen. As Flyinhigh stated, It would have happened to the Pilots too had they not seen the light a few years earlier and formed a Union and negotiated a Contract.

FedEx's Pension is currently funded at over 100% and currently FedEx is very healthy Financially.

If you think 401Ks are safe or B plans, look no further than what is happening to the AA pilots.

TonyC

I believe the common "fruit" is the attitude I've observed among many of our brothers that organizing to bargain with an employer somehow harms the employer. Many people I've discussed this issue with believe that if another employee group organizes to bargain, they'll be able to "take away" a slice of the proverbial pie that rightfully belongs to us, thereby making our portion of the pie smaller. This attitude belies a fundamental misunderstanding of the collective bargaining process. It also reveals a selfish and short-sighted perspective.


Los, I believe there is a component which is often missing in the "public sector union" equation, but it's not competition. What is missing more and more is a responsible "employer," one which will only commit resources which it has, and only makes agreements which it can honor. Our employer will not make promises which it cannot keep or which will bankrupt the company. Who makes those agreements for the public sector unions? I don't intend to engage in a political discussion, but it's politicians who make those promises, those commitments, those agreements. They're spending our money to back up the promises, and they know they won't be around when the debt comes due. They do NOT have a vested interest in the long-term effects of those agreements or the health or success of the "company" -- the government.

Is there a fix? Yes. Elect politician who get it, who will bargain like it's their own money they're playing with, like it's their own future which depends on it. When the employer takes that kind of responsibility, there is no reason why the collective bargaining process cannot benefit both parties.





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FDXLAG

Good plan, how much did the teachers unions spend in the Wisconsin recall election last year? No doubt they were trying to get someone elected who would negotiate like it was their own money they were playing with. As Joe Biden would say two words: California.

appDude

And there in lies the downfall of your argument. The last four or five decades have shown at local, state and federal levels the electorate continues to fail to do that. Now and then it happens, and all that the responsible politician can achieve is not letting it get worse under his watch, due the contracts already in place. Time for public sector unions to go. Period. Time for our union to pull away from the likes of AFLCIO and SEIU.