Sheet Metal Workers union in Massillon gets federal money to restore pension cuts

MASSILLON – About 1,600 members of the Sheet Metal Works Pension Fund will have their pension cuts restored through a new federal program.

The pension fund will receive $28.8 million through a special financial assistance program under the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and the U.S. Department of Labor.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced the funding Thursday. The money was made available through the American Rescue Plan, which passed Congress in 2021 and included language to provide funds for multiemployer pension plans.

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The announcement came as good news for Sheet Metal Workers Local 33, which covers building trades workers throughout northern Ohio and parts of West Virginia. The union has agreements with contractors to provide workers for projects.

"This is definitely going to solve our problem," said Jerry Durieux, a business agent for the local and a trustee on the pension plan. "This is hope for the future, that's for sure."

The union started taking steps in 2018 to secure the Sheet Metal Workers Pension Fund, which had seen its assets drop following the economic downturn that led to the Great Recession. Retirees saw their pension benefits cut by up to 24% in 2020.

The recession hurt a number of multiemployer pension funds and prompted Brown to introduce the Butch Lewis Act, which was named for Estil "Butch" Lewis, the former president of Teamster Local 100 in Cincinnati. Elements of the Butch Lewis Act were included in the American Rescue Plan.

Durieux said the $28.8 million will help restore the benefits members lost over the past two years and return them to their previous pension amount. The union is calculating the amount owed to plan participants.

"They're all going to be made whole," he said.

Brown introduced the Butch Lewis Act in 2017, 2019 and again in 2021. It finally was included in the American Rescue Plan, which was signed by President Joe Biden in March 2021. The plan will help keep multiemployer pension plans solvent for 30 years, restore full benefits to retirees who previously had to take cuts and increase the maximum amount coming from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Pension plans that receive assistance are required to file regular status reports with the corporation and congressional committees to help protect retirees' benefits and prevent problems in the future.

Reach Edd at 330-580-8484 or edd.pritchard@cantonrep.com On Twitter: @epritchardREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Sheet Metal Workers Pension Fund receives federal money