Masonry Magazine August 1972 Page. 7
Thomas F. Murphy (lower left), President of BM & PIU, and Joseph Szabo, Chairman of the MCAA Insurance Committee, officially execute the document creating the International Pension Trust. Standing (left to right) are Jack Joyce, Secretary of the international union, and O. L. Jollay, MCAA Trustee. The signing took place at the pension trustees' meeting in Williamsburg, Va., on June 29.
Create International Pension Trust
A pension plan to cover all U.S. and Canadian workers represented by the Bricklayers, Masons & Plasterers International Union has been created by the union in cooperation with the Mason Contractors Association of America. The "umbrella" pension plan is open to participation by all of the 815 affiliated local unions of the BM&PIU. BM&PIU Secretary John T. Joyce said affiliated local unions can participate in the Bricklayers and Trowel Trades International Pension Fund, whether or not they already have pension plans of their own.
He pointed out that in the U.S., a majority of union members are covered by local pension plans, but a substantial minority is not covered. In Canada, a majority of union members are not covered by pension plans.
Joyce said one of the most important advantages of the new pension plan is that it offers a way to solve the problem of "portability" of pension benefits. Without an "umbrella" international plan, he noted, members participating in local pension plans cannot transfer pension benefits from one locality to another. With the new plan, they can make such transfers, and this will improve the mobility of craftsmen, he said.
The new pension plan, he said, will help avoid situations where a bricklayer could lose pension benefits by moving to a job in a different city or state. Other advantages of the new plan are:
* It will simplify collective bargaining for pension contributions.
* It will establish uniform eligibility for benefits.
* It will centralize administration with resulting lower operating costs which will mean more benefits for members.
* It will broaden the actuarial base so that fluctuations in employment will be minimized.
The Bricklayers and Trowel Trades International Pension Fund Trust was created jointly by the BM&PIU and the Mason Contractors Association, and it will be jointly administered by trustees representing both groups.
MCAA has named the following to serve as Trustees: G.W. Veazey, Jr.; Robert Tubesing; Joseph Szabo; O.L. Jollay; Robert Ebeling and C. DeWitt Brown. Mr. Szabo will serve as Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Participation in the pension plan will be negotiated at the local level by mason contractors and affiliated local unions.