All retirees, active and nonactive members of the New York State Teamsters Pension Fund will receive a mail ballot asking us to approve the proposed cuts by the Pension Fund representatives.
I am a proud 30-year teamster member and have witnessed the steady decline of this fund, as it has in the past imposed an eight-year additional work-life penalty on its youngest members and had benefits slashed time and again, while the same people responsible for this demise remain employed at the Pension Fund.
How can the Treasury Department move forward with this process while leaving the same individuals at Syracuse responsible for this travesty in power?
Part of the application process should provide that anyone in the appointed positions since the funds’ collapse of the last decade and a half be relieved of their responsibilities. Many of these individuals were in power when the last rehabilitation plan was put in place seven years ago, and we all know how well that plan worked.
Brothers and sisters, vote No.
—Darrin Ziemba
Member Teamsters Local 264
