Pensions

At This Jersey Factory, Pension-Backed Private Equity Takes On Union Workers

February 9, 2023 Matthew Cunningham-Cook, The Lever. Educate! New Jersey (NJ), Pensions, Unions, Worker Rights and Jobs

Wharton, New Jersey - At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Refresco — a transnational corporation that produces and bottles soft drinks for major brands such as Tropicana and Gatorade — had a single response to its staff about the public health crisis unfolding at its Wharton, NJ plant an hour outside of New York City: show up to work. According to the workers at the plant and their union, employees exposed to the virus were denied time off, the factory remained open despite a broader economic shutdown, on top of the 12-hour shifts the company required. (Workers say the company used the pandemic to justify longer shifts, while Refresco claims the new policy went into place prior to the emergence of COVID-19). Outraged, the predominantly immigrant workforce formed a union, winning their first election in June 2021 in what was one of the largest blue-collar union victories during the pandemic.

Emmanuel Macron’s Pension Reform Is A Health Hazard

January 23, 2023 People's Dispatch. Resist! France, health, National Strike, Pensions, Worker Rights and Jobs

Demonstrations and strikes began in France on Thursday, January 19, as President Macron pursues his bill to raise the legal retirement age to 64 years. Trade unionists estimate that by noon local time, approximately one million people across the country had taken to the street to oppose the bill. By the end of the day, almost two million people participated in protests in different cities, with 400,000 marching in Paris alone, according to approximations from the General Confederation of Labour (CGT). Macron’s proposal is part of an attempt to adapt the Social Security Finance Bill, a discussion that the French Parliament will tackle from January 29 until March 26. In case the government does not back down from its plan, mobilizations are certain to expand and continue throughout the duration of the parliamentary debate. The next strike has already been announced for January 31.

France: Over Two Million March, Strike Against Pension Cuts

January 21, 2023 Gary Wilson, Struggle La Lucha. Resist! France, Pensions, Strikes, Worker Rights and Jobs

French President Emmanuel Macron’s retirement and pension cuts sparked more than 200 mass demonstrations and strikes across France on Jan. 19. Labor unions said more than 2 million people took part nationwide, including 400,000 in Paris. Polls show that 80% of the population opposes the cuts, which would increase the minimum retirement age to 64 with a minimum pay-in period of 43 years. As Macron pushed the pension cuts, he also announced a major $448 billion hike in military spending. Eight major unions had designated Jan. 19 the “first day of strikes and protests” against the cuts. The unions have announced new strikes and protests for Jan. 31. France’s education ministry said that over 40% of primary school teachers and one-third of high school teachers participated in the strikes, forcing many schools to close their doors for the day.

France: ‘Black Thursday’ Nationwide Strike Over Pension Reforms

January 19, 2023 Al Mayadeen English, Struggle La Lucha. Resist! France, National Strike, Pensions, Worker Rights and Jobs

Massive mayhem is ahead in France, as unions and protesters call for a “Black Thursday” countrywide strike over the government’s pension plans this week. The day of protest will be the first significant challenge that will establish the extent of the public’s will to pressure French President Emmanuel Macron to back down on plans to increase the official retirement age. To this end, French union leaders have urged for “massive mobilization.” Three-quarters of teachers are anticipated to join the strike, disrupting schools, transportation, and healthcare services. Most trains will not operate, the Paris metro services will be significantly impacted, and flights are expected to be canceled. Truck drivers, couriers, petroleum refinery workers, and delivery businesses have all announced they will be joining the strikes.

The French Working Class Organizes To Defeat Macron’s Pension Reforms

January 13, 2023 People's Dispatch. Resist! France, Pensions, Unions, Worker Rights and Jobs

On January 10, all the major trade unions in France gave a joint call for protests against the proposals for pension reforms announced by the Emmanuel Macron-led government. The unions, including the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT), Workers’ Force (FO), the French Confederation of Christian Workers (CFTC), the French Confederation of Management—General Confederation of Executives (CFE-CGC), the National Union of Autonomous Trade Unions (UNSA), Fédération syndicale unitaire (FSU), and Solidaires, have called for a general strike and nationwide protest mobilization on January 19. The left-wing coalition Nouvelle Union Populaire Écologique et Sociale (NUPES) composed of the La France Insoumise (LFI), French Communist Party (PCF), and others also oppose the reforms and have extended support to the protests.

Wall Street Readies An Avalanche Of Lies

November 18, 2022 Matthew Cunningham-Cook, The Lever. Educate! Finance and the Economy, Pensions, Transparency, Wall Street

Public pension funds benefiting nearly 26 million Americans have invested $1.3 trillion in high-risk, high-fee “alternative” investments like private equity, hedge funds, and private real estate that have been wracked with corruption scandals and financial misconduct. Those pension funds could soon face a reckoning, as the downturn in the stock market spreads to these alternative investments, resulting in costly reductions of their estimated value and in turn, increased contributions from state and local governments to meet those losses. But most public pension members and beneficiaries have no way of knowing the extent of distress facing their investments. That’s because public pension funds rely on valuations provided by the managers themselves.

Even Amid Give-Back Demands, Workers Can Still Safeguard Pensions

September 12, 2021 Steve Early, LA Progressive. Organize! Pensions, Resources, Retirement, Worker Rights and Jobs

In recent decades, a top management priority has been reducing the cost of retirement benefits. The pandemic and its economic fallout have generated a new round of employer demands for pension freezes, benefit cuts, plan conversions, and two-tier coverage. The Labor Guide to Retirement Plans (Monthly Review Press), a newly published book by Oregon union activist Jim Russell, shows why and how private and public sector workers should be mobilizing against such concessions. This book will be a critical resource for defending retirement security at the bargaining table and in the political arena. The Labor Guide is not only a highly readable account of retirement plan financing and administration, with a handy glossary of layperson explanations of sometimes confusing technical terms.

Workers Are Funding The War On Themselves

July 12, 2021 David Sirota, The Daily Poster. Educate! Class Struggle, Pensions, Retirement, Worker Rights and Jobs

As the private equity industry launches ads to protect its lucrative tax preferences, we should remember that this industry is the unseen man behind the curtain driving many social ills — from high hospital prices to surprise medical bills to nursing home deaths to media layoffs to a housing crisis that has become a human rights emergency. A *Businessweek* cover put it best: You live in private equity’s world, even if you don’t know it. But a series of new reports remind us that there is another person behind the monocled, mustache-twirling oligarch running the Emerald City’s secret control panel — and that person isn’t a billionaire. It is the faceless pension official in a state capital or city hall who is using workers’ retirement savings to finance the Wall Street takeover of Oz.

Chile: Night Of Fury To Demand The Withdrawal Of Pension Funds

July 17, 2020 Telesur English. Resist! Chile, Pensions, Police violence, Poverty

From Tuesday night until early Wednesday morning, Chilean citizens took to the streets to support a pension-related bill and protest against President Sebastian Piñera. Today the Lower House is expected to vote on a bill that will allow Chileans to withdraw the 10 percent of their savings that remain controlled by the repudiated Pension Fund Insurers (AFP), which are private companies that control pensions in this South American country since that time of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990). "This initiative is supported by a large majority of the people, which claims to have the freedom to dispose of the money. The government, however, has done everything in its power to prevent the bill from going ahead," Prensa Latina explained.

Bailout The Pension System

April 14, 2020 Ed Ott, Portside. Organize! Congress, Pensions, Working Class

It is not a secret that the United States has an inadequate and underfunded pension retirement system. Its about to get much worse! The private and public sectors’ pension plans are suffering terrible losses as a result of layoffs and investment losses. We are weeks away from a new assault on what’s left of millions of pensions across the country. There are two kinds of pension plans: (1) a defined benefit plan is when workers retire and get a set amount of money each month (such as 80 percent of their highest wage). This was the gold standard many unions won for their members in the post-WWII years. It required employers to set aside enough money to ensure workers would have adequate income when they retired. (2) Starting in the 1980s employers began to reject defined benefit plans as too expensive and moved to defined contribution plans – so-called “modern pensions.”

French Workers Continue Their Epic Struggle Against Macron’s Economic Reforms

February 25, 2020 John McEvoy, Thecanary.co Resist! Class Struggle, Electoral Politics, France, Pensions, Protests, Reform

On 20 February, nearly 100,000 people across France protested against proposed reforms to the country’s pension system. According to those striking, the new system would force them to work for longer, for less. While France’s pension system is currently running a deficit, it remains one of the best in the EU. Figures from 2018 show that only 7.3% of French pensioners are at risk of poverty, as opposed to 21.6% in the UK [provisional figure] and 18.7% in Germany.

France: Protesters And Police Clash As Parliament Begins Debating Pension Reform Bill

February 18, 2020 Red Revolution. Resist! Emmanuel Macron, France, Pensions, Yellow Vests

Protesters took to the streets of Paris on Monday and clashed with riot police as the pension reform bill reached the French National Assembly for debate. Tensions between the demonstrators and riot police were visible, as the police tried to keep protesters at bay with batons, before arresting a few. Yellow Vests and unionist with flares could also be seen joining in with the rally. “Sixty per cent of the French are against this reform and against a certain number of measures which have been taken before. We are under attack from all sides on social justice, in a country that prides itself on its freedom, its fraternity,” said a protester. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced a two-year-extension of the working period necessary to earn a full pension in December, triggering the anger of workers and trade unions.

Protests Continue In France Against Pension Reform

January 17, 2020 Staff, Telesurtv.net Resist! France, Pensions, Reform, Yellow Vests

Representatives of the unions of teachers, doctors, lawyers and railway workers marched again Thursday in the streets of Paris, capital of France, against the social policies and economic President Emmanuel Macron, particularly its reform of pensions . Among the main demands of the French is the revision of the pension reform proposed by Macron, before it is approved by the Council of Ministers, reiterating that it violates their fundamental rights. After 43 days of general strike, the Executive has yielded in provisionally withdrawing the retirement age, however, asks for an agreement with social organizations, while the Secretary General of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), Philippe Martínez, said that the government did not convince them with the recent announcement.

France At A Crossroads

January 14, 2020 Richard Greeman, Popular Resistance Resist! France, General Strike, Pensions, Yellow Vests

The nationwide general strike in France, now entering its record seventh week, seems to be approaching its crisis point. Despite savage police repression, about a million people are in the streets protesting President Macron’s proposed neo-liberal “reform” of France’s retirement system, established at the end of World War II and considered one of the best in the world. At bottom what is at stake is a whole vision of what kind of society people want to live in – one based on cold market calculation or one based on human solidarity – and neither side shows any sign of willingness to compromise.

French Unions Battle Macron In Make-Or-Break Pension Protest

January 10, 2020 Tangi Salaün and Caroline Pailliez, Uk.reuters.com Resist! Class Struggle, France, Labor Unions, Pensions, Protests

Teargas swirled in Paris where riot police charged at demonstrators who hurled projectiles and lobbed insults in cat-and-mouse skirmishes as darkness fell. Some protesters dressed in black and hiding their faces daubed anarchist slogans on buildings and the windows of several properties, including a Starbucks cafe, were smashed. The country’s hard-left unions rallied supporters hoping to regain momentum at a time when participation in a 36-day long public sector strike has waned and opinion polls show public backing for the industrial action has dropped.

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