Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) acknowledged the positive impact of the American Rescue Plan on approximately 2,400 Pennsylvania workers and retirees whose pensions will now be protected. The affected workers and retirees are AFL-CIO members affiliated with IUE-CWA, the industrial division of the Communication Workers of America representing machine workers and tech workers. Thanks to this assistance, the pension plan was prevented from becoming insolvent in 2029, averting potential earned retirement benefit cuts of 15 percent on average.
“The promise of a pension is a promise we’re supposed to keep,” said Senator Casey. “With today’s announcement, thousands of Pennsylvania machinists and tech workers can rest easy knowing that the benefits they’re owed will be waiting for them when they retire.”
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) provided $260 million in relief to the IUE-CWA Pension Plan, headquartered in Pittsburgh, which serves 13,700 participants nationwide, including approximately 2,400 in Pennsylvania. This relief marks the fifth Pennsylvania-based pension plan to receive support, with others including the Western Pennsylvania Teamsters and Employers Pension Fund, the Carpenters Industrial Council Eastern PA Pension Plan, the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia Pension Plan, and the National Integrated Group Pension Plan, which includes United Steelworkers and United Auto Workers.
The funding was made possible through the PBGC’s Special Financial Assistance program, created by the American Rescue Plan. The American Rescue Plan passed the Senate by a vote of 50-49, and the House of Representatives by a vote of 220-211, with no Republican Member of Congress voting in support of the law.
