All posts tagged President Joe Biden

White House ceremony highlights Butch Lewis Act

Flanked by union members whose pensions will be preserved, not destroyed, President Joe Biden touted The Butch Lewis Act that will keep pensions flowing to retirees and their families through 2051.

Part of Biden’s American Rescue Act, the Butch Lewis Act provides long-term aid to some 200 financially troubled multi-employer pension plans that never recovered from the 2008 Recession.

Between 2 million and 3 million workers were at risk, including members of the building trades. Continue reading →

Intel ceremonially breaks ground on $100 billion project

President Biden, Governor DeWine and hundreds of other guests gathered at the site of future Intel semiconductor plants to commemorate the start of the largest construction project in the history of Ohio.

On the morning of Sept. 9, hundreds of guests – made up of local, county, state and federal officials, along with building trades, business and education leaders – stood on the ground where Intel’s first fab will be constructed and took part in the groundbreaking ceremony.

Initially scheduled to take place on July 22, the ceremony was postponed to September due to concerns regarding the inability of Congress to pass the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act. In late July, Congress passed the CHIPS Act as part of House Resolution 4346, and Biden signed it into law on Aug. 9. A month later, with site work already started, dignitaries gathered to formally celebrate the beginning of the $20 billion project that will build two Intel fabs, an office building and other key infrastructure.  Continue reading →

Biden Touts Pension Relief During Ohio Visit

Speaking in front of a supportive crowd of union members in Cleveland, President Joe Biden touted the finalization of the rule that will save or protect the pension plans for millions of Americans, including members of SMART.

On July 7, Biden made an appearance at Max S. Hayes High School – the Cleveland vocational school built under a Project Labor Agreement by affiliated members of the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council – and discussed provisions to the American Rescue Plan, which will keep at-risk multi-employer pension funds solvent until at least 2051. The finalization of the rule will provide nearly $90 billion for the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation to ensure more than a generation of retired union members receive their full pensions. 

It will keep multi-employer pension plans solvent and well-funded for 30 more years — with no cuts to earned benefits of participants and beneficiaries; restore full benefits for retirees in plans that previously had to take cuts; increase the maximum Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) insurance amount; and require each plan that receives assistance to file regular status reports with the PBGC and Congressional Committees to prevent recurrence and protect retirees’ benefits.   Continue reading →