Unions pay themselves first, rank-and-file second (and less) « » Print The Daily Caller – Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

Unions pay themselves first, rank-and-file second (and less) « » Print The Daily Caller – Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment: "nion officers’ pension plans are significantly better funded than the plans they negotiate for their rank-and-file counterparts, raising questions about whether union members have been manipulated by those they trust to bargain for them.

The average union staff plan is funded at over 95 percent, while the average funding percentage of a rank-and-file member’s pension plan is 79 percent, according to a September study by the Hudson Institute. None of the staff pensions are on the Department of Labor’s list of critically underfunded pension plans, while more than half of rank-and-file pension plans are endangered. (A pension is considered “endangered” by the government when it contains less than 80 percent of the assets needed to cover its liabilities.)

Some are questioning why pension plans negotiated by union leaders on behalf of union members are performing so poorly while the leaders’ pension funds remain healthy."