LANSING — State Rep. Isaac Robinson (D-Detroit) introduced House Resolution 56 to urge Congress to consider legislation to help stabilize distressed multiemployer pension systems. Multiemployer pension plans are a type of benefit retirement plan that make up a significant portion of the income many retirees count on to remain financially secure.
“We have to make sure Michigan’s working families can keep the wages and benefits they have already earned,” Rep. Robinson said. “After spending decades contributing to a pension plan to ensure a dignified retirement, it is devastating to be put in a position where the rug might be pulled from under you. These families have been working hard their entire lives shouldn’t be robbed of their economic security through no fault of their own.”
The resolution has bipartisan support and was taken up for testimony by the Local Government Committee. Alongside Rep. Robinson, Bill Black, Legislative Director of Michigan Teamsters Joint Council #43; Bill Scott, Secretary-Treasurer of the Michigan Committee to Protect Pensions and President of the Michigan Teamsters Black Caucus; John Wilkinson, Board Member of National United Committee to Protect Pensions (NUCPP) also testified in support of the resolution.