Message from the Executive Director
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Benefit Funds News. It is a privilege to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the new Executive Director of the Benefit Funds. I came on board on July 1, 2011, and I have spent the last few months getting familiar with all of the Funds’ operations and working with the Boards of Trustees and the Fund Office staff to institute various changes. Our goal is to improve all facets of the Funds’ operations so that the Fund Office can best serve you and your families.
Fall 2011 Funds Newsletter_01
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
New York City District Council of Carpenters Benefit Funds Newsletter
8 comments:
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Can you describe how man-hours and contribution income have changed over the last fewyears?
ReplyDeleteA. There are currently 11,727 active Outside and Shop Carpenters participating in the Fund. This is a 14%decline since last year, and more than a 20% decline since 2009.
This decline may well continue in2012 and 2013 unless the economy rebounds soon.
In the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2009, our participants worked a total of 21 million man-hours.
Results for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2011 indicate that participants worked a total of 15.7million man-hours, a reduction of approximately 5.3 million man-hours since 2009.
During this same period, employer hourly contribution rates increased from $10.25 per hour in 2009 to$11.25 per hour in 2010 and 2011.
As shown in the chart below, the increased contribution rate does not compensate for the loss in man-hours. In fact, total contributions have declined by more than $38million, or 17.5%, since 2009.
Fiscal Year(7/1 –6/30)Man-Hours Worked Employer Contribution Rate Total EmployerContributions
2009 21,304,440 $10.25 $218,370,510
2010 16,705,813 11.25 187,940,396
2011 15,673,508 11.25 176,326,965
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The above figures conflict with the LM-2's & the 3rd RO Interim Report
The 3rd Interim RO Report stated at pg. 18 -
ReplyDeleteJourneyman in Good Standing as of 10-31-11 14,275
Journeyman in Good Standing as of 04-30-11 14,787
Reduction in Journeyman
512
Reduction since 12-3-10
1,019
_________________________
14,275 Journeyman in Good Standing is a far cry from 11,727.
The difference is 2,548 Journeyman (Members). Did they just go up in a puff of smoke? Did they vanish?
Doesn't appear likely, so why the discrepency between these two figures?
The recently filed LM-2's have a different figure still, which I will post shortly.
SCHEDULE 13 - Membership Status
ReplyDelete7-1-10 to 6-30-11 LM-2
Disabled
681
Apprentice
1,111
Contractor Member
1
Retired
2,244
Honorary
1,607
MILITARY
8
REGULAR
14,504
Arrears
1,632
TOTAL
21,798
___________________________
So - for the same time period, we have the Health & Welfare Fund number at 11,727, the RO at 14,275 Members and the UBCJA International at 14,504 on the LM's just released by Frank Spencer.
The RO & International numbers are 229 MIA members apart and average 14,389.50, which is still 2,662 members apart....so what gives?
How can members trust the Magic Stewie Wand (if and when implemented) to accurately Report who is or is not working and who is having funds with-held/paid from those who are not?
The real question here equates more to balancing your drawer each night at a store, a bank etc...you should balance perfectly every night...no shortages in the drawer past a dropped penny or nickel.
Does this mean the 2,845 members are working for CASH....Off the Books? How the hell can you not account for nearly 3,000 members?
Houston, we got a problem here!
TED
last one transposed, should read 2,548
ReplyDeleteTED, "Houston, we got a problem here!"
ReplyDeleteI think you have just got everyone’s attention at Mission Control.
John - the set up, or prelude if you will to member benefit reductions as Donny Arana pointed out...holding off till after the Election.
ReplyDeleteGood plan if your McCarron...make the new guys coming in January 11th the fall guys for the wrath of the rank & file when they are forced to reconcile these differences.
It also ties in nicely with the plan to implement the Magic Stewie Wand and that multi-Million Dollar consulting gig, software, engineering, version 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,7.1, 9,3 and so on to perpetuity...and another un-needed and never ending Expense.
Of course, once developed & sold as being absolutely mandatory, totally neccessary dude...blah, blah, blah - the game past that on the No Bid renewal of Contracts will be under the guise of...well, we developed it, we own the copyright...it's proprietary etc.
Of course, competent Legal Counsel (after you get rid of DeCarlo & crew from L.A. & hire a NY Firm..."keep New Yorkers employed") would pick up on this right away and ensure that the NYCDCC owned the Software outright, no strings attached before executing any contract with the firm you now paying to develop & test market it.
Just some additional Points of Order to consider after the total number of "active" rank & file members is definitively set in stone.
This goes to the DC Election as well...18k ballots were mailed out to an indeterminate amount of "Actual Rank & File Members".
So what we have here, besides a failure to communicate and use technology to our advantage is an Election with the potential; for 2,548 Cash Workers or 2,548 dead Men walking and Voting...
Houston - we have a problem...ohh crap, the UBC's, I mean Doug McCarrons Obama shit-canned that program. What was that called...oh yeah...NASA. Someone call Barack, maybe he can shit-can the Magic Stewie Wand too.
OK - back to the immediate problem at hand...How many members does the NYCDCC have for purposes of the Benefit Funds and the DC Election?
a) 11,727 (H & W Fund number)
b) 14,275 (3rd Interim RO Report)
c) 14,504 (Frank Spencer LM's)
d) 18,000 (DC Officer Election)
e) 21,798 (Frank Spencer LM's)
f) 25,000 (DC Numbers claimed)
g) All of the Above
h) None of the above
DOES ANYONE HAVE A CLUE? SHOULD WE CARE?
WAIT...DID FORDE ESCAPE FROM CLUB FED?
DROP DEAD UNITY TEAM !
ReplyDeleteAttention Candidates:
ReplyDeleteAnyone contemplating an Election challenge needs to do it before the Election is over...as in do it now.
The fact that after all the talk & bluster in Court and out; that no one apparently has a clue as to the actual total number of NYCDCC Carpenter members, this depsite having that powerful tool called a Computer, that Box next to the desk that magically sends data input to the main server is seriously disturbing.
My dogs know how many bones they bury in the back-yard and exactly where they all are and it seems they have more common sense than what has presented here.
Should any of the particular Candidates for a specific Office have a tight race - the figures put forth by the the varying parties will matter.
If every race is a blowout by 5-1 margins, then, for the Elections the issue will be mooted. However, for the Benefit Funds and the Trustees of those offices, it will not.
We are all aware that the UBC's varying District Councils and the incumbent office holders always distort the real figures in their literature and propaganda pieces, on the websites, brochures etc as they seem to believe that it adds an air of credibility to state that you run an Organization with 25-thousand members as oppposed to one with 14-thousand.
Wonderful if you are a career politican or just a good bullshitter, not so much so when you are the chief bean-counter trying to keep the funds from going belly up & having the Fed's come in and take over because of malfeasance and mismanagement.
The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. (PBGC) will do almost anything to avoid having to come in when funds assets are at 45% of the payout value, hence the PPA & subsequent amendments thereto and the 10-year Funding Improvement Plans (cheap accounting tricks) to fluff the numbers and make them appear closer to the laws requirements.
Now, while the DC fluff's the numbers to the 25k High range, the Benfit Fund Trustees which McCarron and the UBC International control directly through the LMRDA Trusteeship & subsequent extension have to do their bit to lie and fluff them in the downward direction - hence the lower figures of 11,727 presented by the H & W Fund to push and further their cries for Benefit Reductions come January 12th, right after McCarron bails with zero accountability for his stellar management of the NYCDCC since the 8-5-09 FBI sting & arrest of his former star Mike Forde & crew.
Let's see, where did occur prior? Oh right, right, that would be the figures Judge Conboy, Mac's chief counsel falsely presented to the Court & Judge Berman in his May 26th Restructuring Plan