Retired members of the Teamsters Union have traveled to Washington DC to save their pensions. Several thousand, including a group from the Quad Cities, will hold a rally Thursday to bring attention to the drastic losses they face.
The Central States Pension Fund says it must cut benefits, beginning in July, or else run out of money within ten years.
Steve Scranton is one of about a dozen retirees from Teamsters Local 371 in Rock Island who will participate in the rally.
Scranton went to Washington early to meet with members of the House and Senate from Illinois and Iowa, asking them for help. He's hoping at the very least, Congress could postpone the pension cuts until the Central States Pension Fund can be audited.
Central States covers retired teamsters in 22 states. And it blames its money problems on the growing number of retirees at a time when fewer active teamsters are contributing to the fund. In addition, many trucking companies have closed since de-regulation in the 1980's without funding pensions for their workers.
