For Immediate Release: December 13, 2024
Media Contact: Dan Gabor, dgabor@wbng.org
Staff at the largest federation of labor unions celebrate this milestone and continue their fight for a secure retirement.
WASHINGTON – Ten years ago, beginning in 2014, pension benefit calculations for workers in the AFL-CIO Staff Retirement Plan were frozen. When AFL-CIO executives and management recently attempted to retroactively unfreeze their own pension benefits while excluding members of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild (WBNG) bargaining unit from the same improvement, Guild members mobilized to ensure that AFL-CIO staff get the same dignified retirement benefits.
The labor movement has long affirmed that “a pension is a promise.” Generations of trade unionists have fought to defend workers’ right to spend their golden years with peace of mind after a lifetime of dedicated service. This retirement security is the cornerstone of countless union contracts around the country and the hardworking staff who make the AFL-CIO function deserve this same critical benefit.
In support of this fight, WBNG, TNG-CWA Local 32035 members unanimously passed a powerful resolution in support of the AFL-CIO Guild’s campaign for pension equity during a general membership meeting on Dec. 11, 2024. Through this action of solidarity, members are standing together to hold AFL-CIO leadership accountable and proclaiming that an injury to one is an injury to all.
Resolution in Support of Pension Equity at the AFL-CIO – December 11, 2024
WHEREAS, a pension is a promise for a secure and dignified retirement;
WHEREAS, defined-benefit pensions are a cornerstone of our retirement system. Professionally managed and with low investment fees, pensions remain the soundest and most cost-effective vehicles for building and safeguarding lifetime retirement income;
WHEREAS, the pension benefit calculation for staff in the AFL-CIO Staff Retirement Plan was frozen from 2014 to 2024;
WHEREAS, AFL-CIO executives and management recently moved to retroactively unfreeze their own benefit calculation while excluding members of the Guild bargaining unit from the same improvement;
WHEREAS, many other participating employers in the AFL-CIO Staff Retirement Plan are making arrangements to update their employees’ final average salary formula, the AFL-CIO is the only participating employer who is attempting to update its management’s pensions without including its entire workforce;
WHEREAS, all workers deserve just compensation for their labor, not just management;
THEREFORE IT BE RESOLVED that members of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, The NewsGuild-CWA Local 32035 support the AFL-CIO Guild unit in its fight for pension equity.
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ABOUT THE WASHINGTON-BALTIMORE NEWS GUILD
The Washington-Baltimore News Guild, Local 32035 of the Communications Workers of America, the union for more than 3,000 news, information, nonprofit and labor organization workers in the mid-Atlantic and beyond, including the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, AFL-CIO, Bloomberg and the American Nurses Association (ANA). Together, we hold our employers accountable and ensure that our workplaces reflect our values, which include ensuring everyone is free from harassment and retaliation, earns equal pay for equal work and has a voice in their workplace.