We are so pleased that Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia has introduced the Prioritizing Our Workers Act. Bankruptcy laws in the country put the company over the workers. This Act seeks to revise the priorities section of the bankruptcy code to place unpaid vested benefits in pension plans at the front of the line.
“It’s wrong that when companies go bankrupt, financial institutions go to the front of the line – not the workers. My bill, the Prioritizing Our Workers Act, will change bankruptcy code to require companies to pay unpaid vested benefits like workers’ pensions before other claims.”
MANCHIN INTRODUCES BILL TO CHANGE BANKRUPTCY CODE TO PROTECT WORKERS’ PENSIONS
Washington, D.C. – U.S Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) introduced the Prioritizing Our Workers Act, legislation that would make changes to the current bankruptcy code, requiring companies going through bankruptcy proceedings to pay unpaid vested benefits, like workers’ pensions before they payout other claims against them. Currently, companies undergoing bankruptcy have to pay attorney’s fees and other high-priority claims first but the same standards do not apply to workers’ pensions funds.
“I firmly believe that no one shouldbe denied their pension because their employer goes bankrupt. Hardworking men and women across this country go to work every day for years, paying into these pension plans each paycheck with the expectation, that one day they can retire and provide for their families. Companies offering pension plans made promises to their workers and need to live up to those promises, no matter what else happens to that company financially. In West Virginia, we are far too familiar with coal and steel companies leaving their workers out to dry in this way,” said Senator Manchin. “I am proud to introduce this legislation so that changes can be made to the bankruptcy code to make sure that companies are held accountable for their promises and workers’ pensions are protected.”
Today, Senator Manchin spoke on the Senate Floor discussing how important solving the pension crisis is, especially to our retired coal miners. Senator Manchin has been fighting for a solution to the pension crisis for years through the Miners Protection Act and the recent American Miners Act. The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) pension plans are currently on the brink of failure. If nothing is done to the plans, they will fail and retirees will face massive cuts to the benefits they earned over decades of work.
If the UMWA pension plan is allowed to fail, not only will they no longer be able to pay promised benefits, but taxpayers would be at risk of having to pay billions because the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) could not cover its liabilities. PBGC is the arm of the federal government that insures pension plans.
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) spoke from the Senate floor urging Senate Majority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell to bring the American Miners Act to a vote. There’s bipartisan support for this legislation that keeps the promise to our retired coal miners and secures our miners’ pensions.
March 29th was marked by Congress in 2017 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day.
UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts encourages the membership of the UMWA and all Americans to take time to honor the women and men who served their country in the Vietnam War.
President Roberts is proud to have rallied with West Virginia school personnel last week demanding West Virginia legislators table a bill that was retaliatory toward the state’s educators. Through persistence and unity workers won! #Solidarity
Senator Manchin (D-WV) opened up a colloquy on the Senate Floor on February 13, 2019 along with Senator Brown (D-OH), Senator Capito (R- WV), Senator Warner (D-VA) and Senator Casey (D-PA) to discuss the American Miners Act of 2019 introduced into the Senate.
This bill will make sure that 87,000 current beneficiaries and an additional 20,000 retirees who have vested won’t lose the pensions they have paid into for decades.
