who we are
We are a member-driven coalition of Taft-Hartley multiemployer health and pension plans, trustees, administrators, and service providers. Collectively, our members represent hundreds of thousands of families who count on these plans for affordable, dependable benefits.
Our Mission
At Health & PensionWORKS, education is our core mission. We connect coalition members with lawmakers and federal agencies to ensure decisions on health and pension policy reflect the realities of multiemployer plans. We also equip trustees with timely updates on regulatory changes so they can protect participants and funds.
Why a Strong, United Voice from Outside the Beltway Matters
ERISA established critical protections for workers – but it also created challenges unique to multiemployer plans. Too often, policymakers apply a one-size-fits-all approach designed for single-employer plans, leaving multiemployer funds vulnerable.
That’s why Health & PensionWORKS exists: to be the united voice outside the Beltway, ensuring federal policy reflects the real-world needs of multiemployer plans and the millions of workers who rely on them.
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The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) was enacted to safeguard the interests of employees and their families by establishing minimum standards for pension and health plans in private industry. Designed to ensure that employees receive promised benefits, ERISA introduced rigorous fiduciary responsibilities, funding requirements, and transparency standards for plan administrators.
While ERISA provided critical protections, its framework also introduced complexities, particularly for multiemployer plans. Multiemployer plans face unique challenges under ERISA that do not necessarily burden single or multiple employer plans – a basic but important distinction that is far too often overlooked by even the most well-intentioned federal policy makers. This reality makes it all the more important that Taft-Hartley plans and their participants have a strong, united voice from outside of Washington, D.C., ensuring that multiemployer plans’ concerns and solutions are heard, understood, and accounted for in the policymaking process.
Taft-Hartley plans, often serving industries such as construction, transportation, and entertainment, require intricate coordination between participating employers and unions. Federal rules governing funding levels, withdrawal liability, and benefit security (among others) have also placed significant operational and financial demands on these plans. While legislative reforms, such as the Pension Protection Act and the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act, have subsequently provided needed reforms, these efforts have not always adequately accounted for the distinct dynamics of multiemployer arrangements, leaving them vulnerable to policy decisions crafted with single or multiple employer plans in mind.
When policymakers approach ERISA and employee benefit reforms predominantly through the lens of single-employer and multiple-employer plans, they inadvertently sideline the unique perspectives and challenges of multiemployer plans. This oversight can result in regulations and reforms that fail to address—or even exacerbate—the operational and financial complexities inherent in multiemployer arrangements. The lack of nuanced understanding in Congress and federal agencies underscores the need for targeted education and advocacy to ensure common sense policy solutions that consider the unique nature and structure of multiemployer plans.
The Health&PensionWORKS Coalition recognizes the critical need for a dedicated voice in Washington, D.C. to champion the interests of multiemployer plans. As federal policy continues to evolve, it is essential that those making it hear and address the concerns of those throughout the country who will be affected by these changes. By advocating for fair and pragmatic regulatory approaches, the Coalition aims to safeguard the sustainability of these plans, protect the benefits of millions of workers, and promote the economic stability of industries reliant on multiemployer arrangements. Through collaboration with policymakers and stakeholders, the Health&PensionWORKS Coalition strives to secure a regulatory environment that supports the vital role of multiemployer plans in the American workforce.
