With enactment of The Multiemployer Pension Plan Reform Act of 2014, Phase One of the Solutions Not Bailouts reform initiative is complete. The MCAA and the UA are now beginning the process of explaining the new law's complex provisions. Excellent explanatory material, from the O'Donoghue law firm and the NCCMP, is already available at www.mcaa.org. We thank the UA for making these memoranda available to the MCAA membership.

Phase Two is of our pension reform effort is already being planned as well, as MCAA and the other NCCMP coalition members will now work to dispel the many mischaracterizations of the measure that were leveled in the heat of the legislative battle - chief among them the false claim that the law permits, or even requires wholesale benefits cuts for retirees.

Now that the heat of legislative debate has subsided, responsible press outlets are coming around to a far more balanced assessment of the new law. For example, The Washington Post reports that, "In this mess of a mega-bill, there was one piece of bipartisan farsightedness.  Reps. John Kline (R-Minn.) and George Miller (D-Calif.) crafted a provision that should help to ensure the sustainability of large, decreasingly solvent multiemployer/union pension funds that might otherwise fail and confront Congress with a choice between bailing them out or leaving retirees with nothing.  The measure, which allows pensions to trim existing benefits, was the least painful option - as several key labor unions that supported it recognized.  Looking at the bill as a whole, we'd call this fair and responsible provision the exception that proves the rule." 

Make Sure You're Ready to Help in a Medical Emergency - Sign Up for Safety Directors' Pre-Conference First Aid and CPR/AED Courses

The first Sales Leadership Symposium held during MSCA's 2014 Educational Conference was so successful, MSCA is offering it again for those who missed it and want to attend. This extended two-day seminar (February 23-24, 2015, Philadelphia, PA) will provide anyone who manages service sales personnel with the skills needed to recruit, hire, onboard, coach, and train his or her sales team (even if he/she doesn't have a sales manager job title). Since participation in this session is required by the sales leader before his/her team members can attend the Sales Masters program (for intermediate- and advanced-level service sales staff), the Symposium will ensure that leaders are equipped with the tools needed to successfully guide their teams as they advance through the Sales Masters program. Visit www.msca.org/salesinstitute/leadership to register for the Sales Leadership Symposium. This is the only Symposium scheduled for 2015 and the class size is limited, so register early. For information about all MSCA Sales Institute programs, visit the MSCA Sales Institute Web page. Contact Sobeida Orantes (saorantes@mcaa.org) with registration questions.