Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today, Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Chairman Bob Good (R-VA) sent letters to Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, Executive Director of the National Electrical Benefit Fund Investments (NEBF) Kevin McCormack, NEBF Trustees Lonnie R. Stevenson, David Long, Kenneth W. Cooper, and Dennis F. Quebe, North American Building Trades Unions President Sean McGarvey, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, International Association of Fire Fighters General President Edward A. Kelly, and National Education Association President Rebecca S. Pringle demanding answers regarding the Biden administration’s attempts to leverage retirement assets to organize unions and benefit Big Labor.
 
In the letter to Su, Foxx and Good write: “On April 23, 2024, the White House touted your leadership in convening a group of ‘asset owners representing over $1 trillion in public and pension fund capital’ that has committed to ‘promote strong labor commitments among funds, asset managers, and companies.’ As Acting Secretary of Labor, you should be aware that diverting pension fund assets to promote collective bargaining is contrary to statutory protections for pension funds subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). … Your encouragement of using pension funds for other purposes is harmful to the retirement security of millions of American workers and is contrary to the statute you have been charged with administering.”
 
In the letter to McCormack, Foxx and Good write: “On April 23, 2024, the White House announced your commitment to use private pension fund capital to promote labor union interests. The White House further stated that ‘[t]he Biden-Harris Administration believes that it is critical that [labor union pension] funds … emphasize the interests and goals of workers.’ … However, the Biden administration wrongly says that diverting pension fund assets to promote collective bargaining is in the interest of participants in pension funds. Such diversion is illegal for pension funds subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).”
 
In the letter to the NEBF Trustees, Foxx and Good write: “As Trustees for NEBF, you have a duty to monitor the actions of those who have authority or control over the investment of the fund’s assets. In this position, you may also have personal legal liability to the extent such a fiduciary breaches his or her duties of loyalty. On April 23, 2024, Kevin McCormack, Executive Director of the National Electrical Benefit Fund Investments, publicly committed to using NEBF’s capital for the purpose of promoting labor unions rather than for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits under the fund. Diverting pension fund assets to promote collective bargaining is illegal for pension funds subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).”
 
In the letters to McGarvey, Shuler, Kelly, and Pringle, Foxx and Good write: “As part of this investigation, the Committee requests documents and information relating to you and your union’s involvement in efforts to use pension funds to promote labor union interests. … Diverting pension fund assets to promote collective bargaining is illegal for pension funds subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). … Fortunately, union workers' pension funds are subject to ERISA.”
 
To read the full letter to Su, click here.
To read the full letter to McCormack, click here.
To read the full letter to the NEBF Trustees, click here.
To read the full letter to McGarvey, click here.
To read the full letter to Shuler, click here.
To read the full letter to Kelly, click here.
To read the full letter to Pringle, click here.

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