By Amy Porter | Reminder Publishing | aporter@thereminder.com
HOLYOKE — U.S. Rep. Richard Neal joined union leaders and retirees at the Laborers Local 596 Union Hall on Thursday to celebrate saving the Roofers and Slaters Local No. 248 pension plan from insolvency. The union was the latest to be included in special financial assistance with Neal’s help.
In July, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation announced the approval of the Roofers’ application for special financial assistance through the Butch Lewis Act, which was included in the American Rescue Plan, both of which were drafted by the Ways and Means Committee under Congressman Neal’s chairmanship. With this announcement, $5.8 million will be awarded to the Roofers 248 Plan, protecting more than 200 pensions.
During his remarks, Neal said he had been working with the unions on bolstering union pension plans for a long time. He said the plans were in trouble, not due to malfeasance, but to mergers, buyouts, takeovers and consolidations, resulting in fewer employees contributing to the plans.
He first raised the idea of making the pension plans whole with former Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, who called it a long shot. Neal said that it then began to build some momentum.
“If you want a good reason to join a union, this is it, because you kept it in front of everybody,” he said.
Then, right before a meeting with President Joseph Biden on the American Rescue Plan, Neal told Speaker Nancy Pelosi, “I’m telling the president that I’m putting the Butch Lewis Act in the rescue package. President Biden said, ‘I’m going to support it.’ The American Rescue Plan passed,” Neal said.
“Your pensions were going to be cut by 25 percent in three years,” Neal told members of Local 248. “PGBC would have taken down the pension if we didn’t do this. It’s like Social Security. You plan on it, build your life around it. This is one of the most important things I’ve ever done.”
“We were waiting for three years to find out whether we were accepted,” said Brent Corbett, business manager for Local 248. He said membership had dropped in the union from 130 to 30 members paying into the pension. They ended up going into trusteeship, with no interest from larger unions. “It’s impossible to find experienced journeymen roofers,” he said.
Since then, Local 248 has changed its apprenticeship program, offering training at its Union Hall in Westfield, where it has a classroom and is building a garage. He said it has a partnership with Titan Roofing in Springfield, which also provides hands-on training at its location. “They are good partners with us, fantastic,” Corbett said. He said the union is now doing great and has a bright future.
Richard Brook, assistant to the president of Titan Roofing, said, ‘Without the unions, Titan doesn’t exist,” adding that it has been a burden dealing with the pension. “This summer is one of the busiest we’ve had. Without the workers, we don’t exist.”
In July 2024, Neal joined union leaders and members at the Joint Apprentice and Training Committee Electrical Training Center in Dorchester to celebrate saving the New England Teamsters Pension Plan from insolvency and a reduction of benefits through the same program. The New England Teamsters Plan, the third-largest Teamster pension fund in the nation, covers Teamsters in all six New England states, 50 percent of whom reside in Massachusetts. Initially projected to run out of funding by 2028, the plan received approximately $5.7 billion in special financial assistance, sustaining the more than 72,000 pensions covered under the plan.
As of July 30, 2026, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has announced the approval of approximately $78 billion in Special Financial Assistance (SFA) under the Butch Lewis Act for 166 plans, covering 1,829,000 workers, retirees, and beneficiaries.
Frank Callahan, president of the Massachusetts Building Trade Unions, said he was happy to be at the event celebrating Local 248. “Three million men and women are on secure retirement plans, particularly pensions. They are not just numbers on a page, they pay the rent, go to the doctor, maybe go golfing after a lifetime of working. Workers who started as apprentices being able to retire with dignity is incredibly meaningful,” he said.
“I want to thank Congressman Neal for standing up for workers. Thank you to the workers for doing their part. To (union) brothers and sisters, thank you for never losing hope,” Callahan added.
Colton Andrews, president of the Western Mass Building Trades, also expressed his appreciation for Neal’s longtime support of the unions. “Your support has never been symbolic. You’ve championed fair wages, safer job sites, the right for workers to collectively bargain,” he said, adding that the Butch Lewis Act is one of the most consequential for workers in history.
“You have never forgotten your roots in Springfield. Thank you for your decades of partnership, grateful for all you have done and continue to do for building trades,” Andrews said.
Also speaking was retiree Richard Lyons of Westfield, a member of Local 248 since 1967 and a former business manager. He thanked Neal, whom he said he first met in the late 1970s at Donny’s Cafe, for all the jobs Neal brought back. Lyons said he was now a beneficiary of the pension after retiring from roofing 22 years ago.
“It’s vital that Congressman Neal brought back Local 248,” he said.
“There was nothing like Donny’s on Fridays at 7 p.m.,” responded Neal.
