Where I actually mention the PBGC

Good news everybody! June is almost over. Fall cannot get here fast enough….

Today, I wanted to talk about the cost of doing business. There was an article in this morning’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the Pittsburgh Brewing Company. The PBC has informed the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation that they will have to file for bankruptcy UNLESS they terminate their pension plans. Sound familiar? It should, everybody and their grandmother is trying to drop their DB and contributory pension plans. It’s sad really, and that’s why I’m writing about it.

Before the advent of the 401(k) (or the 403(b) for my non-profit/educational friends), a man’s pension WAS his retirement. You went to work for a company for 30 or 40 years, knowing that when you retired, you would continue to receive compensation from the company. This was a great way to command company loyalty. Not only will the man pay you for hours worked, but if you work long enough, the man will continue to pay you after you’ve stopped working. That sounds like a beautiful plan, and a great way to thank your hard-working employees.

But something has changed. When executives look down at the factory floor, the employees are mucking up the bottom-line. The very same people who helped them get where they are today, are the same people who are now weighing them down. And here’s the point that I want to nail home. Where did we lose our concern for our fellow man? In particular, what makes your business more important than people? You have people who have given you years of their lives with the promise of a guaranteed income after retirement. And now you want to yank that away, because it’s not good for business? Hey, maybe if you would fund your plans like you were supposed to, you wouldn’t have these problems. Maybe if you invested more in these people by working hard for them, I wouldn’t be writing this. And don’t blame the market. The only people responsible for slow/no market adapatation is the front office. Don’t penalize your crew because you steered them into the iceberg. I’m just sayin..