Retirement

Our benefits at Kaiser don’t end when we retire. Our union used to work together with us to make sure that our retirement benefits were secure and that we had access to resources we need to plan for our retirement years.

Last summer, that changed. Without any discussion with Kaiser employees, SEIU-UHW agreed to allow management to cut our lump sum pension payout by up to 15% in 2010, instead of adding money to fully fund our pension.

While Kaiser management made $2.1 billion in profits, SEIU helped them save $242 million that they should have paid to maintain our retirement benefits.

The lump-sum pension payout is the most popular option for Kaiser employees to receive their retirement benefits. Many co-workers were forced to retire early, before the cut went into effect, just to keep the benefits they'd earned.

When SEIU bargained our 2010 contract, they didn't even try to win back our pension. In NUHW, thousands of Kaiser co-workers will work together to win back the benefits we earned that SEIU has given away.