Reciprocity Stance of BAC Local 23 Leadership – All Money Follows the Member

Pension and health benefits are some of the most important programs that BAC members and our contractors count on.

Members expect and rely upon benefit contributions being reciprocated (returned) to a member’s home benefit fund when the member works outside their home jurisdiction.

Similarly, contractors rely upon that seamless transfer of benefits to maintain and attract the skilled workers needed to complete their projects.

The current Leadership of Local 23 is steadfast in its commitment that BAC members should receive the full benefit of all monies they earn when working outside their home fund jurisdiction.

Accordingly, we want to take a moment to address questions that members have raised regarding the subject of benefit reciprocity.

What is reciprocity?

The idea behind reciprocity is that members often work outside of their home benefit fund’s jurisdiction and when they do, they need a way to make sure those benefit contributions return to their home fund.

When a member works on a project outside their home fund’s jurisdiction, they are working under the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in effect for that area.

As a result, their fringe benefit contributions (health insurance, pension, and annuity) are paid into that area’s fringe benefit funds.

Reciprocity is the arrangement that allows fringe benefit funds to send your benefit contributions back to your home benefit fund from wherever you work.

A very simple way to state it is that “money follows the member.”

For reciprocity to work, there must be agreements between the different fringe benefit funds that allow for it. In addition, any member who wants to have their benefits sent back to their home funds must complete a Reciprocal Authorization and Release.

Reciprocity agreements among all the individual benefit funds, as well as the International Pension Fund (IPF), have existed for decades.

Historically, these agreements have covered the Ohio Bricklayers Funds as well as the individual funds in former Locals 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 22, 43 and 55. These agreements have provided that ALL fringe benefits earned in one area would be sent back to a member’s home local.

If a member works in an area where the fringe benefit contributions are higher than those in the member’s home local, the member has always gotten the benefit of being paid at the same rate as everyone else on that job.

Full reciprocity has been in place and worked well for many years across Ohio.

Members deserve the full benefit and equal treatment that their work in any jurisdiction has earned them and the current leadership of Local 23 ABSOLUTELY AGREES with and SUPPORTS FULL RECIPROCITY.

There are some pension and health fund trustees who are not in leadership positions in Local 23, but who were appointed by former leadership, who want to END full reciprocity. Again, this is not Local 23’s Management Committee.

Needless to say, we disagree with these trustees who want to keep a portion of the money that you have earned by working outside of your jurisdiction.

We encourage members to contact the trustees of the plan(s) who are planning to end full reciprocity and lessen the hard earned benefits you worked for.

Please let these individuals know that “all the benefit money follows the member.” Anything less is unacceptable.

If you have any questions, please call 440.938.3000 or email info@bac23.org and we will get your questions answered.

President Danny Musacchio