Portside

Ultimately, the Butch Lewis Act, enacted as part of President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, will stop cuts to the retirement benefits of 2 million workers and retirees across the country, according to the Biden administration.

Karen Friedman, executive vice president and policy director at the nonprofit Pension Rights Center in Washington, is highly critical of the new law while acknowledging that pension reforms are needed. “We are not saying don’t fix multiemployer [plans],” Friedman said. But an act that allows plans to cut retiree pensions is “such a departure from current law,” she said. “It’s just such a buzz saw on retiree pensions.”