Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local #3 NY Buffalo

Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local #3 NY Buffalo

Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local #3 NY Buffalo operates as a Taft-Hartley multi-employer pension fund serving active and retired union masons, tile setters, and allied craftworkers in Western New York. The fund, governed by a joint board of union and contributing-employer trustees, provides defined-benefit pensions alongside companion health and welfare and annuity plans. President Richard A. Williamson serves as a trustee alongside Vice President Frank Pietrowski, with union and management representatives balancing fiduciary oversight. The fund's estimated $22 million portfolio (Altss estimate) reflects the modest asset base typical of a local union plan in a mid-sized market. Taft-Hartley plans of this scale typically allocate primarily to core fixed-income, with selective exposure to public equities and real estate. The fund's investment committee — Williamson holds a seat on the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans committee — oversees external manager relationships and monitors actuarial funding ratios. Real-asset holdings include the union's training center and hall at 1175 William Street in Buffalo, though it is unclear whether this property sits inside the pension portfolio or is held separately by the local. The Buffalo funds maintain ties to the broader regional labor ecosystem through the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and the Rochester-Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation. In September 2023, the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans reported increased regulatory focus on small-plan fiduciary compliance, heightening governance demands on plans like Local 3's (per IFEBP communications, 2023). The parent International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers provides additional operational support. The fund's structural distinction lies in its status as a pooled employer-and-union governance vehicle — board composition mandating equal labor-management representation, a model that forces consensus on every allocation decision. Unlike larger union plans that have migrated toward professionalized CIO models, Local 3's trustee-driven structure keeps investment authority with practicing craftworkers and local contractors, creating a tight feedback loop between contributor sentiment and portfolio posture.