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Cement Masons Local 780 Pension Fund
The Cement Masons Local 780 Pension Fund was established in 1950 to provide retirement security for members of OPCMIA Local 780, which has represented New York...
Cement Masons Local 780 Pension Fund
The Cement Masons Local 780 Pension Fund was established in 1950 to provide retirement security for members of OPCMIA Local 780, which has represented New York City's plasterers and cement masons for over a century and a half. The fund is jointly administered by a Board of Trustees evenly split between union representatives and employer trustees appointed by the Cement League, an association of unionized concrete and masonry contractors. This Taft-Hartley multiemployer architecture pools contributions from dozens of signatory employers under collective bargaining agreements, creating a centralized retirement vehicle for a specialized urban building-trades workforce. The fund deploys assets across a deliberately diversified set of structures: a wholly owned commercial holding corporation based in the Bronx, direct fund commitments to external managers, and infrastructure investment. Known manager relationships include credit specialist Crescent Capital Group in Los Angeles, real asset and infrastructure manager Ullico in suburban Maryland, and fixed-income manager Boyd Watterson Asset Management in Cleveland. The fund's posture is heavily real-estate-oriented given its trade union roots, but the allocation extends to mezzanine credit strategies and publicly reported alternative investments. Geographic focus remains predominantly US, with a concentration in the New York metropolitan area's commercial property market where member employment is concentrated. Trustees include Business Manager Michael Rendina alongside employer-side representatives Michael Salgo, Joseph Mitrione, and Kevin O'Brien, with union trustees Edward Barbaria and Michael D'Onofrio rounding out the governance board. The pension vehicle sits within a broader family of Local 780 fringe-benefit funds — Welfare, Annuity, Vacation, and Apprenticeship — all administered in Rockville Centre. The fund maintains membership in the New York Building Congress and operates under the umbrella of the AFL-CIO through its parent international, the Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association. No recent board-level operational changes have been publicly reported. The fund's structural differentiator is the direct ownership of commercial real estate through Cement Masons Local 780 Holding Corp, a wholly owned corporate entity that gives the pension fund a proprietary landlord position — a model rare among Taft-Hartley plans of its size. This arrangement embeds aligned-tenant dynamics: the holding company can lease space to construction-related businesses, creating a feedback loop between member employment and asset performance. The governance model, requiring consensus between labor and management trustees for all investment decisions, imposes a slow-moving discipline that favors stable, yield-generating assets.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1950
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Bronx
Corporate office
Bronx, NY, United States
Principals
Michael Rendina
Business Manager/Financial Secretary and Union Trustee
Michael Salgo
Employer Trustee
Joseph Mitrione
Employer Trustee
Michael D'Onofrio
Union Trustee
Edward Barbaria
Union Trustee
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who governs investment decisions at Cement Masons Local 780 Pension Fund?
A joint Board of Trustees with equal representation from union trustees (appointed by OPCMIA Local 780) and employer trustees (appointed by the Cement League) governs the fund. Current trustees include Business Manager Michael Rendina, employer representatives Michael Salgo and Joseph Mitrione, and union trustees Edward Barbaria and Michael D'Onofrio. The Taft-Hartley structure requires consensus between labor and management for allocation and manager-selection decisions.
How does the fund's multiemployer Taft-Hartley structure influence its investment approach?
The structure pools contributions from multiple unionized contractors under collective bargaining agreements, insulating the fund from any single employer's financial distress. Because labor and management trustees must jointly approve allocations, the investment process skews conservative — favoring tangible assets like commercial real estate and income-oriented credit strategies. This governance model tends to produce low portfolio turnover and long-tenured manager relationships.
Does the fund invest directly in real estate or only through funds?
The fund operates a wholly owned vehicle, Cement Masons Local 780 Holding Corp, which holds commercial property directly — a differentiator among smaller Taft-Hartley plans. It also commits to external real asset managers, including Ullico Infrastructure. The dual structure lets the fund earn direct property income while accessing institutional real asset platforms for scale and diversification.
Which external asset managers does the Cement Masons Local 780 Pension Fund use?
Known manager commitments, per the fund's public investment disclosures, include Crescent Capital Group (a Los Angeles-based credit manager), Ullico (a labor-aligned infrastructure and real asset investor in Silver Spring, Maryland), and Boyd Watterson Asset Management (a Cleveland fixed-income and real estate manager). The underlying fund strategies span private credit, infrastructure, and core fixed income, reflecting the board's income-oriented mandate.
How is the pension fund related to the other Local 780 benefit funds?
The Pension Fund is one of five fringe-benefit funds administered for OPCMIA Local 780 members, alongside Welfare, Annuity, Vacation, and Apprenticeship funds. All operate under the same Board of Trustees and are managed from Rockville Centre, New York, but hold separate assets and distinct legal structures. The Annuity Fund provides defined-contribution retirement savings, while the Pension Fund delivers defined-benefit retirement income.
What role does the Cement League play in the fund?
The Cement League is the employer association representing unionized concrete and masonry contractors in New York City that contribute to the fund under collective bargaining agreements. It appoints the employer-side trustees — currently Michael Salgo, Joseph Mitrione, and Kevin O'Brien — who share fiduciary authority with the union-appointed trustees. The League's involvement ensures the fund's investment posture reflects the contributing employers' capacity and collective bargaining economics.
What is the fund's known posture on alternative investments?
The fund maintains a deliberate allocation to alternatives including private credit through Crescent Capital Group, infrastructure through Ullico, and mezzanine strategies according to its stated investment approach. It also holds hedge fund exposure through its externally managed commitments. This multi-alternative posture, combined with direct commercial property holdings, reflects a board that prioritizes yield and inflation sensitivity over liquid-market correlation.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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