Electrical Workers Local No. 292 Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plan

Electrical Workers Local No. 292 Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plan

The Electrical Workers Local No. 292 Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plan was established on May 1, 1997, through collective bargaining between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 292 and the Minneapolis Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). It serves as a safety-net vehicle for union electricians, providing supplemental income during periods of involuntary unemployment. Governance rests with a Board of Trustees split evenly between union and employer-appointed fiduciaries, including Local 292 President Dan Ferguson and Business Manager Jeff Heimerl. The plan's investment posture is defensive by design, prioritizing capital preservation over yield given its short-duration liability profile. Known assets on book include directly held real estate in Maple Grove, Minnesota — the plan's administrative home. Unlike its much larger sister vehicle, the Electrical Workers Local No. 292 Defined Contribution and 401k Plan, which reported approximately $994 million in assets, the SUB Plan focuses on a narrower, highly liquid pool designed to pay out claims during economic downturns. There is no evidence the plan participates in fund commitments, venture capital, or private equity co-investments. The plan operates under a jointly trusteed Taft-Hartley structure, a governance model common to multi-employer benefit plans in the building trades. It sits alongside other IBEW 292 fringe benefit vehicles, including a defined contribution plan and a health care plan, all administered from a central office in Maple Grove. The most recent public regulatory filings confirm the plan's continued operation with no structural changes, though specific asset levels and claims payout data for the most recent plan year remain undisclosed in a consolidated public format. The plan's structural differentiator is its narrow, counter-cyclical mandate. Unlike the union's primary retirement vehicle, which participates in broad market exposure, the SUB Plan acts as a dedicated unemployment bridge — a self-insurance pool collectively bargained to smooth income volatility for skilled tradespeople. This makes its asset allocation among the most conservative in the Minnesota building trades' benefit plan ecosystem, with no known exposure to illiquid or alternative asset classes.