Insulators and Allied Workers Local Union #23

Insulators and Allied Workers Local Union #23

Insulators and Allied Workers Local Union #23 represents mechanical insulators across central and eastern Pennsylvania. The local administers a multi-employer Taft-Hartley pension fund, health and welfare fund, and a Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) — a structure where trustees from both union and contributing employers govern the retirement assets. The plan is funded by hourly employer contributions negotiated through collective bargaining agreements, with contributions pegged to hours worked by participating members. The pension fund's investment posture reflects its Taft-Hartley character: conservative, income-oriented, and governed by a board of union and management trustees. Multi-employer plans like Local 23's typically allocate across core fixed income, domestic equities, and limited real estate and private markets exposure, constrained by ERISA fiduciary standards and the long-duration liabilities of a construction-trade membership. The plan does not publicly disclose its strategy or specific asset-class weightings, and no direct investments are identifiable from available filings. The JATC arm, directed by Peter Deimler, operates a training facility at 904 N 2nd Street in Harrisburg, reflecting the local's dual focus on retirement security and maintaining a skilled workforce for signatory contractors. The local operates from a union hall and training center in Grantville, Pennsylvania, with an additional benefit funds office in Harrisburg. The fund participates in the AFL-CIO network through the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers and has ties to the Pennsylvania Apprentice Coordinators Association. It also sponsors a state-level political action committee, the Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local Union #23 PAC. Local 23's structural differentiator is its operation as a traditional building-trades Taft-Hartley fund — a structure where pension assets are collectively bargained and jointly trusted, making the investment committee accountable to both labor and management. Unlike large public pensions that publish detailed investment reports, Taft-Hartley plans of this scale typically maintain low public disclosure profiles, with transparency primarily owed to plan participants and the Department of Labor via annual Form 5500 filings.