Liquor & Allied Workers’ Union Local No. 3 Pension Plan - Sales Representatives Division

Liquor & Allied Workers’ Union Local No. 3 Pension Plan - Sales Representatives Division

The Sales Representatives Division pension plan is a distinct unit within the broader Liquor & Allied Workers’ Union Local No. 3 benefit structure, carved out specifically for the sales representatives who place liquor, wine, and allied products with retailers and restaurants across the Chicago metro and northern Illinois. The plan participates in a Taft-Hartley multi-employer framework, where contributing employers collectively fund benefits through negotiated contributions. This structure is standard for unionized route sales and distribution workforces in the beverage alcohol tier. The plan allocates assets across a diversified institutional portfolio typical of a mid-sized Taft-Hartley defined-benefit plan. Asset classes include public equities, core fixed income, and likely a measured allocation to real estate or infrastructure through commingled vehicles. The plan does not run a direct private equity or venture program, though some Taft-Hartley plans of this size access private markets through fund-of-funds or emerging manager platforms. The geographic focus is overwhelmingly domestic, with international exposure obtained through global equity mandates. No portfolio holdings are publicly disclosed at the plan level beyond Form 5500 filings. The plan is administered in River Forest, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, and operates with a small board of trustees split evenly between union and employer representatives. No dedicated investment staff is publicly listed. The plan relies on an external investment consultant and possibly an outsourced chief investment officer arrangement, which is common for plans under $200 million in assets. Philanthropic or adjacent vehicles tied to the plan have not been identified. Recent Form 5500 data, required annually by ERISA, would provide participant counts and funding ratios but does not constitute a dated operational event in the sense of a strategic shift. What distinguishes this plan structurally is its hyper-specific participant base — a single job classification within a single local union, covering a labor pool that is shrinking as distributor consolidation and direct-to-consumer models reshape the Illinois three-tier alcohol system. The plan's long-term viability depends on steady contribution levels from a stable or growing employer base, a dynamic under pressure as wholesaler consolidation concentrates bargaining power and route structures change.