Plumbers & Pipefitters, Locals #502 & #633

Plumbers & Pipefitters, Locals #502 & #633

Plumbers & Pipefitters Locals #502 and #633 jointly administer multi-employer pension and welfare benefit plans serving union members in the Louisville and Owensboro areas. Local 502, based on Crittenden Drive in Louisville, and Local 633, headquartered in Owensboro, are both chartered affiliates of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry. The plans operate as Taft-Hartley trusts, governed by joint boards of labor and management trustees. Scott Lewis serves as Business Manager and Financial Secretary-Treasurer for Local 502, while Neal Hurm holds the Business Manager role for Local 633. The pension plan's investment structure combines fiduciary-directed portfolio management with direct property holdings tied to union infrastructure. The Locals maintain commercial real estate assets including their main benefit office and training center on Crittenden Drive in Louisville, an industrial property on Millers Lane, and Local 633's union hall on Alvey Park Drive West in Owensboro. Plan assets are administered through trust vehicles domiciled in Troy, Michigan, a common jurisdiction for Taft-Hartley fund service providers. Investment allocation strategies for these plans typically span core fixed income, public equities, and an expanding commitment to private-market exposures—including real estate, private credit, and infrastructure—consistent with the long-duration liability profile of a mature building-trades pension. The Locals operate apprenticeship and training programs in partnership with Ivy Tech Community College, funded through separate educational trust funds distinct from the pension assets. These workforce-development vehicles serve dual purposes: maintaining a skilled labor pipeline for signatory contractors and generating employer contributions that support plan funding. Local 502's training center sits adjacent to its benefit office, while Local 633 maintains a separate education trust. The plans participate in the AFL-CIO's broader labor network through their United Association affiliation, and Local 633 holds membership in the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce. As a Taft-Hartley plan, the Locals' investment governance distinguishes them from corporate or public pension funds. Trustees are legally bound to act solely in the interest of plan participants under ERISA, and investment decisions are made by a joint board equally representing labor and management. This fiduciary structure—coupled with the plans' Michigan trust domicile and the presence of directly held union-operating real estate on their balance sheet—creates a capital base that is simultaneously conservative in liability management and structurally tethered to the physical assets of the building trades they serve.