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Plumbers & Steamfitters Local #81
Plumbers & Steamfitters Local #81 is a Taft-Hartley multiemployer pension plan based in Syracuse, New York. The fund is jointly governed by labor trustees, led...
Plumbers & Steamfitters Local #81
Plumbers & Steamfitters Local #81 is a Taft-Hartley multiemployer pension plan based in Syracuse, New York. The fund is jointly governed by labor trustees, led by Business Manager Gregory Lancette, and employer trustees, represented by the Mechanical Trades & Master Plumbers Association of CNY. It provides retirement benefits to plumbers, pipefitters, and HVAC technicians affiliated with the local union, which was formed through the merger of Local 267 and covers a territory stretching from Syracuse to Ithaca, Oswego, and Gouverneur. The plan receives employer contributions negotiated through collective bargaining agreements. The pension allocates its entire private markets exposure to buyout strategies, according to public record disclosures. The plan seeks capital appreciation through commitments to lower-mid-market and middle-market buyout funds. While the portfolio is private, the fund's size constrains it to a concentrated roster of manager relationships, typically including regional and national general partners raising sub-$5 billion vehicles. The fund does not publicly disclose its investment consultants or specific general partner commitments, but its fiduciary structure subjects it to annual reporting under ERISA and New York State insurance regulations. With approximately $155 million in assets, the plan operates from union offices at 107 Twin Oaks Drive in Syracuse. The fund maintains a training infrastructure across five campuses — in Syracuse, Ithaca, Oswego, Gouverneur, and at 150 Midler Park Drive — that supplies the skilled labor generating its contribution base. Gregory Lancette serves as Business Manager and trustee, alongside Employer Trustee Earl R. Hall. The plan recently participated in regional planning for the Micron Technology megafab project in Clay, New York, a development expected to increase demand for union pipefitters and potentially expand the plan's contribution base. The plan's structural distinction lies in its singular focus: a pure buyout mandate within a union pension vehicle that makes no direct investments, no venture commitments, and no real estate allocations in the private portfolio. This concentration reflects both the fund's scale and a deliberate strategy to capture the illiquidity premium in buyout partnerships.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
—
AUM
$155 million (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Syracuse
Corporate office
Syracuse, NY, United States
Principals
Gregory Lancette
Business Manager, Trustee
Earl R. Hall
Employer Trustee, Executive Director of Mechanical Trades & Master Plumbers Association of CNY
Michael D. Nanno
Fund Manager
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Plumbers & Steamfitters Local #81?
Investment decisions are governed by a joint board of labor and employer trustees. Gregory Lancette, the Business Manager of Local 81, serves as a labor trustee. Employer trustees include representatives from the Mechanical Trades & Master Plumbers Association of CNY. Day-to-day fund management is handled by Michael D. Nanno, the plan's Fund Manager. The board typically retains an investment consultant to advise on manager selection and asset allocation, though the specific consultant is not publicly disclosed.
Does Plumbers & Steamfitters Local #81 invest directly in companies or through fund commitments?
The plan deploys exclusively through fund commitments. It does not make direct investments or co-investments in operating companies. The private equity allocation is concentrated entirely in buyout funds, generally targeting lower-mid-market and middle-market general partners.
What asset classes does the Plumbers & Steamfitters Local #81 pension invest in?
The plan's disclosed private markets focus is exclusively on buyout funds. As a multiemployer Taft-Hartley plan, its broader portfolio likely includes traditional allocations to public equities, fixed income, and possibly real assets, but the only strategy explicitly confirmed in public record disclosures is buyout. The plan does not publicly disclose its full asset allocation targets.
How is Plumbers & Steamfitters Local #81 related to the national UA union?
Local #81 is a chartered local of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry (UA), based in Annapolis, Maryland. The local union negotiates collective bargaining agreements with employers and operates independently, but the pension plan is a Taft-Hartley fund jointly governed by the local union and contributing employers, not directly managed by the UA national.
What is the contribution base for the Plumbers & Steamfitters Local #81 pension?
Employer contributions are negotiated through collective bargaining agreements with signatory contractors, primarily coordinated through the Mechanical Trades & Master Plumbers Association of CNY. Contributions are based on hours worked by union members — plumbers, pipefitters, and HVAC service technicians. The plan's funding health depends on a stable and growing base of active union-covered employment across its Central New York jurisdiction.
Does Plumbers & Steamfitters Local #81 maintain any philanthropic or training structures?
Yes. The Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 81 Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee (JATC) runs a five-campus training network that certifies apprentices and journeymen across regions including Syracuse, Ithaca, Oswego, and Gouverneur. While the JATC is funded separately from the pension plan, it sustains the skilled workforce whose employer contributions support the pension.
What is the known posture of Plumbers & Steamfitters Local #81 on co-investments?
The plan does not pursue co-investments. Its private equity deployment is limited to buyout fund commitments, reflecting both a small staff and a fiduciary preference for diversified exposure through commingled vehicles. No direct or co-investment activity has been disclosed.
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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