Teamsters Bakery Drivers and Industry Pension Fund

The fund is a Taft-Hartley multiemployer defined-benefit pension plan, established through collective bargaining between Teamsters locals and employers in the bakery distribution industry. It is jointly trusteed, meaning the board includes representatives from both the union — including Demos P. Demopoulos of Teamsters Local 553 — and the contributing companies. The plan is governed by ERISA and insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Bimbo Bakeries USA, a subsidiary of Grupo Bimbo and one of the largest commercial baking companies in North America, is a major contributing employer. Grocery Haulers, Inc. also participates. The contributing employers are bound by collective bargaining agreements with Teamsters Local 553 and the former Local 550, covering delivery drivers and warehouse personnel.

In 2017, the Teamsters Bakery Drivers and Industry Pension Fund absorbed the Bakery Drivers Local 550 and Industry Pension Fund, merging assets and liabilities into a single plan. The consolidation aimed to spread actuarial risk across a larger participant base and streamline administration under a unified board of trustees. Merged multiemployer plans often pursue this strategy to mitigate the per-capita cost of PBGC premiums and investment management.

The fund allocates capital through external institutional managers and does not pursue direct co-investments or in-house private equity programs. Its exposure to private markets typically takes the form of limited-partner commitments to private credit funds, real estate partnerships, and mid-market buyout strategies within diversified manager lineups appropriate for a maturing Taft-Hartley plan.

Demos P. Demopoulos serves as a trustee of the fund in his capacity as Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local Union 553. In the joint-trustee structure, he represents the interests of the plan's active and retired participants on all matters of policy, investment manager selection, and benefit determination, sitting alongside employer-appointed trustees.