Teamsters Local 251 Health Services and Insurance Plan

Teamsters Local 251 Health Services and Insurance Plan

The Teamsters Local 251 Health Services and Insurance Plan operates out of a union hall at 1201 Elmwood Avenue in Providence, Rhode Island, as a multiemployer health and welfare fund. Chartered under the Taft-Hartley Act, it collects negotiated employer contributions and disburses them for medical, dental, vision, prescription-drug, and disability benefits. Matthew G. Taibi, who also serves as Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 251, and Tammy Beaudreault share responsibility for plan administration, overseeing claims processing, vendor relationships, and investment oversight. The plan's investment portfolio reflects standard Taft-Hartley prudence: a mix of investment-grade fixed-income, large-cap equities, and cash equivalents designed to meet near-term benefit obligations with minimal drawdown risk. Real estate represents a tangible asset on the balance sheet, with the fund holding its own administrative offices at 1201 Elmwood Avenue directly. The plan does not operate as a private-equity limited partner or venture investor; its capital is deployed almost entirely through liquid public-market instruments and direct real property. The geographic scope of both operations and investment remains concentrated in Rhode Island and southeastern New England, mirroring the local membership base of the sponsoring union local. Total assets available for benefits are not publicly disclosed, though Taft-Hartley health plans of similar mid-sized locals typically range from the tens of millions to low hundreds of millions of dollars in net position. The plan maintains close structural ties to two sister funds: the Teamsters Local 251 Staff 401(k) Plan, which handles retirement savings for union employees, and the Teamsters Local 251 Driving Training Fund, an educational trust that covers commercial driver training costs. The broader International Brotherhood of Teamsters provides an umbrella of industry association governance, but plan investment and benefit decisions remain with the local board of trustees, equally balanced between labor and management representatives. Structurally, a Taft-Hartley health fund operates under a distinct set of Department of Labor fiduciary rules that separate it from both corporate pension plans and single-family offices. Trustees must prioritize the best interests of participants and beneficiaries above all other considerations, creating a conservative investment posture that favors capital preservation over return maximization. The plan's ability to strengthen benefits while maintaining solvency, as noted in its own communications, signals disciplined funding ratios and steady employer contribution income — a governance profile that institutional allocators recognize as structurally insulated from single-sponsor default risk.