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UA Local 125
The UA Local 125 Retirement Savings Plan was established in 2000 as a multiemployer defined-contribution vehicle serving members of Local 125, the Cedar...
UA Local 125
The UA Local 125 Retirement Savings Plan was established in 2000 as a multiemployer defined-contribution vehicle serving members of Local 125, the Cedar Rapids-based chapter of the United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters and Service Technicians. The plan provides retirement, disability, and death benefits to a membership concentrated in skilled-trade mechanical contracting across Linn County and surrounding eastern Iowa communities. The plan's deployment reflects the conservative, real-asset bias typical of Taft-Hartley pension funds. Direct holdings include the UA Local 125 Main Office and Meeting Hall at 1831 16th Ave SW in Cedar Rapids and the UA Local 125 Training Center at 5101 J Street SW — a dedicated industrial facility used for apprentice instruction and journeyman skill upgrades. Satellite union offices in Waterloo, Dubuque, and West Burlington extend the plan's geographic footprint. Fund commitments span buyout, venture, mezzanine, and secondaries mandates, though specific general partner relationships are not publicly itemized. The plan participates in the broader United Association International network, which coordinates training and labor standards across member locals. Shelley Vandraska serves as plan administrator, sitting adjacent to the UA Local 125 Health & Welfare Fund, which she also administers. The plan operates alongside the Local's apprenticeship program, directed by Chip Davis, and its broader labor-relations framework maintained through the Mechanical Contractors Association of Iowa, the employer-side bargaining partner for area plumbing and pipefitting contractors. The union maintains an active civic presence through the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance. No dedicated investment committee roster or external consultant relationship has been publicly disclosed. The plan's structural differentiator is its identity as an owner-occupant of job-critical infrastructure: the training center is not just a cost center but a facility that produces the skilled labor pipeline sustaining the very contractors whose contributions fund the plan. The union hall anchors the plan's real assets while the apprenticeship pipeline secures the demographic health of the contributing base — a closed-loop structure rarely visible in corporate or public pension design.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
2000
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Cedar Rapids
Corporate office
Cedar Rapids, IA, United States
Additional offices
Waterloo, IA · Dubuque, IA · West Burlington, IA
Principals
Shelley Vandraska
Plan Administrator
Chip Davis
Apprenticeship Training Director
Bill Gerhard
Retired Business Manager
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs the day-to-day administration of the UA Local 125 plan?
Shelley Vandraska serves as the plan administrator for the UA Local 125 Retirement Savings Plan. She concurrently administers the UA Local 125 Health & Welfare Fund. The plan operates under the governance of the Local's board of trustees, a structure standard across Taft-Hartley multiemployer plans, with equal representation from union and contributing-employer appointees.
How is the UA Local 125 plan related to the international union?
Local 125 is a chartered chapter of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry — the UA International — which represents roughly 366,000 members across North America. The UA Local 125 plan participates in the International's broader training and labor-standards framework, including the United Association Scholarship Trust Fund. The International provides curriculum and certification standards for the apprentice training program run locally by Chip Davis at the UA Local 125 Training Center.
What sectors does the UA Local 125 plan invest in?
The plan's investment strategy includes buyout, venture capital across early-stage through late-stage, mezzanine, and secondaries mandates — a diversified private-markets mix typical of labor pension plans seeking long-duration returns. Sector exposure is not publicly detailed, but the plan's own balance sheet tilts toward industrials and real estate infrastructure. It directly owns the Local's Cedar Rapids union hall and training center, plus satellite offices in Waterloo, Dubuque, and West Burlington — all classified as commercial real assets.
Does the UA Local 125 plan accept fund commitments from outside participants?
No. As a Taft-Hartley multiemployer defined-contribution plan, participation is limited to members of UA Local 125 and contributing employers bound by collective bargaining agreements. The plan was established in 2000 to provide retirement, disability, and death benefits exclusively to covered plumbers, pipefitters, and service technicians within the Local's geographic jurisdiction. There is no public evidence the plan operates as a pooled fund open to external investors.
What is the plan's link to the Mechanical Contractors Association of Iowa?
The Mechanical Contractors Association of Iowa serves as the employer-side bargaining partner for Local 125 and other UA chapters in the state. MCAI negotiates the collective bargaining agreements that set wage and contribution rates, and co-sponsors the joint labor-management trust that governs the plan alongside the union. The relationship ensures a steady flow of employer contributions into the plan tied to every hour worked by covered employees under MCAI agreements.
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