UA Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 22 Pension Plan

UA Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 22 Pension Plan

The UA Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 22 Pension Plan operates as a multiemployer defined-benefit plan anchored in Western New York, governed by trustees representing both Local 22 and contributing union contractors. The fund was established to provide retirement security for the members of a Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee that runs a five-year classroom-and-field program out of West Seneca. Rich Evans, listed as Local 22 Business Manager, is the public-facing leadership link; the dedicated Funds Office on Gardenville Parkway handles day-to-day administration under staff including Steve Hoover. As a Taft-Hartley pension plan, the fund pools collectively bargained contributions from signatory plumbing and mechanical contractors across the Buffalo-Niagara region. Asset-class disclosure is not public, but typical allocations for plans of this type span domestic equities, fixed income, real estate, and alternatives — often accessed through institutional consultants. The plan's beneficiary base includes steamfitters, service technicians, and welders who maintain and build healthcare, manufacturing, and energy projects; the welding shop runs four evenings a week and Saturdays, suggesting sustained demand-determined contribution flows from employing contractors. Geographic coverage centers on Erie County and extends to contiguous Western New York counties where signatory labor agreements apply. The fund serves over 1,900 participants, making it a material institutional pool for regional emerging-manager mandates and small-to-mid-cap private real estate or infrastructure strategies (Altss estimate). The same Gardenville Parkway address hosts the union hall and the Joint Apprenticeship Committee, creating an unusual administrative density that links workforce development directly to retirement asset governance. No outward-facing investment team, dedicated CIO, or investment consultant is identifiable from the fund's current public footprint. Structurally, the plan's differentiation lies in its pure Taft-Hartley governance: trustee oversight is split evenly between union and contractor representatives, creating built-in conflict resolution that limits unilateral principal risk. The plan's retirement liabilities track a multi-generational, high-skill labor pool whose continuing training — including evening and Saturday welding instruction — directly influences the actuarial health of the fund. No separate philanthropic arm or adjacent foundation is visible, and the plan operates strictly as a single-employer-associated but multiemployer-structured pension trust.