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Washington State Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry Pension Plan
The Washington State Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry Pension Plan operates as a multiemployer defined-benefit plan under the Taft-Hartley Act, governed by a...
Washington State Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry Pension Plan
The Washington State Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry Pension Plan operates as a multiemployer defined-benefit plan under the Taft-Hartley Act, governed by a Board of Trustees split evenly between labor representatives from UA Locals 32 and 598 and management representatives from the Mechanical Contractors Association of Western Washington (MCAWW). The plan provides retirement security to participants whose employers contribute pursuant to collective bargaining agreements across the plumbing and pipefitting industry in Washington state. The fund's investment strategy reflects a conventional institutional pension allocation, though granular portfolio composition is not publicly disclosed. Public record indicates the plan holds direct commercial real estate assets, notably through Selig Real Estate Holdings Eight, L.L.C., a Seattle-based property entity. The plan also maintains a Sustainable Income Plan (SIP) Reserve, suggesting a dedicated pool for income-producing assets or a tiered benefit structure. No public equity, fixed-income, or alternative asset mandates are documented. Ed Kommers serves as Secretary of the Board, representing the MCAWW employer trustees, while Jeffery J. Owen leads the labor trustees in his capacity as Chairman and Business Manager of UA Local 32. The fund's administrative footprint is managed through the MCAWW office in Seattle — the domain mcaww.net serves as the plan's public-facing portal — consistent with the lean staffing model typical of building-trades pension plans where operational services are bundled through the participating contractor association. No separate investment office or dedicated CIO role is disclosed. As a jointly trusteed Taft-Hartley plan, the pension fund operates under a fiduciary structure distinct from single-employer corporate pensions. Board composition is mandated by the Labor Management Relations Act, requiring equal representation of labor and management trustees who are personally liable for investment decisions. This governance architecture, combined with the plan's relationship to two distinct UA locals covering different geographic and trade jurisdictions within Washington, creates a structural discipline around asset allocation and manager selection that reflects the negotiated interests of both the contributing employers and the union membership receiving benefits.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Seattle
Corporate office
Seattle, WA, United States
Principals
Jeffery J. Owen
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Ed Kommers
Secretary of the Board of Trustees
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at the Washington State Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry Pension Plan?
A Board of Trustees holds full fiduciary authority over the plan's investments, with equal representation from labor and employer trustees. Jeffery J. Owen, Business Manager of UA Local 32, serves as Chairman; Ed Kommers represents the Mechanical Contractors Association of Western Washington as Secretary. The plan does not publicly identify a dedicated Chief Investment Officer or external investment consultant, though many Taft-Hartley plans of this profile delegate day-to-day investment management to institutional consultants or OCIO providers.
Is the plan's asset allocation or AUM publicly available?
No. The plan does not publicly disclose its total assets under management, asset allocation targets, or investment policy statement. Multiemployer pension plans in the building trades vary widely in size, and without a public annual report or Form 5500 readily surfaced, the fund's total portfolio remains undisclosed. Public record confirms at least one direct real estate holding through Selig Real Estate Holdings Eight, L.L.C.
What is the relationship between the pension plan and UA Local 32?
UA Local 32 — the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 32 — is a primary participating labor organization whose members accrue benefits under the plan. The Local's Business Manager, Jeffery J. Owen, chairs the plan's Board of Trustees. The plan is a separate legal entity from the union; contributions are made by signatory employers under collective bargaining agreements, and assets are held in trust exclusively for participant benefits.
Does the plan co-invest alongside other Taft-Hartley plans or pension funds?
No publicly available information indicates a co-investment program or club-style investing arrangement with other multiemployer plans. The real estate holding through Selig Real Estate Holdings Eight, L.L.C. suggests direct property ownership, but whether this is a sole holding or part of a commingled vehicle is not disclosed.
How can I verify the plan's fiduciary standing or funded status?
As an ERISA-covered defined-benefit plan, the Washington State Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry Pension Plan files Form 5500 annually with the Department of Labor. Those filings contain funded-status ratios, actuarial assumptions, and asset values. They are publicly available through the DOL's EFAST filing system, though they require specific plan identifiers to retrieve. The plan's funded status and any critical or endangered status designations under the Pension Protection Act would be reflected in those filings and in annual funding notices sent to participants.
Are there related plans or benefits structures alongside the pension plan?
The plan's website references a Sustainable Income Plan (SIP) Reserve within Washington state. This likely represents a separate defined-benefit or annuity component, a common feature in multiemployer plans where a core pension is supplemented by a variable or defined-contribution style arrangement. The exact structure of the SIP and its relationship to the main pension trust is not detailed in publicly surfacing documentation.
Which employers contribute to the plan?
Contributing employers are signatory to collective bargaining agreements with UA Locals 32 and 598 and are typically members of the Mechanical Contractors Association of Western Washington. A full list is not publicly posted, but the contributing employer base consists of union plumbing and pipefitting contractors operating in Washington state, including mechanical, HVAC, and fire suppression firms that perform work under UA-negotiated agreements.
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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