The Levi Allen Pension Update Rally was held to go over current actions and future plans for their pension fund. Currently, the United Mine Workers of America’s Pension Fund program is suffering from a drastic loss due to the great recession. They say that small communities are just as dependent on miner’s pension check as the miners themselves, and if this fails, towns like Evansville will certainly take a hit. The UMWA has described their current situation, as a crisis. They also continue to worry that their pension fund could be nonsolvent in about four years.

Senator Joe Donnelly spoke at today’s event along with Levi Allen. The Senator says ‘These miners worked their whole lives to keep our country moving forward to keep our economy growing and we made a promise that we make sure these pensions were set and so my job is to make sure that promise is kept.” The UMWA stresses that if their pension fund fails, other unions like The Teamsters and The Bakery Union will follow in their footsteps.

The committee will continue to hear suggestions until September 18th and are required by statute to make a recommendation by the end of November.