Thomas Shortman Training Scholarship and Safety Fund

“The executive committee of the thomas shortman training, scholarship, and safety fund shall consist of two trustees of the fund. The committee is delegated full authority to act on such matters as it shall determine to require action between meetings of the board of trustees, except for amendments to the trust agreement and any matters which require unanimous action by the board of trustees.”

“Trustees manny pastreich, larry englestein, lenore friedlaender, john santos, elizabeth baker, shirley aldebol, denis johnston, candis tolliver, and roxana rivera have a business relationship through service employees international union local 32bj. Trustees howard i. Rothschild, jeffrey brodsky, brooke jenkins-lewis, john c. Santora, fred ward, fred surace, robert schwartz, and harry weinberg have a business relationship through realty advisory board on labor relations, inc.”

“If a union trustee vacancy arises, the fund's trust agreement provides that service employees international union local 32bj has the power to appoint a successor union trustee for the fund. If an employer trustee vacancy arises, the fund's trust agreement provides that the realty advisory board on labor relations, inc. (rab) has the power to appoint a successor employer trustee for the fund.”

“The form 990 is reviewed by the fund's accounting department. The final form 990 is then provided to the board of trustees for their review and approval prior to filing the return.”

“The fund is subject to the requirements of the employee retirement income security act of 1974, as amended ("erisa") and the fiduciary standards of erisa, including the prohibited transactions provisions, which constitutes the fund's conflict of interest policy. The board of trustees monitors and enforces compliance with those provisions as required by erisa along with the assistance of the fund's professionals. In addition, the fund has an established code of ethical conduct policy, which includes a conflict of interest policy.”

“The fund retained an independent consultant that conducted searches on a local and national level for similar jobs and determined reasonableness of the fund's compensation based on the benefits the fund provides and other internal factors. The consultant also built a salary structure foundation for the fund and that structure is reviewed annually and adjusted when appropriate. In addition, the director of human resources subscribes to an online compensation survey that is used as a tool in reviewing the fund's compensation for comparability purposes against the current job market.”

“The fund makes its governing documents, policies, and financial statements available to participants, beneficiaries, the sponsoring union, and contributing employers as required by erisa.”

“The fund provides training, scholarship and safety programs to eligible participants employed in the building services industry who are covered under collective bargaining agreements or participation agreements. The fund is aimed at upgrading and improving industry skills, providing training and classes to improve computer and academic skills, providing scholarships for eligible participants and their dependents, and providing safety programs assisting participants in preventing injury or illness on the job.”