Along with underfunded corporate and public pensions, many union pensions are massively in the red. For employers who have union workers who participate in these types of multi-employer pension plans, the growing liability involved with withdrawing from pension funds presents a serious issue.
According to the Financial Times, the current shortfall in multi-employer pension plans is $369 billion. Union funds have been hammered by unwise investments and overly generous benefits, which has created significant shortfalls in the amount of money that many pension funds have versus the amounts they have promised their members.