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WASHINGTON – The Pension Rights Center is pleased to announce that Robert Roach, Jr., former General Secretary-Treasurer of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) has joined the Center’s board of directors. Roach joins a prestigious roster of academic, legal, and policy experts in guiding the nation’s leading consumer organization on retirement income issues.
“On behalf of the Center, we are delighted that Robert has agreed to serve as a member of the board,” said Board Chair Nancy Altman. “His 40 years of expertise and dedication to protecting and strengthening the retirement security of America’s working families will be invaluable to helping the Center achieve its mission.”
Roach’s career with IAM began in 1975, as a ramp serviceman with TWA. Over the next four decades years, he rose through the ranks to become chief financial officer for the union, retiring on July 31. Roach has also served as a member of the Executive Committee of the AFL‐CIO’s Transportation Trades Department, an Executive Board member of the AFL‐CIO’s Maritime Trades Department, and a trustee to the IAM National Pension Fund. He has testified before Congress on aviation matters, including aircraft maintenance oversight, aviation safety and security, bankruptcy reform, employee pensions, industry consolidation and the state of the airline industry.
Most recently Roach spoke in support of the Keep Our Pension Promises Act of 2015 at a press conference organized by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), primary sponsors of the bill. He holds a B.S. in Labor and Management Relations from SUNY Empire State College’s Harry Van Arsdale Jr. Center for Labor Studies and is a graduate of the Labor Liberal Arts Program at Cornell University.
Founded in 1976, the Pension Rights Center protects and promotes the retirement security of American workers, retirees, and their families. The Center works to ensure that the consumer’s perspective is represented in the nation’s pension laws and regulations, and it helps thousands of people obtain wrongfully-denied pensions. The Center also publishes factsheets and guides that explain complex issues related to retirement income, and it serves as an indispensable resource for the media.
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