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Have a question? +1 815-826-6324 (815-8-BondAI) phil@AmericasSuretyBonds.com
Army Veteran Owned | Expert Surety Bonds Since 2004
A fringe benefit bond lets a Port of Baltimore cargo or stevedoring employer back what it owes the STA and ILA benefit funds with a surety company instead of tying up cash. The fund trustees get a solvent party to collect from if contributions are missed, and the company keeps its working capital for the waterfront.
The Steamship Trade Association of Baltimore is the association of cargo and stevedoring businesses at the Port of Baltimore that bargains with the International Longshoremen's Association. Its labor agreements created four jointly trusteed benefit funds, and employers that contribute to them can be required to post a fringe benefit bond guaranteeing those contributions. It is a private bond, not a Maryland license bond. Get the amount, the exact obligee wording and any bond form from the STA or the fund office before the bond is issued.
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Employers new to the port often treat the Steamship Trade Association of Baltimore and the benefit funds as one thing. They are separate. The STA is, in the words of the Fourth Circuit, an association of businesses involved with the transport of cargo into and out of the Port of Baltimore. A 1974 federal decision described it as representing stevedoring companies in the port and bargaining collectively with the ILA locals for its members.
The benefits themselves sit in four trusts created under those labor agreements: the Pension Fund, the Benefits Trust Fund, the Severance and Annuity Fund, and the Vacation and Holiday Fund. Each has an equal number of union trustees and management trustees. That is why a fringe benefit bond here may need to name the trustees of one or more of these funds, the STA, or both. Get the exact obligee wording in writing.
In Krueger v. Angelos, decided by the Fourth Circuit in 2022, the trust agreements defined Employer as the STA or an Employer-Member or former Employer-Member of the STA. Former membership is written into the definition. A company that drops out of the association should not assume its relationship with the funds ended the same day.
Federal law at 29 U.S.C. 1145 requires every employer obligated to contribute to a multiemployer plan under a collectively bargained agreement to make those contributions on the terms of the plan or agreement. The fringe benefit bond puts a surety behind that promise so the funds have someone solvent to collect from.
The 1974 decision in Wilburn v. Steamship Trade Association of Baltimore explained that the pension plan was originally funded only by employer contributions based on total man hours worked, and that sugar and container royalties were later added. Current rates and reporting rules come from the agreement in force today, so check with the fund office.
The contributing employer posts the bond. The amount is set by the STA, the agreement or the fund office. Get the figure in writing before you apply.
The surety looks at the owners' credit, the company's financial statements, how long it has operated at the port and its record of reporting and paying contributions on time.
It depends on what the STA or fund office asks for. The STA is the employer association. The benefits are held in four separate trusts with equal union and management trustees. The bond may need to name the STA, the trustees of one or more funds, or both. Get the wording in writing before the bond is issued.
The Fourth Circuit in Krueger v. Angelos (2022) listed four trusts created under the STA and ILA labor agreements: the Pension Fund, the Benefits Trust Fund, the Severance and Annuity Fund, and the Vacation and Holiday Fund.
Possibly. The trust agreements discussed in Krueger v. Angelos defined Employer to include a former Employer-Member of the STA. Talk to the fund office before you cancel a bond or stop reporting.
No. It is a private bond given under the port's labor agreements. No Maryland agency issues or holds it. Deliver the original wherever the STA or fund office directs.
No. You and the owners sign an indemnity agreement, and the surety will seek repayment of anything it pays to the funds, plus its costs.
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