Jeff Stein is General Counsel to Taft-Hartley Funds and related organizations serving over 400,000 members of 1199SEIU. The Funds, which are self insured and self administered, include 3 multiemployer defined benefit pension funds, with over $10 billion in assets. The welfare funds are responsible for providing close to $2 billion dollars annually in hospital, medical and other welfare benefits. 

The 1199 Training and Employment Funds (“TEF”) consist of training/education funds and job security (lay off benefit) funds, as well as Labor Management Cooperation Act organizations, to provide research, planning and facilitation to the Union and employers. One purpose of TEF is to address economic changes in the health care industry by creating innovative educational programs for participants at risk of layoff, facilitating job restructuring to avoid layoffs to the extent possible, and assisting participants who are laid off to obtain additional education, access to available vacancies, supplemental financial benefits and continuation of health coverage during layoff. 

In addition, two funds provide child care benefits to participants, and a subsidiary corporation provides child care programs.

Prior to his employment as General Counsel to these funds, Jeff was an associate at a union-side law firm in New York City, Levy Ratner (formerly Levy Pollack Ratner & Behroozi and before that Eisner Levy Pollack & Ratner). Before that, he was on the faculty at New York University School of Law and spent six years at the Legal Aid Society of New York.

Jeff has spoken frequently concerning employee benefits. In 2013, he was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. Recently, he was appointed by the United States Secretary of Labor as a member of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (ERISA Advisory Council) for a three year term ending December 31, 2017.