Article 14. Amendment, Termination and General Provisions

Section 14.01 Amendment

  This Plan may be amended at any time by the Trustees, consistent with the provisions of the Trust Agreement.  However, no amendment shall be effective if it is deemed to decrease the accrued benefit of any Participant, except:

(a)               as necessary to establish or maintain the qualification of the Plan or the Trust Fund under the Code and to maintain compliance of the Plan with the requirements of ERISA to the extent permitted by the Internal Revenue Service, or

(b)               if the amendment meets the requirements of Section 302(c)(8) of ERISA and Section 412(c)(8) of the Code, and the Secretary of Labor has been notified of such amendment and has either approved it or, within 90 days after the date on which such notice was filed, the Secretary fails to disapprove.

Section 14.02 Non-Reversion

  In no event shall any of the corpus or assets of the Fund revert to the Employers or be subject to any claims of any kind or nature by the Employers, except for the return of erroneous contributions within the time limits prescribed by law and to the extent such return is approved by the Trustees.  Nothing in this provision shall be construed to create an obligation on the part of the Fund, or right on the part of the Employer, to the return of erroneous contributions.

Section 14.03 Limitation of Liability

  The Plan has been established on the basis of an actuarial calculation which has established, to the extent possible, that the contributions will, if continued, be sufficient to maintain the Plan on a permanent basis, fulfilling the funding requirements of ERISA.  Except for liabilities which may result from provisions of ERISA and the Code, nothing in this Plan shall be construed to impose any obligation beyond the obligation of the Employer to make contributions as stipulated in its Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Union.

  There shall be no liability upon the Trustees individually, or collectively, or upon the Union to provide the benefits established by this Plan, if the Fund lacks the assets to make such payments.

Section 14.04 Administrative Interpretations

The Trustees may adopt such administrative interpretations of this Plan as they consider necessary to carry out the intent and purpose of the Plan, and provide for effective administration thereof.

Section 14.05 Termination

(a)               Right to Terminate – The Trustees are empowered to discontinue or terminate this Plan in whole or in part.  The rights of all affected Participants to benefits accrued to the date of termination, partial termination, or discontinuance, to the extent funded as of such date shall be nonforfeitable.

(b)               Allocation – In the event of termination, the assets then remaining in the Plan after providing for any administrative expenses, shall be allocated among the Pensioners, Beneficiaries, and Participants in accordance with the provisions of ERISA and related regulations.