Client Service January 25, 2021

Advisers Giving Back: Gallagher and the Special Olympics

Special Olympics CEO Mary Davis says the longstanding support her organization receives from Gallagher has made a direct and lasting difference in communities across the U.S. and the world.
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Art by Celia Jacobs


Though he doesn’t know offhand exactly when the partnership started, if he had to place a bet, Chris Mead would say at least one Gallagher office has always maintained a partnership with the Special Olympics since it was founded in 1968.

“It’s likely that we were engaged with them from the very beginning. I’m sure of that, really,” Mead, chief marketing officer at Gallagher, tells PLANADVISER. “Gallagher is a Chicago-based company, and we’ve always been engaged in our community, and, as part of that, we have made it central to our mission to give back. We’ve been engaged in different capacities with the Special Olympics for a long time.”

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In this sense, Gallagher’s story closely resembles many of those told as part of the Advisers Giving Back profile series. Though not universally true, many of the profiled firms say giving back has always been a part of their DNA—perhaps because of the vision of a founder or because the ongoing success of the business itself inspired philanthropic activities. That said, it was nearly two years ago that Gallagher’s leadership came together and decided to expand and formalize the Special Olympics partnership after seeing how meaningful the relationships had become on an office-by-office basis.

“I had the pleasure of flying out and getting to meet Mary at that time, and we sat down with her team and we all broke bread together,” Mead recalls. “To me, it was plain to see that we could do something more coordinated and even more meaningful with the team at Special Olympics.”

 Mary Davis, chief executive officer of the Special Olympics, also fondly recalls the meeting.

“Gallagher has been a truly fantastic partner,” Davis says. “We can’t speak highly enough about it and the impact it has had as a partner organization. As a firm, it has a stated commitment to excellence, empathy and respect. That’s what the Special Olympics is all about: helping people with intellectual disabilities face the future with confidence and the skills they need to express their talents and abilities.”

The meetings and discussions culminated in the launch last March of a four-year global partnership between Gallagher and the Special Olympics, with the stated goal of “improving and delivering the highest quality of coach training and sports experiences that empower Special Olympics athletes with and without intellectual disabilities to face their future with confidence.”

As Davis and Mead explain, in addition to serving the athletes themselves, the Special Olympics provides coaching and mentorship training to family and community members who want to support those with intellectual disabilities. Much of Gallagher’s giving has been focused on these themes.

Davis adds that it is hard to overstate the importance of securing a four-year partnership organized on such a clearly stated goal—especially with the challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in the cancellation or postponement of thousands of in-person Special Olympics events around the world. Many events have pivoted online, Davis says, but the short-term challenges are very real.

“From a stability and continuity perspective, getting partners as committed, innovative and enthusiastic as Gallagher is incredible,” Davis says. “We don’t want to give them up too easily as partners, let me say that. We work together very well and we have a tremendous amount of momentum going in this partnership. Something else I want to say about [Gallagher’s leaders] is that they really believe in the ability of their people and their teams—and in their communities and clients—to accomplish great things. That’s very important, too. This is a partnership that is grounded in a commitment to making society a better place, with a commitment to inclusion and respect.”

Mead and Davis emphasize the widespread impact the Special Olympics can have on a given community. Simply put, bringing sports to those with intellectual disabilities lifts everyone up, creating deeper community connections and a sense of collective empathy that improve the lives of everyone, not just the athletes.

“Years ago, when this organization started in 1968, those with intellectual disabilities were plagued by stigma and purposefully excluded from society,” Davis says. “Now, in some countries even today, that still exists. It’s a part of our mission to break down those barriers where they still exist, and with partners like Gallagher, we can make that happen. It’s been an amazing journey to see how people with intellectual disabilities have claimed their place in society and in communities. That’s really as a result of the power of sport and the Special Olympics.”

Mead says the staff at Gallagher has fully embraced this vision and is thrilled to be engaged in this long-term partnership.

“It is incredibly important to our people,” he says. “Look, we aren’t passive about this stuff, not at all. We are active. It’s part of our culture and it’s part of the Gallagher way—to be participatory. We’re seeing our employees embrace this activism and activation in a profound way. Even better, there is real learning happening within our culture right now, because of this expanding partnership.”

Mead and Davis say they are already looking forward to meeting in person again. They share the hope that, with a successful COVID-19 vaccination push this year, the national USA Games scheduled for June 2022 in Orlando, Florida, will go off without a hitch.

Data & Research January 22, 2021

Some Say Union Revival Could Address Retirement Insecurity

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the U.S. now has the fifth lowest trade union density of the 36 member nations of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
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Even the most cursory internet search will uncover an array of surveys and studies, conducted by all manner of stakeholders, underlining the substantial decline in U.S. union membership seen over the past several decades.  

As data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows, last year, 10.8% of workers in the United States reported being a union member, compared with 20.1% in 1983. That’s up 0.5 percentage point from 2019’s numbers, but still far lower than in the past. The data shows a strong regional concentration of union membership, as well, with more than half of all U.S. union members living in either California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio or Michigan.

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Perhaps the most informative data puts the U.S.’s union representation into global context. As of 2016, the U.S. had the fifth lowest trade union density of the 36 member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Responding to such statistics, the incoming Biden-Harris administration has pledged to address the precipitous decline in union membership, says Russell Kamp, managing director at Ryan ALM.

Kamp tells PLANADVISER he is firmly in the group that believes growing union membership to previous levels could go a long way toward solving some of the most vexing economic challenges facing Americans today, nearly a year into a deadly pandemic that has withered the global economy.

“Take just the example of stagnant wage growth,” Kamp says. “We haven’t had anyone effectively negotiating wages on behalf of enough workers, and so wages have remained essentially flat, despite the tremendous economic growth we have experienced. There is very little collective bargaining power in many of the industries that are the biggest engines of growth. I’m hopeful that federal actions to create stronger union representation can help to finally deliver the wage growth that we so badly need.”

To those skeptical about increasing the role and power of unions, Kamp says it is important to consider the alternative course of action—i.e., simply permitting the unchecked growth of economic inequality based on current market forces.

“The pandemic has revealed how many people in this country can’t make ends meet in the current system, even as they are working full time,” Kamp says. “It is unacceptable and it is a real policy issue. It is a measurable macroeconomic issue. If we do nothing to address income inequality, you will eventually see too few people demanding goods and services, because they are the only ones who can afford to do so. The whole economy just collapses.”

Kamp says he believes that strengthening unions will also naturally help to stabilize and improve the outlook for defined benefit (DB) pensions, both those sponsored by individual employers and those operated by multiemployer unions.

“As the unions themselves are saying, we need smart pension reform,” Kamp adds. “The previous reforms under MPRA [the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014], in my view, have ultimately harmed participants and beneficiaries. We have seen sizable reductions of promised benefits, and so, we need further reform that works in the interest of participants and beneficiaries. We need pensions, those operated by unions and individual employers, to be a healthy and stable retirement vehicle for a growing workforce.”

Kamp’s comments have been echoed in the past few weeks in various open letters and public comments made by union leaders. For example, the Teamsters are calling for the enactment of the Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act or the Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act. Both of these bills would create new protections for benefits that retirees have earned, while barring cuts to their pension benefits. Union leaders say it is also critical for Congress to pass corporate bankruptcy reform, and that the new administration should rescind other Department of Labor (DOL) rules and executive orders that threaten the health of multiemployer pension plans.

Though the Biden-Harris administration is yet in its early days, there are some signs that the pro-union sentiments voiced during the campaign will be backed up with concerted policy and legislative action. One preliminary but promising sign of this is the nomination of Marty Walsh as DOL secretary. He’s considered to be one of the most progressive members of the incoming cabinet. Besides winning election as the mayor of Boston for two terms, Walsh’s background also includes having joined the Laborers’ Union Local 223 at age 21, and eventually becoming president of the union. He also led the Boston Metropolitan District Building Trades Council.

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