Note 11 - Pension Plans

12 Months Ended

Apr. 29, 2023

Notes to Financial Statements

Retirement Benefits [Text Block]

11. PENSION PLANS

The Company contributes to certain pension plans under collective bargaining agreements and to a discretionary profit sharing plan. Annual contributions (including contributions to multi-employer plans reflected below) were $3.8 million for Fiscal 2023, $4.0 million for Fiscal 2022 and $3.7 million for Fiscal 2021.

The Company participates in three multi-employer defined benefit pension plans with respect to certain collective bargaining agreements. If the Company chooses to stop participating in the multi-employer plan or if other employers choose to withdraw to the extent that a mass withdrawal occurs, the Company could be required to pay the plan a withdrawal liability based on the underfunded status of the plan.

Summarized below is certain information regarding the Company’s participation in significant multi-employer pension plans including the financial improvement plan or rehabilitation plan status (“FIP/RP Status”) and the zone status under the Pension Protection Act (“PPA”). The most recent PPA zone status available in Fiscal 2023 and Fiscal 2022 is for the plans’ years ending December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

	PPA Zone Status
Pension Fund	Fiscal 2023	Fiscal 2022	FIP/RP Status	Surcharge Imposed
Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Plan (EIN no. 36-6044243) (the “CSSS Fund”)	Red	Red	Implemented	Yes
Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust Fund (EIN no. 91-6145047) (the “WCT Fund”)	Green	Green	Not applicable	No

For the plan years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Company was not listed in the Form 5500 Annual Returns as providing more than 5% of the total contributions for the above plans. The collective bargaining agreements for employees in the CSSS Fund and the WCT Fund expire on October 18, 2026 and May 14, 2024, respectively.

The Company’s contributions for all multi-employer pension plans for the last three fiscal years are as follow:

	(In thousands)
	Fiscal		Fiscal		Fiscal
Pension Fund	2023		2022		2021
CSSS Fund	$	1,601	$	1,462	$	1,469
WCT Fund		768		817		746
Other multi-employer pension funds		197		181		166
Total	$	2,566	$	2,460	$	2,381