For the past 30 years, engineer John Olafson has been in charge of fixing water heaters, repairing electrical systems and maintaining any other nonmedical equipment at what is now Swedish/Ballard.

Swedish has been very good to him, and he said he wants to stay there until he retires. But, a disagreement with the engineers' union, which he is not a member of, over a pension plan he doesn't want is putting a dark cloud over the job he has enjoyed doing for three decades.

"I'm forced into a Central Pension Fund I don't want anything to do with," Olafson said. "I feel like I'm not being heard by the union I'm represented by but not a member of."

In 1982, the engineers at Ballard Community Hospital severed relationships with their union, Local 286. Olafson said Ballard Community Hospital took good care of the engineers until 1992 when it merged with Swedish, which is represented by Local 286.

"Not too many of us wanted anything to do with that union," Olafson said.

He said fear for his job led him to try to join Local 286. The union said he could join if he could convince a majority of his coworkers to join, he said.

Olafson said he didn't like the feeling of being used and dropped his attempt to join.

Since then, member of Local 286 voted to become part of a Central Pension Fund.

David Maxwell, business manager for Local 286, said the union members voted to join the Central Pension Fund because they see the value in it with social security going belly up and the government and big business trying to get rid of retirement plans other than 401(k)s.

Despite not being a dues-paying member of Local 286, and therefore not getting a vote in any union matters, Olafson is still subject to its labor agreements under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Olafson said the first he heard about his new pension plan was when he got a paycheck that withheld $150 for "CP Fund." He said he had to ask what that was.

He said he would have preferred that Local 286 notify him before the amount was taken out of his paycheck or let him opt out of the plan.

The amount Olafson pays into the Central Pension Fund from each paycheck has since gone up to $250.

"Five-hundred dollars out of my pocket is grocery money," he said. "They are taking food out of my kids' mouths as far as I'm concerned."

Olafson said before April 2009 he got 3 percent of every dollar he put into the Central Pension Fund every month until he dies. Since April 2009, that has gone down to 1 percent due to the recession.

He said he would have to collect pension for 100 months after he retires to get a complete return on his money. With his personal and family health histories, he said he is not sure he will be alive to collect for that long.

Olafson said the union is voting for a 75-cent-per-hour increase in Central Pension Fund withholdings, which is increasing his animosity.

Maxwell said the vast majority of union members are satisfied with the pension plan. It gives them a 12 percent return per year, he said.

"Can you find anything that's going to guarantee you a 12 percent return on your money?" he said. "Right now, that's pretty good."

In addition, the Central Pension Fund is a national plan, which means union members can take a new job anywhere in the country and keep the same plan, Maxwell said.

Olafson, who has worked in the same facility since 1980, said the plan won't help him.

"I don't see the benefit of being involved in this kind of Central Pension Fund," he said. "I'm not going anywhere."

Olafson said he would prefer a defined contribution plan, where he would still own the principal that he puts in, instead of the current defined benefit plan, where his money is combined into a national pool of funds that is at the union's discretion.

Olafson said Maxwell's description of the Central Pension Fund's benefits is disingenuous because they describe a defined contribution plan not a defined benefit plan.

Of the nine engineers employed at Swedish/Ballard, at least four are worried about the current pension plan, Olafson said.

He said he was told in a roundabout way that Swedish Medical Center would not touch the issue. He said be believes Swedish can pull out of the plan if it becomes less than 102 percent funded, but only if union members vote to do so.

Olafson said the whole situation has left him frustrated and without recourse.

Maxwell said union members can always vote down the Central Pension Fund if they decide they no longer want it.

He said he wishes he could make individual exceptions for the pension plan for individuals facing personal hardships, but he can't because of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

"I'm not going to break the law for anyone," he said.