This week Reps. Rick Larsen (WA-02) and Ron Estes (KS-04) introduced The Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection Act of 2020. The bipartisan legislation helps prevent aerospace supply chain furloughs due to the COVID-19 pandemic by establishing a temporary relief program to help vulnerable companies. The bill would provide up to a 50 percent cost-share of pay and benefits for hundreds of thousands of employees at risk of being furloughed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
“We applaud Reps. Larsen and Estes for introducing this innovative payroll support legislation,” said International President Robert Martinez Jr. “Saving this critical industry and the livelihoods of the men and women who have made the aerospace sector thrive for generations is our top legislative priority. The federal funding authorized by this bill will be used for the sole purpose of keeping working families on the job and off of unemployment. As the largest aerospace and defense union in America, we proudly endorse this much-needed legislation and hope it is passed swiftly with bipartisan support.”
Reps. Roger Marshall (KS-01), Tom Cole (OK-04), Gerry Connolly (VA-11), Sharice Davids (KS-03), Kim Schrier (WA-08) and Salud Carbajal (CA-24) signed on as original cosponsors of the bill.
The value of union membership is evident to IAM District 751 member Bill Troh after being returned to the job following an unjust termination from Republic Services in Goldendale, WA. In addition to being reinstated with full back pay and benefits for the time he missed, the 28-year employee’s settlement agreement ensured he was allowed to take his previously scheduled vacations.
As a long-time union member, Troh knew to ask for a Union Steward when he suddenly was facing unjust discipline for the first time in his long career. Rather than issuing progressive discipline for not wearing personal protective equipment and another allegation, the company used the tactic of piling on, and issued a verbal warning, written warning and termination.
“I appreciate having the union as my advocate to ensure this decision was reversed,” said Troh. “Without our Union, I would have had no way to even question management’s decision, much less get it overturned. Our union contract provided an avenue to right this injustice and gave me support during this stressful time.”
“It was Brother Bill Troh’s quick thinking that saved his job,” said General Vice President Gary R. Allen. “Calling a steward immediately was precisely the right thing to do. This is a prime example of fine IAM representation in action for membership, to win justice on the job.”
“This clearly was unjust discipline and the seven tests of just cause were not followed. We brought the situation to upper management and after reviewing the facts, they agreed to reinstate Bill with full back pay,” said Chris Powers, District 751 Staff Assistant who worked the case with assistance from District 751 Staff Attorney Spencer Thal and Grievance Coordinator Dan Swank.
This case reinforces that one of the most valuable benefits of union representation, members are longer “at-will employees.” Companies must follow the language and the process agreed upon in the contract.
Eighty-five years ago tomorrow, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, establishing a permanent fund that has provided old age retirement benefits and disability benefits for Americans for generations. The Social Security Act was part of a series of programs and reforms enacted to help pull the U.S. out of the Great Depression.
According to the Social Security Administration, around 65 million Americans will receive over $1 trillion in Social Security benefits in 2020. One of the executive orders signed last week defers FICA contributions, which funds Social Security. This greatly jeopardizes the future of the program.
“The executive order which defers Social Security contributions until after the elections is just the beginning,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “Make no mistake, this is a full-on declaration of war against the current and future Social Security beneficiaries. We must ensure the most vulnerable in our society are protected for the next 85 years and beyond.”
Please join the IAM in wishing Social Security a happy birthday tomorrow on social media using the hashtags #SocSec85 and #ExpandSocialSecurity.
August 13 marks the date that Black women have to work into 2020 to finally catch up to what white, non-Hispanic men earned in 2019. The day helps to raise awareness about the wage gap for Black women and its impact on them and their families. The goal is equal pay for equal work. Black women can’t achieve gender equity without racial equity. “To know that just because of the color of your skin or your gender that you would be paid less than the person working next to you, how could you feel whole or complete?” said Renee Killings of IAM Local 2003.
“Thank God for union contracts,” Diane Campbell of IAM Local 778 said. “The union has been a blessing because it’s somebody to fight for you where you may not have that voice or you may not have that soap box to speak on, so I have the union fighting for me.” She said the union has moved the playing field for her and paved the way for others.
On Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, everyone must work together to dismantle barriers and systems of oppression holding women of color back: occupational segregation, low pay, health inequities, racial gaps in education, & more. The A. Philip Randolph (APRI) Institute and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) are two AFL-CIO constituency groups that fight for racial and economic justice.
A statement from IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr.:
Kamala Harris is a great choice for America’s working families. She is a fighter who has stood arm and arm with the IAM for COVID aid for airline, aerospace and manufacturing workers, labor rights and prevention of plant closings. Harris was one of the ten Senators who stood with the Machinists Union and voted against Trump’s NAFTA 2.0. The membership of the IAM, in a democratic vote, chose to endorse Joe Biden for President, and the Biden-Harris ticket’s plan to Build Back Better will renew the manufacturing power of the American worker.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is among the largest industrial trade unions in North America and represents nearly 600,000 active and retired members in the manufacturing, aerospace, defense, airlines, transportation, shipbuilding, woodworking, health care, and other industries. For more information, visit goIAM.org.
The value of union membership is evident to IAM District 751 member Bill Troh after being returned to the job following an unjust termination from Republic Services in Goldendale, WA. In addition to being reinstated with full back pay and benefits for the time he missed, the 28-year employee’s settlement agreement ensured he was allowed to take his previously scheduled vacations.