Negotiating committee members from IAM Local 2439, along with District 98 Directing Business Representative Bob Miller, completed an online negotiating prep program prior to entering contract talks with TCC Pennwest Homes LLC. The week-long class included training in drafting contract language, presenting proposals, analyzing the company’s strength and weaknesses and identifying a broad array of potential tactics.
“In these ever-evolving times we all need to be prepared for different and creative forms of collective bargaining,” said District 98 DBR Bob Miller. “We were all impressed with how smoothly the online training was conducted, and we did not have any problems accessing the training during the week. I would like to thank International President Robert Martinez Jr. and the IAM Executive Council for their continued support of this program and also the staff, instructors and technical staff at W-3 for putting together this virtual training.”
“In these crazy times it was great to be able to take this class online,” said negotiating committee member Chris Bradybaugh. “Taking this program was almost like being at the Winpisinger Center.”
Since July of last year, the IAM’s negotiations preparation programs have been conducted online. Since the pandemic started, the need for education is greater than ever before, so IAM staff at the Winpisinger Center have adapted the way they are providing education to membership by moving programming online.
The IAM is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of retired IAM General Secretary-Treasurer Don Wharton. Brother Wharton was a 65-year lifetime member who joined the Machinists Union at the age of 17. A true unionist to his core, Wharton served the IAM in nearly every capacity, even after his retirement in 2003.
Wharton was an integral part of the IAM for decades and helped guide the union through very difficult times. He was the General Secretary-Treasurer during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack and helped navigate the devastating economic collapse that followed. Regardless of the task at hand, Wharton always tackled it with grace, knowledge and razor sharp wit.
“The IAM has lost a great union brother, friend, leader and trade unionist,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “Don was a giant in the labor movement who dedicated his entire life to fighting for working families, even in his retirement. On behalf of the Executive Council and the entire Machinists Union, I send our condolences to his wife, Gay, their children and the rest of the Wharton family.”
Wharton initiated into Local 1405 and held virtually every local IAM union office from shop steward to local lodge president. By 1962, his leadership was obvious and he was elected Business Representative for IAM District 59 in Marion, OH. He was hired as a Grand Lodge Special Representative in 1968 and served in many capacities including: Administrative Assistant, Organizing Control Room Director, Director of Placid Harbor, Executive Assistant, General Vice President and General Secretary-Treasurer.
The hard work of IAM members from the Southern Territory, Transportation Department and Grand Lodge, who volunteered their time over the past months, has paid off with historic wins for pro-worker candidates, Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, in the Georgia U.S. Senate runoffs. The victories will shift the balance of power in the Senate.
“I would like to thank all Machinists Union members who sacrificed their time by mobilizing for months to ensure the futures of all working people,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “The results in Georgia make the passing of the PRO Act, pension reform and real COVID relief that all families desperately need and deserve more attainable. The hard work to deliver on these promises to heal our country begins now.”
IAM members contacted thousands of Georgia Machinists via member-to- member phone calls, robocalls, local mailers, door hangers, text messages and emails. TCU/IAM and NFFE-IAM Federal District 1 members also volunteered.
Click here to watch how IAM members in Georgia and from across the country voluntarily campaigned for two pro-labor candidates in Georgia.
The two Senate races went to a runoff because no candidate won more than 50% of the vote on Nov. 3. Their wins will shift the balance of power in the Senate and will facilitate how President-elect Joe Biden can enact his legislation priorities.
During their campaigns, Ossoff and Warnock emphasized affordable health care, workplace safety, labor rights, infrastructure investment, paid family leave and more.
Join fellow Machinists, other union members and activists for the 2021 AFL-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference January 15-16, 2021. Register for the conference today.
With the inspiration of progress made in 2020, the theme for the 2021 Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference is “From Protest to Power: When We Fight, We Win.”
On Jan. 15 and 16, activists will gather virtually to build on victories and strategize about the continued fight for economic and racial justice with—and also within—the labor movement.
“We are honored to carry on the legacy of Dr. King by continuing his fight to dismantle systems of economic and racial inequality and improve the lives and livelihoods of working people and their families—a monumental task, but one that we can help achieve with the strength and solidarity of our Union,” said IAM Director of Women’s and Human Rights Carla Siegal.
The conference will be free of charge, and all sessions and trainings will be held online so that everyone can attend safely. Register today.
