In recent years, Upstate New York has been hit with economic uncertainty, a multitude of plant closures and the deadly Coronavirus pandemic. Despite obstacles IAM District 65 has persevered and is celebrating a big win after organizing migrant workers south of Rochester.
“This was about dignity and respect in the workplace,” said IAM District 65 Directing Business Representative Ron Warner. “It’s awesome.”
In late 2020, the District won an election to represent seasonal employees at Seneca Foods in the small farming community of Leicester, NY. It was a successful organizing campaign that required around the clock attention, unique cultural engagement and strong organizing skills under the cloud of COVID-19.
“Any shot in the arm we can get that keeps us going makes us feel good and keeps us fighting the fight out there,” said District 65 Business Representative and Organizer Rick Dahn. “It makes me want to go out there and do even more.”
The new collective bargaining unit, which has at least 190 employees, is 90% Puerto Rican. Each year many leave the island for at least six months and travel to Upstate New York. Some employees have done this for decades. Upon arrival, they process and can beets and carrots at a giant production plant owned by Seneca Foods. The operation is one of the company’s most profitable, with hundreds of tons of produce being processed on a daily basis.
These Machinists Union members keep the equipment and the facility at the Seneca processing plant running smooth. (From left to right) Chris Bell, Drew Reniff, Luis Diaz and Rafael Pena.
“They typically bring them up at the end of June. They usually start production after the 4th of July and they run through the end of November,” said Warner, who has climbed the ranks of the IAM since 1986. “They have been doing that constantly for about the last 10 years because of the yield and amount of product. It’s amazing to see truck loads and 18-wheelers full of vegetables.”
Thirty-seven-year-old Melissa Pena Cora, a migrant from Arroyo, Puerto Rico, is one of the seasonal employees who will now be represented by the IAM. She and her husband moved stateside about a decade ago. They currently reside near the plant and are raising two teenagers, ages 19 and 15. In her spare time she loves traveling and cooking tasty cultural cuisine.
“I like to cook rice, beans and pork,” said Pena Cora with a loud laugh. “I think every Puerto Rican likes rice, beans and pork.”
Pena Cora is the family’s breadwinner because her husband of 19 years is not working. She says she was attracted by the IAM’s reputation for bargaining lucrative contracts.
“When I heard about it I wanted it right away. The union protects the employees,” said Pena Cora. “I like it because we will have more benefits and everyone will be treated equally. I think we are going to see change. The union will push the company to do the right thing.”
Pena Cora talked to her husband, who’s a labor supporter, about joining the IAM. That discussion gave her confidence in the Machinists Union and she’s looking forward to becoming a member.
“I can’t wait to start working and see how things are going to go,” said Pena Cora. “I feel things will be better.”
The seasonal employees at the plant first contacted District 65 representatives in June 2020 after workers became frustrated by management’s poor treatment.
“You don’t talk down to them and you don’t yell at them,” says Warner.
The seasonal workers also say their status as at-will employees can easily result in lost wages and cut hours.
“If the company deems that they don’t need you that day, then you’ll just sit there and won’t get paid,” says Dahn, a 40-year IAM member. “These are terrible conditions.”
Some employees allege living conditions at an encampment near the vegetable cannery, which they pay the company to use, has missing doors, minimal washers and dryers and cramped spaces, a concern amid COVID-19.
“They were very enthusiastic and very interested in turning the page and getting treated fairly,” says Dahn. “We shouldn’t have these type of conditions anywhere in America.”
The organizing campaign gained significant momentum in late summer. The IAM, which already represents 40 full-time mechanics and electricians at the Seneca Foods plant, was assisted by that bargaining unit’s Shop Steward, Luis Diaz, a Puerto Rican migrant who has been a member since 2018.
IAM District 65: (L) Rick Dahn – Business Representative, (C) Luis Diaz – Chief Steward and Maintenance Mechanic at Senaca, (R) Ron Warner – Directing Business Representative. Diaz’s relationship with the seasonal workers was instrumental in making the organizing campaign a huge success.
“I was here talking to people and asking them about unions,” said Diaz. “Most of the people said they would love to join the union. I feel happy to help my people.”
Diaz’s relationship with the seasonal workers was crucial. His constant interaction with them helped the IAM gain their trust and respect, rapport on the shop floor that drew a flurry of signed authorization cards.
“Folks were very happy to see us. There was an unbelievable amount of support,” said Warner. “It was amazing to see these people so energetic when we showed up. They were smiling, laughing and giving thumbs up.”
By fall, District 65’s organizing campaign gained steam with the addition of Juan Negron, the IAM’s Eastern Territory Chief of Staff. Negron, a union member since 1987 and native of Santurce, Puerto Rico, encouraged the District to file with 30% of the unit. During this time he and the team crafted handbills in Spanish and personally met with workers off-site. At times, Negron and the District would spend hours engaging the seasonal workers and learning about the individual needs, lives and families of each prospective member, a task based on teamwork and trust.
“I said those are my people and I needed to talk to them,” says Negron. “By knowing the culture of the people, knowing the lingo, knowing the wording that you say to people, you make a connection with them right away. We were victorious.”
A key selling point came when Negron told the workers about the IAM Disaster Relief Fund, which financially assisted union members in 2017 after Hurricane Maria battered Puerto Rico. The deadly Category 5 storm killed more than 3,000 people, some of whom were relatives of seasonal workers at Seneca Foods. Weeks later Negron travelled to the island on behalf of the union and distributed emergency checks to IAM members, funding that had been donated by concerned Machinists.
“We told them what our union did for our members there. They were shocked,” says Negron. “It makes you feel good as an organizer.”
As the organizing campaign continued, the IAM increased visibility, hand-billing, texting and in-person communication, an operation that required nonstop attention.
“Some nights I can remember getting calls at 11 o’clock at night and there would be texts at 3 o’clock in the morning,” said Warner. “We worked hard.”
District 65 was able to organize while adhering to safety protocols associated with COVID-19. Staff used caution and practiced social distancing, a unique challenge given the personable nature of organizers.
“It was an unbelievable win in a very hard environment,” says Warner. “People want to see your face. They want to look in your eyes. They want to know you.”
At one point, the State of New York became a hotspot for the Coronavirus pandemic, with more than total 51,000 deaths reported thus far. But the IAM remained vigilant and pushed forward with the organizing campaign.
“Normally it would be tough enough, but it was extremely challenging in these conditions,” said Dahn. “It was different from beginning to the end.”
Organizers also weathered a tough anti-union campaign that included captive audience presentations and propaganda. But on November 13, 2020, 60 percent of the seasonal workers at Seneca Foods voted in favor of joining the Machinists Union and are now preparing for a first contract.
“The more you get people working together the better it is,” said Dahn. “It was a team effort.”
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, our lives as a country and a union have adjusted on the fly to a new way of living. Each day seems to bring a new experience as we’ve grown accustomed to having the unpredictable be the norm.
The one constant in our lives is the support Machinists have given fellow Machinists.
The IAM membership and our Political and Legislative Department immediately responded to the unprecedented global economic collapse and societal constraints by engaging in an intense lobbying effort to lead the labor movement’s quest to have the airline Payroll Support Program (PSP) included in the CARES Act.
Machinists from every territory and job classification banded together and made tens of thousands of calls and wrote thousands of letters to their Senators and Representatives, imploring them to provide relief for America’s frontline workers. Through this collective effort, the Machinists were able to have the Payroll Support Program (PSP) included in the CARES Act.
Airline employees continued to work and receive salaries and benefits along with the condition that collective bargaining agreements would be honored and carriers would not be allowed to invoke involuntary furloughs.
“I was thrilled with the passing of PSP,” said Southwest Airlines Customer Service Representative Judy Leckie. “After being with Southwest Airlines for 33 years and so close to retirement, I was devastated when I received my warning letter. Because of all the lobbying my Brothers and Sisters at the IAM did, I never missed a day of work. I am grateful to be a part of a union with members who always fight for each other.”
While many members with decades of service, like Leckie, were emotionally affected by the uncertainty of possibly not being able to retire on their own terms, there was also another group who were just beginning their careers who were in a more tenuous predicament during the outbreak of the pandemic.
“As someone newly hired by American Airlines as the pandemic took full effect last year, I have a slightly different story than most of the senior IAM members,” said Charlotte Local Lodge 1725 Fleet Service worker Nathaniel Fink. “For starters, I was in training doing the usual 40-hour per week class, and being on probation, I was uncertain if the company would terminate me and the rest of the class. That’s when I realized how important it was to be a member of the IAM.
“Our union and my reps fought around the clock to ensure that we would not be laid off and continue working part-time, added Fink. “They even worked with the company to adjust our schedules so we could work our allotted 15 hours per week over three days instead of working three hours a day over five days. This helped me a lot with my travel.”
Rail employees were granted a waiver of waiting periods for benefits and enhanced unemployment benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.
More Lobbying Work Needed
While securing the PSP granted much-needed economic relief for airline and rail employees through September 2020, another round of stimulus relief was needed when our air and rail sectors didn’t rebound before the CARES Act expired.
Machinists again were at the forefront of the fight on Capitol Hill. We responded and after weeks of intense lobbying, secured a clean extension of the critical PSP through March 31, 2021.
This clean extension again prohibited any airline accepting additional PSP funds from involuntarily furloughing employees for the duration of the program. It also required participating airlines to recall the tens of thousands of airline employees furloughed following the expiration of the original PSP program on September 30, 2020.
“Without my IAM Brothers and Sisters fighting relentlessly for each other and the Legislative team’s work on Capitol Hill, my family and I would have exhausted most of our savings while I waited to be recalled,” said Local Lodge 2559 American Airlines Mechanic Chuck Cox. “I, like many others in my position, were able to overcome and limit any hardships because the IAM has an army of Machinists willing to battle for one another and iron-clad contacts that protect us in good and bad times.”
The legislation mandated an extension and enhancement of unemployment benefits for railroad employees, plus an extension of waiver of the 7-day waiting period. Amtrak was also restricted from furloughing additional employees. The passenger rail carrier is also required to recall workers to their former position when rail service is restored and prevents Amtrak from contracting out the work of furloughed employees.
In March, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion bill which provided $14 billion in additional aid to the airline industry, including an extension of the Payroll Support Program (PSP). The PSP, extended for a second time since the initial passage of the CARES Act in late March 2020, mandated that as a condition of accepting tax payer funded aid, air carriers will not be permitted to lay off any workers through September 30, 2021.
“Over the last year, I had a lot of anxiety from receiving warning letters and, obviously, about my job security,” said Fink. “But through it all, I had my union fighting for me and everyone else at the IAM. I couldn’t be more appreciative of Shop Steward Allen Drennen and District Lodge 141 for everything they did for me.”
The Act also provides $30.5 billion in emergency aid for the passenger rail and transit sectors. Amtrak received $1.7 billion and is required to recall laid-off workers. The emergency funds will be distributed across the country and act as a lifeline for essential workers in the rail and transit sectors.
“Thanks to the efforts of IAM members and our Legislative team, we have led the fight on Capitol Hill from the beginning and made sure that the Machinists’ family will always look out for the welfare of one another,” added Chuck Cox.
The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA)will host its 16th biennial convention virtually from August 5-8, 2021. The convention brings together hundreds of organizers, workers, allies and young leaders to demonstrate their collective power as an Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Through a variety of workshops, plenaries and town halls, the groups discuss issues pertinent to moving towards economic, social and racial justice.
Register now to reserve your spot at the convention.
Delegates must register their credentials with the Credentials Committee no later than Thursday, August 5 at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT.
Founded in 1992, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO, is the first and only national organization of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) workers, most of whom are union members and our allies, building power for AAPI workers and communities.
Two Machinists Union members have successfully completed the bachelor’s degree program in Labor Studies through the IAM’s partnership with the State University of New York’s Empire State College (ESC).
Since 2014, the IAM has partnered with ESC to offer associates and bachelor’s degrees in labor studies through the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. Center for Labor Studies in New York City. The partnership also offers a master’s degree in work and labor policy. Degree programs are conducted online, with week-long residencies that occur once a semester at the IAM’s William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center in Hollywood, MD.
Midwest Territory Grand Lodge Representative Rick Mickschl graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of science in labor studies, and Matthew Hanson, a Seattle IAM Local 289 member, graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of arts in labor studies.
“Congratulations to Grand Lodge Representative Rick Mickschl,” said IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Steve Galloway. “Educating our staff, officers, members and activists is the IAM’s top priority. We are proud of all this year’s graduates.”
“Congratulations to our graduates,” said IAM Western Territory General Vice President Gary R. Allen. “As union leaders, it is our calling to continue to grow and learn to enhance our union and our communities.”
“This program makes higher education possible for working families,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “Equipping activists and leaders with tools and knowledge is one of the ways we strengthen the IAM for the future. My sincere thanks and congratulations go to Brothers Mickschl and Hanson for their hard work and dedication in serving our members and the IAM.”
“This is truly a great day for these two members and the IAM-ESC partnership,” said Douglas Williams, IAM-ESC Partnership Coordinator. “I have watched Rick and Matthew dedicate themselves to their studies with the same diligence that they have applied to their union work, and I could not be prouder that they have completed this program with the highest distinction.”
If you are an IAM member, retiree or relative, you can go to college, free of charge, and you can learn more about the program here. You can also reach out to Douglas Williams, IAM-ESC Partnership Coordinator, at dwilliams@iamaw.org.
Last year many people embraced the freedom of this one-of-a-kind fundraiser with pool parties, scavenger hunts and even a ukulele show. During the “Walk, Run, Ride…Whatever” event, you can do “whatever” you want as long as you spend an hour of your day outside with family and friends.
When you sign up for our “Walk, Run, Ride…Whatever!” you not only get to do your favorite activity, you help transform someone’s life. Fundraisers like this are critical in supporting GDA-TLC partner service dogs with people who need them.
After registering, you can claim your fundraising page. Top fundraisers are eligible for a $500 amazon gift card.
Guide Dogs of America is the IAM’s favorite charity. In 2020, GDA completed a merger with Tender Loving Canines, and now provides hardworking service dogs for people who are blind/visually impaired, veterans, children with autism and facilities to become trusted companions that bring confidence, independence and mobility. Their services are provided free of charge to residents in the U.S. and Canada.
While securing the PSP granted much-needed economic relief for airline and rail employees through September 2020, another round of stimulus relief was needed when our air and rail sectors didn’t rebound before the CARES Act expired.