Leadership Connection: 11/19/21
Machinists Union Applauds Biden Administration Executive Order Protecting Service Contract Act Workers
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2021 – The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the largest defense and aerospace labor union in North America, applauds the Biden Administration’s reinstatement of Service Contract Act (SCA) Executive Order 13495, which will greatly improve job security for service contract workers across the country.
The IAM led efforts in urging the Biden administration to protect Service Contract Act (SCA) workers’ jobs by reinstating critical job security protections.
“The reinstatement of Executive Order 13495 is a win for workers and employers who work under the Service Contract Act,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “President Biden’s reinstatement of President Obama’s Executive Order turns back the disastrous policy of President Trump and creates clear guidance for employers. President Biden is a champion for working families and continues to put them at the top of his agenda. Thousands of IAM members and other service contract workers can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing their jobs won’t be displaced when government service contracts change hands from one employer to another. Our nation can take great pride in the efficient government procurement and fairness to these workers and their families under this new Biden Executive Order.”
Service Contract workers are private-sector employees who work under federal contracts, primarily at military bases and other federal installations. The IAM represents nearly 40,000 Service Contract Workers in various industries, spread across more than 800 locations.
In 2019, former President Trump rescinded Executive Order 13495, which President Obama implemented to provide essential job security to service contract workers. The order, known as “Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts,” granted workers the right of first refusal for continued employment when an SCA government contractor or employer is replaced by a new successor contractor at the same location. This policy benefited both the government and the workers by ensuring workforce stability as government contracts change hands.
In February 2021, IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. wrote a letter to President Biden urging him to restore Service Contract Worker’s job protections.
IAM members work at more than 800 SCA locations across the country, primarily at military bases and federal institutions. Some of the IAM’s larger bargaining units include 4,000 SCA workers at Fort Rucker, Alabama; more than 1,000 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada; nearly 800 at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona; and 750 at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Maryland
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, airline, railroad, transportation, shipbuilding, woodworking, health care, and other industries.
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Unruly Passengers
The IAM is calling for stronger legislation with stiffer penalties against unruly passengers who assault customer service agents and other airline workers. Until these incidents end, our union will keep pushing for enforcement of laws, because air rage seems to be a never-ending issue that current penalties haven’t been able to stop.
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Machinists Union Supports NDAA ‘Buy American’ Defense Amendment
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2021 – The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) sent a letter to members of the U.S. Senate in full support of including a critical amendment to the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The amendment would strengthen Buy American domestic content requirements for major defense acquisition programs.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) sponsored the amendment, entitled “Enhanced Domestic Content Requirement for Major Defense Acquisition Programs.” Under the current Buy American requirement, an end item need only be made up of 55 percent domestic content for the whole item to be considered “Made in America.” Sen. Duckworth’s language included in the House-passed FY22 NDAA with bipartisan support would gradually increase this percentage to 75 by January 1, 2029. This phased-in approach will give the domestic defense industry the time and clear signal needed to create jobs by adjusting to the increased domestic content requirement.
The amendment, championed in the U.S. House by U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ), was included in the bipartisan House passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
“Buy American policies serve the public good by targeting our tax dollars for the purchase of American made products, thereby employing U.S. workers and putting our federal tax receipts to work here at home,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “For far too long we have neglected to properly consider the impact of defense procurement policy on our domestic industrial base and, consequently, on the U.S. economy. We as a nation need to act strategically when it comes to defense procurement. Not only do we need to supply our men and women in uniform with the best possible products and equipment, but we must also support the U.S. defense industrial base, including the small and midsized firms across America that constitute the supply chain for critical defense programs.”
The IAM has been pushing the increase for years in order to strengthen the defense industrial base and domestic supply chain while helping prevent vulnerabilities created by military products being made in China and other countries.
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, airline, railroad, transportation, shipbuilding, woodworking, health care, and other industries.
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Machinists Union Supports Increasing Made in America Accountability
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2021 – Robert Martinez Jr., International President of the 600,000-member International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the largest aerospace, defense, and transportation union in North America, released the following statement strongly supporting increased accountability around the Buy American Act:
“The IAM supports the Biden-Harris administration’s goal to strengthen our American manufacturing and services industries. The new waiver transparency process will benefit American families and boost our supply chain. I applaud the administration for talking the talk and walking the walk. Our nation has done an injustice to our manufacturers who have wanted to make items in America for too long.
“Today’s action will move us one step closer to securing our supply chain and our children’s future. This change brings historic levels of transparency and accountability to the longstanding waiver process. It will help advance the Biden-Harris administration’s vision and strategy for ensuring a future made in all of America by all of America’s workers.”
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, airline, railroad, transportation, shipbuilding, woodworking, health care, and other industries.
The post Machinists Union Supports Increasing Made in America Accountability appeared first on IAMAW.