You may have heard about the Build Back Better Act, but what is it and how can it help to change your life?
The act would strengthen enforcement of employment and civil rights laws. That means safer workplaces, less discrimination and it would discourage wage theft, so you aren’t short-changed in your paycheck. It would expand job training programs like apprenticeships, provide universal family and medical leave. That includes four weeks of paid parental, family caregiving. Build Back Better would extend the enhanced child tax credit through the end of 2022… lower the cost of child care, by making sure most families would pay no more than seven-percent of their income on child care. How does free, universal preschool sound for three and four-year-olds? How about more financial aid for college students?
Build Back Better would secure our nation’s manufacturing supply chains with $5 billion to identify and monitor critical vulnerabilities and support U.S. companies that end those weaknesses. Let’s build back better, together, to lower costs and fight inflation, without any more taxes to people who make less than $400,000 a year.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2021 – The Maine Lobstering Union (MLU) today filed a brief with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to end the misguided closure of productive lobstering waters off the coast of Maine.
The MLU previously won injunctive relief from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine to stop the closure on Oct. 16. A federal appeals court overturned the decision on Nov. 16, closing off about 967 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean to lobster fishing for a third of the year.
“Generations of Mainers have taken pride in sustainably cultivating the world’s best lobster while simultaneously protecting the Right Whales,” said Virginia Olsen of the Maine Lobstering Union. “The decision to close Maine’s waters to this time-honored industry is unfortunately based on misguided and incomplete science. The Maine Lobstering Union looks forward to continuing to fight to save this great American industry and defend the families and communities who rely on it.”
The Maine Lobstering Union (MLU) is a division of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) District 4 and the only union-based cooperative in the lobster industry owned and operated by Maine lobstermen. The MLU supports Maine’s lobster community and is committed to the sustainability and safety of Maine’s lobstermen and women and all wildlife that occupy and rely upon the fishery.
For union activists, nothing will ever be able to replicate the value of in-person learning but the IAM wants to make sure all members have access to education. That’s why the Machinists Union is offering Leadership I classes online in 2022.
“While I think we all prefer in-person classes, I believe that the real question isn’t whether in-person classes are better than online classes, it’s whether online classes are better than nothing,” said Mary McHugh, Assistant Director of the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center. “We probably all agree that the answer to that question is yes.”
Like so many, the Machinists Union had to turn to technology when the world shut down because of COVID-19 in 2020. Astutely, the IAM created online programs in order to continue to reach its members. But what started as a solution to the dire situation brought on by the pandemic has now become an opportunity for many.
“District Lodge 751 Directing Business Representative Jon Holden contacted us about a year ago to encourage us to offer Leadership I online,” explained McHugh. “He wanted members to be able to take Leadership I during the pandemic, but also saw online programs as a way to bring leadership training to members who might not have the opportunity to attend in-person training once the school reopened again. We ran four Leadership I online programs in 2021 and realized quickly that this really was an opportunity to reach some members we hadn’t been able to reach in the past.”
Lobsterwoman Julie Eaton of the Maine Lobstering Union Local 207 is a perfect example of someone who benefited from online classes. Eaton took Leadership I online last summer and is excited to be able to have that option again for the next installment because it’s just not always possible for her, or other fishermen, to leave their jobs for a week at a time.
“Julie is just the start,” said Chris Wagoner, Director of the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center. “For those members who come from locals that can’t send every member who is interested, or for members who have difficulty taking that block of time away from work, or for our brothers and sisters who aren’t able to travel because of personal reasons, this allows them to be able to take advantage of all the Machinists Union has to offer.”
The IAM is convinced that offering these online options will supplement the vast resources already available to our union family, making education accessible in every corner of our union. It gives our locals and districts another tool to expand their education toolboxes.
Right now, there are three Leadership I online classes on the schedule for 2022, January 10-20, June 6-16, and November 28-December 8, with a pilot program for Leadership II online running from August 8-August 18. Members can enroll through the same registration link used for in-person programs.
During the month of September, the IAM Southern Territory was the catalyst behind a 30-day campaign about union pride called the Month of Labor. The agenda, which expands Labor Day’s tradition, educated the public and members about the historical significance and current achievements of unions.
Ramon Garcia in the early 1990s as a Plane Captain at Naval Air Station Kingsville, TX..
“Labor Day is a great time to reflect on how far our movement has come and where it can go,” said IAM Southern Territory General Vice President Rickey Wallace. “But our movement is so broad that one day is not enough to encapsulate the size and scope of labor and how much it means to America.”
The idea for the Month of Labor came to IAM Grand Lodge Representative Ramon Garcia after a discussion he had with his youngest daughter about union history. Garcia’s passion for labor can be traced back to his childhood.
He was raised in a working-class Texas household by his father, an active member of the American Postal Workers Union.
“I went to labor meetings and conventions with him. He rose up the ranks. It just made sense to me,” said Garcia, who became an IAM member in 1991 while working as an aircraft mechanic at the Naval Air Station in Kingsville, TX. “My dad always said the only people who help working folks are working folks. It’s us. If we don’t do it, then nobody will.”
Garcia, a U.S. Air Force veteran and proud grandfather of five who loves sharing union culture with his community, sought the assistance of resources from across the IAM. The result was a campaign that showcased the labor movement’s legendary fight for the eight-hour work day, its role in creating Social Security, the push to close the gender pay gap, and more.
Machinists Union Districts and Locals in the Southern Territory also participated in the month’s social media blitz by regenerating posts with rank-in-file membership.
Charles Mann, Business Representative at IAM District 2020.
“Create the buzz. Create the discussion. Get people talking,” said Garcia. “I wanted us to come together. Let’s learn what labor is about and why we should be together. We’re labor and we need to be one. We need to bring this message home for the month.”
The IAM Southern Territory, which has tens of thousands of members, has deep roots in American labor history. On May 5, 1888, Thomas W. Talbot organized the United Machinists and Mechanical Engineers of America, now known as the IAM.
Since then, the union’s membership has grown from 19 in 1888 to 600,000 active and retired members. That growth and history resonates with IAM District 2020 Business Representative Charles Mann, a Virginia-based union history buff.
He’s also a 20-year member of IAM Local 10 in Richmond, VA, one of the union’s oldest lodges, opening its doors in November 1888. He believes the Month of Labor was a great way for the IAM to share its rich tradition and history, hoping the campaign will “awaken the core of the rank and file members. We also want to educate potential members,” said Mann.
Mann, whose father became an IAM member in 1974, also hopes the Month of Labor will humanize the plight of the American worker, a message that has the potential to break political barriers in the notoriously anti-union South.
“The Month of Labor 2021 will be the start of the revolution where workers in the South have had enough,” said Mann. “No longer will democracy die at work once you drop below the Mason Dixon line.”
IAM members in Fort Worth, TX also participated in Month of Labor. For decades, good union contracts have sustained working families there as thousands of Machinists have found lucrative employment in the defense and aerospace industry.
IAM District 776 took the month’s meaning and message to the streets on Labor Day. The lodge, under the guidance of District Lead Organizer Keith “Chub” McCrory, helped host a cookout and community event that was attended by hundreds of people from town.
IAM District 776 Lead Organizer Keith “Chub” McCrory (Right) with other district members at the 2021 Labor Day cookout.
“Our Central Labor Council planned a celebration that was held at a local waterpark, where the IAM served up some good ole’ Texas BBQ to the general public and families of our union brothers and sisters,” said McCrory, a 20-year member of the union. “Labor Month in the Southern Territory is important to me because it is extremely important for us to know where we started. That enables us to see and understand how far we have come, which allows us to be better prepared for the future.”
In addition to food and fun, District 776 handed out informational literature and distributed yard signs that promoted values and virtues associated with Month of Labor’s meaning.
“My hope is this will help us achieve solidarity. We want all workers to understand this country was built on the back of union labor,” said McCrory. “We want to eliminate any negative perceptions that labor unions may have here in the South.”
McCrory says the Month of Labor’s main message was about fairness and freedom on the job, rights that unfortunately elude millions of unorganized workers who reside in notorious Southern right-to-work states.
“The benefits of a union are great,” said McCrory. “We’ve earned retirement, pensions, insurance, safety in the workplace, job security, transparency on the job, a voice at the workplace.”
The Month of Labor also gained traction in Louisiana, where the IAM has a long history of fighting for workers’ rights. Machinists there broke racial barriers in the 1960s when the union gained a strong reputation during the fight for civil rights and equal pay for African-American workers.
Chuck Bennett, president and directing business representative at District W2021 in Lake Charles, LA, promoted the Month of Labor around his region. Bennett, a proud husband of 32 years and father of three children was excited about the Month of Labor because it gave him an opportunity to share information about the benefits of a Machinists Union contract.
Chuck Bennett, President and Directing Business Representative at District W2021 with his wife and son.
“I had a voice once I hired-on back then and became represented by the IAM,” said Bennett. “I could speak up about safety issues that affected me and my coworkers without the threat of getting laid-off or fired. I finally had seniority protection, which meant job security. My wages increased and my benefits cost less for better coverage. All of this improved my family’s standard of living and I could really start saving for retirement. Did I mention that I also gained a pension plan?”
Bennett and Garcia credit the IAM Communications Department for crafting consistent social media posts that had simple, yet colorful graphics and straight forward messaging, a clear outreach strategy he says piqued interest from younger workers around Louisiana, many of whom never heard of a union.
“I hope the next generation of workers learn that the future is in their hands,” said Bennett. “The next generation need to know that if they do not step up and get active, they will lose these hard won rights and protections that we, and our predecessors, fought for.”
Garcia agrees with Bennett. Back in Texas, he too has shared the Month of Labor’s messaging with young family members.
“I kept finding nieces and nephews who don’t know what a labor union is,” said Garcia. “This was our opportunity to help them learn. This was an opportunity to flood and blanket the community with our story, labor’s story as a whole.”
The IAM Southern Territory says the Month of Labor was successful as it educated thousands of working families in the South, and across America, about labor history and the value of a union contract.
