Apr 7, 2022 | iMail
IAM General Secretary-Treasurer Dora Cervantes recently received the United Latinos of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Champion of Justice Award at its Education Conference in Las Vegas.
The award recognizes leadership that strengthens and supports Latino workers and the Latino community at large. Each recipient must demonstrate work that improves the lives of the Latino community within the North American labor movement and promotes diversity and inclusion at all levels.
“This is a union we have a super great relationship with and Dora is an amazing leader,” said Rigoberto Valdez Jr., President of United Latinos of the UFCW.
UFCW Local 540 President Felipe Mendez of Dallas presented the award.
“Dora Cervantes is a trailblazer in every regard,” said Mendez. “An outstanding trade unionist and a person of substance and respect.”
Cervantes has served as General Secretary-Treasurer since 2015, the first woman to hold the position. She initiated into IAM Local 2198 in Houston in 1989 as a Southwest Airlines Reservations Agent and later went on to serve as Organizer, Shop Steward, Recording Secretary and Vice President.
“I’m a proud Latina. I’m proud to speak Spanish. And I’m even more proud of my brown skin which allows people to seek me out when they need help understanding English or Spanish in everyday situations,” Cervantes told the audience. “My union, the IAM, added to my confidence and added to my strength to be the advocate and the voice for those who cannot be heard. I am honored and humbled to receive this award and I am forever grateful to the United Food and Commercial Workers.”
The United Latinos of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) is an organization of union members and allies who have joined together to promote issues and pursue interests important to Latinx workers.
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Apr 7, 2022 | iMail
The IAM mourns the loss of retired IAM Aerospace Coordinator Ron Eldridge, a long-time IAM leader and beloved father of IAM Grand Lodge Representative Juan Eldridge. Ron Eldridge, 71, passed away on March 26 while surrounded by family.
Ron initiated into IAM Local 839 (District 70) in 1972 as an employee of Boeing in Wichita, KS. Before coming to Wichita, Ron was raised in Oklahoma and served in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating high school.
He would serve as an organizer for Local 839 before serving as District 70 Directing Business Representative on two occasions. Ron served as an IAM Aerospace Coordinator from 2004 until his retirement in 2016. Ron also served as a Southern Territory Special Representative and Grand Lodge Representative.
“Ron was passionate about helping people,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “He was the man we sent to negotiate the most important and most high-profile aerospace agreements in the IAM. He dedicated his life to our union because he knew he was making lives better for working families and communities. We mourn with the Eldridge family, and we will never forget the contributions and lifetime of service Ron gave to us.”
Ron is survived by his beloved wife, Maria, children Ron, Melissa, Angela, Juan, and several grandchildren.
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Apr 5, 2022 | iMail
This statement originally appeared on the SEIU website.
A coalition of labor leaders released the following statement today ahead of the Senate’s vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court:
“As the elected leaders of 27 unions and worker organizations collectively representing tens of millions of working people providing essential services across our great nation, we stand together in strong support for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the United States Supreme Court of the United States. This historic nomination demonstrates our nation’s continued path towards becoming a more just society where all children have the opportunity to succeed regardless of what they look like, where they’re from or what their parents do for a living.
“In recent years, working families have experienced firsthand how critical it is to have an equitable, fair, and balanced Supreme Court. We need justices who will uphold the Constitution and maintain fidelity to the rule of law, considering every case on its merits without favoring powerful corporations. Judge Jackson meets that test. Her impressive legal career — nearly a decade as a federal judge, service as Vice Chair and Commissioner on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and her work representing people of various socioeconomic backgrounds as a federal public defender — demonstrates that she is more than qualified to sit on the Supreme Court.
“Working families also know a federal bench that reflects and respects the diversity of our nation is vital to robust and informed decision-making, which is imperative to fostering public trust in the judiciary. Representation matters in our justice system where cultural experience shapes the decisions made by judges. Confirming a Black woman to the Supreme Court after 233 years will not only add a needed perspective to the court, it inspires future generations and is a step towards creating a more just system by demanding a Supreme Court that looks more like America and serves all of us.
“Based on Judge Jackson’s record, demonstration of judicial temperament at last month’s Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings, and past and current bi-partisan support, we believe senators should enthusiastically vote to confirm her. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s strong character and exemplary service reflect the best of our nation. Working people of all backgrounds will hold their senators accountable for how they treat this outstanding nominee when they vote in this year’s midterm elections.”
Signed:
Robert Martinez Jr., International President, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM)
Mary Kay Henry, International President, Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Elizabeth H. Shuler, President, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
John A. Costa, International President, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU)
Dr. Everett B. Kelley, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)
Lee Saunders, President, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
Sara Nelson, International President, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
Anthony Shelton, International President, Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers’ International Union (BCTGM)
Chris Shelton, President, Communications Workers of America (CWA)
Jennifer Dorning, President, Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO
Matthew D. Loeb, International President, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)
Sean M. O’Brien, General President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)
Matthew Biggs, President, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE)
Ray Curry, President, International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW)
Lonnie Stephenson, International President, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
James Hart, President, Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO
Fredric Rolando, President, National Association of Letter Carriers AFL-CIO (NALC)
Becky Pringle, President, National Education Association (NEA)
Bonnie Castillo, RN, Executive Director, National Nurses United (NNU)
Michael Sacco, President, Seafarers International Union (SIU)
Lee Blackmon, Director NAGE Federal Division, The National Association of Government Employees (NAGE)
John Samuelsen, International President, Transport Workers Union of America (TWU)
Will Attig, Executive Director, Union Veterans Council (UVC)
D. Taylor, International Union President, UNITE HERE
Anthony M. Perrone, President, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW)
The post IAM, Union Coalition Issues Joint Statement in Support of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Historic Nomination to the Supreme Court appeared first on IAMAW.
Apr 5, 2022 | iMail
The IAM Executive Council has taken action to appoint Brian Bryant as Resident General Vice President at IAM Headquarters. Eastern Territory Chief of Staff David Sullivan has been appointed to fill Bryant’s position as Eastern Territory General Vice President. Both appointments are effective May 1, 2022.
“Brian and Dave are some of the most experienced, dedicated, and well-rounded IAM officers in our union,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “From organizing and servicing to managing staff and finances, both of these Brothers know what it means to be members, activists, and leaders in the IAM. Our membership will be well served by Brian’s assignment and Dave’s addition to the Executive Council.”
Bryant, a 32-year IAM member, brings a wealth of experience to the Resident-General Vice President position, a position he held from October 2018 to July 2021. Bryant also served as a General Vice President in the General Secretary-Treasurer’s Office from August 2016 to October 2018.
A native of Maine, Bryant initiated into the IAM in 1989 when he joined Local S6 as a pipe fitter at Bath Iron Works. He would serve in a variety of positions, including President of Local S6, before being elected District 4 Directing Business Representative in 1998. In 2004, Bryant joined the IAM Eastern Territory staff, and in 2009 he became Eastern Territory Chief of Staff.
David Sullivan, a 33-year IAM member, joined the Eastern Territory staff in 2016 after serving as District 4 Directing Business Representative, Assistant Directing Business Representative, and Business Representative. Sullivan served the Eastern Territory as a Special Representative and Grand Lodge Representative before becoming Eastern Territory Chief of Staff in July 2021.
He initially joined the Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers, which merged into the IAM in 1988, as a shipbuilder at Bath Iron Works in Maine. He served as a Shop Steward, Local Lodge Officer, and on several committees in IAM Local S6.
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Apr 5, 2022 | iMail
The IAM was the proud sponsor of a recent charity event benefitting Mothers Abandoned or Widowed (MAW), a non-profit that provides a range of assistance to previously married mothers with children who have been abandoned by their husbands or whose husbands have died prematurely.
The IAM’s silver sponsorship of the April 1 charity golf tournament in Keller, TX will help MAW continue to provide mothers in need with childcare, transportation, continuing education, and more.
“Our support for Mothers Abandoned or Widowed is just another way the IAM lives up to our motto of ‘justice on the job and service to the community,’” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “The IAM is proud to support this great cause once again, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with MAW and the great service it provides to countless women in need.”
MAW Charities was developed in honor of such women as Louise Edwards of Cincinnati, OH who faced unusual circumstances when her husband passed away unexpectedly. At the young age of 33, she raised her eight children on her own, and expecting to enjoy her grandchildren as she faced retirement, she was met by another challenge: to raise eight children whose parents had abandoned them.
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