Regardless of your personal political beliefs, the facts illustrate how the Trump Administration’s actions weakened union members’ rights, while the Biden Administration has taken steps to empower unions.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is a critical independent government agency that is charged with enforcing U.S. labor law. NLRB members and its general counsel are appointed by the president, and make many decisions that affect the lives of working people.
The Trump NLRB made a slew of rulings that weakened our rights, including:
Stripped flight line workers who voted for IAM representation of a union
Prevented union organizers from accessing cafeterias/public areas
Made it harder for unions to prove they have majority support
Gave employers more time to urge employees to not join a union without following standard procedure
The Trump Administration also took away workers’ rights to retain their jobs when a new service contractor was brought in, affecting thousands of IAM Service Contract Act workers who work on military bases.
The Trump Administration removed union access for federal sector employees and made bargaining in the federal workforce more difficult.
The Biden administration, on the other hand, showed its pro-union stance when the first step Biden took as president was to fire former NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb, who had pushed anti-worker cases and decisions at the agency. The Biden Administration has also created a first-of-its-kind Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment that expands union access for both federal workers and private sector workers who work on military bases and other federal property
The Biden NLRB has taken a historically pro-union, pro-worker stance and invited briefs on:
Allowing unions to organize appropriate bargaining units, instead of only “wall-to-wall”
Expanding traditional make-whole remedies for unfair labor practice to include consequential damages
More rights for workers to engage in concerted activity
Expanding the definition of independent contractors to bring greater protections to workers
In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt implemented the New Deal, a congressionally approved infrastructure and public works construction program aimed at getting Americans back to work amid economic devastation caused by the Great Depression. Part of that agenda included the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which would revolutionize electrical energy production in the U.S. and create thousands of good jobs around the South. The TVA, which employs IAM members, has become the country’s largest government-run power provider and serves 10 million people in seven Southeastern states. Additionally, the TVA covers 90,000 square miles of land from Tennessee to neighboring Alabama and stretches out west as far as Mississippi.
“This is a massive operation that’s maintained by talented Machinists Union members who work around the clock to keep it running,” said IAM Southern Territory General Vice President Rickey Wallace. “It gives me great pride knowing IAM Brothers and Sisters are the heartbeat of energy production in the South.”
Ferry Nuclear Power
Plant in Athens, AL.
By the 1950s, the TVA became known for its massive hydroelectric dams that dot Southern waterways, like the Kentucky Dam that stands more than 200 feet tall and stretches roughly 8,500 feet across the Tennessee River. Seventy years later, the TVA’s power production operation has expanded and evolved to include solar energy, cleaner coal, nuclear power, natural gas and renewable energy. IAM District Lodge 1888 represents more than 650 workers at the Tennessee Valley Authority at places like the Wilson Dam near Muscle Shoals, AL, a quiet river town of 15,000 people nestled in the forests of the state’s northwest region. IAM members there, and in the surrounding area, perform a variety of jobs ranging from repairing the dam’s giant water turbines, which can stand at least 40 feet tall, to servicing power grids far out in the field.
“IAM members have a great work ethic and take tremendous pride in the reliable work they do. They’re committed to craftsmanship,” said IAM District 1888 President and Directing Business Representative Ernie Epps, a 44-year IAM member, family man, avid outdoorsman and die-hard Tennessee Volunteer football fan. “Without IAM members, the lights and electricity that some people take for granted, might not come on when they hit the switch.”
Additionally, IAM members employed at various TVA locations throughout the South maintain five fossil fuel plants, three nuclear sites, 29 hydro plants, three large repair shops and service everything from large cranes to helicopters.
“Our members know reliability is the key to their success, the success of our union and their reputation with the TVA,” said IAM District 1888 Business Representative and Organizer Keith McFarland. “They all take pride in their craftsmanship and in the work they perform. They understand they are working to help make our region one of the best places in the country to live.”
McFarland, a 31-year IAM member with a passion for reading and hunting with his sons, hired-on at the TVA in 1991 at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in Spring City, TN. He says lucrative IAM contracts with the TVA have maintained high worker morale and propped-up local economies.
“All trades and labor jobs at the TVA are good jobs. They pay well and the benefits are some of the best in the Southeast,” said McFarland. “When our members are paid well, the entire community prospers.”
The IAM represents about 30 members at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant in the town of Athens, AL. Thomas J. Bedford Jr. is a proud District 1888 Machinist who originally hired-on at the TVA in 2004 at the power service shop in Muscle Shoals, AL. Since 2005 he’s been working up the road at the Browns Ferry site and says union membership on the shop floor there play a critical role in the massive power production operation.
“I am third generation Machinist I take pride in every detail of every part I make,” said Bedford Jr., a family man who enjoys farming, watching NFL football and working with his hands. “All this is done with safety and the wellbeing of the community as a priority. I love my job and I’m grateful for it. It is fulfilling.”
A motivated Machinist base, experienced management and a strong commitment to the community are keys to success at the nuclear site. Inside the plant, a 3-foot circular clock, which was built by IAM members there, is mounted to the wall. Different components and pieces of the clock represent the variety of skilled workers and teamwork at the TVA.
Thomas J. Bedford Jr., member of IAM District 1888, poses next to a large clock he helped build at the TVA that embodies worker unity and trust
“This clock to me represents trust, beginning with the foreman and up through the ranks of management,” said Bedford Jr. “We all work together as a unit, just like how the clock’s pieces work hand and hand to tell time. It also represents the pride I have as a union worker.”
Roger Bragwell is a machinist foreman who has worked at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant since 2006. He says he’s impressed with the knowledge devotion of IAM members there.
“IAM professionalism means to me, taking great pride and craftsmanship in any and all tasks that are assigned to you,” says Bragwell. “This is a highly regarded quality, if you have it, you will be undoubtedly have success as a machinist.”
Many IAM workers have strong family ties to the TVA dating back to the agency’s inception in the 1930s. Wendell Dean knows well. The 28-year IAM member, who enjoys playing music with family in his spare time, has worked on the shop floor and built bonds with employees who have left generational legacies at the agency.
“Most of all the folks have had a daddy, a mom or family that have been union members and had jobs with TVA,” said Dean. “They take pride in their work. You can rely on the TVA for good jobs throughout the valley.”
Dean, who resides in the town of Killen, AL wants to ensure new generations of workers find success at the TVA. Since 2019, he’s served as administrator of a successful IAM-sponsored apprenticeship program in conjunction with Northwest-Shoals Community College in Muscle Shoals, AL. IAM Local 65, under the direction of lodge president Charlie Borden and IAM Local 1458 are the key sponsors of the program. Dean and the college aggressively recruit in the community for prospects by advertising in local newspapers and promoting the program on the internet and social media.
“We have six apprentices graduating this year from the program. We try to maintain 30 apprentices at all times,” said Dean. “The program is a four-year program with 1,600 on-the-job-training hours, plus 400 hours in the classroom per year. We teach math, advanced blueprinting, manual milling and lathe operation, welding and CNC [Computer Numerical Control] milling and lathing.”
The apprenticeship program is bearing fruit and the Tennessee Valley Authority is depending on the program to fill anticipated vacancies with young IAM members.
“The TVA is very satisfied with quality of apprentices that are going through the program,” said Epps. “The agency depends on us to supply them with future Machinists and growth. There’s a possibility of 100 jobs opening up over the next four years.”
The apprenticeship program has changed the life of 25-year-old Caleb Richardson, a young man from Alabama who likes to fish, hunt and ride vehicles in rough off-road terrain. Richardson is in the fourth and final year of his training and is looking forward to graduating, becoming an IAM member and gaining full-time employment with the Tennessee Valley Authority.
“TVA has a strong presence in my area. I’ve known a lot of people that worked for TVA and had great careers,” said Richardson. “I knew that would be a great opportunity to earn a good living and gain valuable experience as an apprentice.”
Richardson is engaged to a young woman, one more reason to complete the apprenticeship program, learn a trade and enter a good employment field that will support his future wife and family.
Brian Dodd, member of IAM District
1888, changes steam turbine blades at
the TVA. Center: Wilson Dam in Muscle
Shoals, AL
“Currently I work in the field machining division of the power service shop,” said Richardson. “We perform operations such as drilling, boring, milling, thread milling, flange facing and welding.”
34-year-old Amanda Green of Greenhill, AL is a first-year apprentice who hopes to work at the Brown’s Ferry nuclear site after graduating from the program. She says the learning curve is steep but enjoys the challenge.
“My teachers have been wonderful and they’ve really helped. It’s really exciting to work with my hands,” said Green, a mother of two who enjoys camping and fishing. “My kids really push me to do better in life and this program will help me get there.”
IAM membership and the apprenticeship program have garnered praise from management at the TVA. Senior supervisors say a strong labor-management partnership is crucial to future success of the agency.
“We’re absolutely appreciative of what the Machinists Union is building to support our mission,” said TVA Power Service Shop General Manager Doug Keeling. “They’re a very highly skilled workforce. We’re very pleased. We have a great relationship and we look forward to the future together.”
Quality of life for District 1888 members might not have been achievable had it not been for the good-paying IAM jobs at the Tennessee Valley Authority, a staple that’s sustained local communities throughout the South since the 1930s.
“We’re very fortunate to have great jobs, competitive wages, talented workers and a tremendous relationship with management,” said Epps. “The TVA is an economic bedrock in the region and will continue producing power and supporting working families moving forward.”
From L to R: IAM District 1888 Business Representative and Organizer Keith McFarland, IAM District 1888 President and Directing Business Representative Ernie Epps, IAM District 1888 Member Greg Daniel and TVA Senior Manager Corey Saint stand
IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. has announced the appointment of Joe Gruber as the next Assistant Director of the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center, effective July 1, 2022.
Gruber’s first leadership role in the IAM was as education chair for Local Lodge 837; later he became an educator for District 837 and in 2017 was appointed Education Representative for the Midwest Territory. In 2020 he took a position with IAM CREST at IAM Headquarters as a project coordinator and instructor before being appointed Education Representative in 2021.
“Joe’s experience as an educator within the IAM makes him a perfect choice for Assistant Director of the Winpisinger Center,” said Martinez. “He understands the educational needs of our membership because he has taught at the Local, District, Territory, and Grand Lodge level. He is a dedicated trade unionist who has done an outstanding job as an Education Representative; in his new new role, he will have the opportunity to continue his fine work and make the IAM an even better organization.”
Prior to joining the IAM in 2008, Gruber was a member of the UFCW and Carpenters Unions. He is currently working on his degree in Business Management with a focus in Labor Studies.
The Apple Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (CORE), a group of Apple retail employees in Towson, MD, filed for an election to join the IAM—and many are taking notice.
The group sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook informing him of the decision to organize their union, listing “access to rights we do not currently have” as a driving reason for the move, which has strong support from a majority of the workers.
In that letter, CORE requested for Apple to follow the same neutrality requirement laid out in its Supplier Code of Conduct under the section “Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining” so that employees can obtain their rights to information and collective bargaining that the law affords through unionization.
“The supplier code of conduct is on our damn website. It’s this international agreement that we’ve signed onto, and anybody who is a vender or a factory or whatever, if those workers decide to unionize or organize, Apple has a contract that says ‘we can’t get involved.’ You can’t do anything to stop that,” says CORE organizer Billy Jarboe in the video.
Vice reported a leaked memo from Apple to its store managers with anti-union talking points, revealing that the tech giant is coaching store managers to discourage workers from unionizing, saying unionization would mean workers could lose career opportunities, merit-based promotions, and time off. In the memo Apple calls the union a “third-party,” even though the union organizers are Apple store employees.
“Apple has all the power, influence, and money to be able to make a significant change in what labor is. It’s an opportunity, like, they didn’t start it, they didn’t begin this initiative—we did. All they have to do is follow up,” says CORE organizer Christie Pridgen in the video.
Apple has also hired a known union-busting law firm, Littler Mendelson. Starbucks Corporation is another one of Littler Mendelson’s more recent clients amid a new wave of unionization in customer service.
On May 13 Apple’s Vice-President of Retail and People Deirdre O’Brien did an unannounced walk-through of the Townson Apple store to “listen” to workers.
CORE union organizers are not discouraged.
“Apple has the resources to really take care of its employees. Use what you have for good. You could actually do good. You could bring dignity to this work,” said Pridgen.
Solidarity and preparation have paid off for more than 120 members of IAM Local 1581 (District 54) at Akron Brass Co. in Wooster, OH.
IAM members at the facility proudly produce firefighting equipment used around the world.
The new contract, which was recently overwhelmingly ratified by the membership, makes critical pension and healthcare gains, while adding a well-funded 401(k) plan to help with retirement security.
The deal also includes 14.5% general wages increases, a $1,000 signing bonus and adds the IAM National Benefit Trust Fund, which includes quality health, dental, accident, vision, life and other insurance.
“Our Negotiating Committee was prepared and stood together for a strong contract including increases to reflect today’s labor market,” said IAM District 54 President and Directing Business Representative T. Dean Wright Jr. “Our members now have the IAM trifecta – pension, insurance, and the 401(k), and have a secured pathway to a healthy and long career and well-deserved retirement thanks to a Machinists Union contract.”
“District 54 and Local 1581 should be incredibly proud of this strong contract,” said IAM Eastern Territory General Vice President David Sullivan. “Our negotiating committee stood strong every step of the way to advance the interests of our membership. We are so grateful to the IAM negotiating committee and District 54 leadership and representatives for all they did during these successful negotiations.”
