Participants in this week’s Spanish Leadership Program at the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center recently toured IAM Headquarters in Upper Marlboro, MD.
The group of 24 members from 10 local lodges visited various offices, where they learned about Grand Lodge resources that are available for Districts and Locals. They met with staff from the Strategic Resources, Legal, and Communications departments, the Office of the General Secretary-Treasurer, as well as the Eastern Territory and Air Transport Territory Chiefs of Staff. Members also toured the Executive Council meeting room and the office of International President Robert Martinez, Jr.. Monica Lee Silbas, Chief of Staff, welcomed the group on behalf of President Martinez and shared with the members her experience as an educator and member of the Spanish Leadership Program task force.
The Headquarters visit was the culmination of the first Leadership program in Spanish held at the Winpisinger Center this year. The next class in Spanish will be Organizing I in Spanish, scheduled for December 11. The Winpisinger Center’s schedule of programs in Spanish for 2023 will be published in the coming weeks.
Spanish:
Los participantes de la clase de Liderazgo I celebrada esta semana en el Centro de Educación y Tecnología William W. Winpisinger visitaron las Oficinas Centrales de la Unión de Maquinistas y Trabajadores Aeroespaciales en Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
El grupo compuesto de 24 miembros procedentes de 10 logias locales visitaron varias oficinas donde aprendieron sobre los recursos disponibles en la Gran Logia para los distritos y las locales. Conocieron personal de los departamentos de Recursos Estratégicos, Legal, Comunicaciones y de la oficina de la Secretaria-Tesorera General, así como los Jefes de Personal de los Territorios del Este y de Transporte Aéreo. Los miembros también visitaron la sala de reuniones de la Junta Ejecutiva y la oficina de Robert Martinez, Jr., Presidente Internacional de la IAMAW. Monica Silbas, Jefe de Personal, dio la bienvenida al grupo de parte del Presidente Martinez y compartió con los miembros su experiencia como educadora y miembro del grupo de trabajo del Programa de Liderazgo en español.
La visita a las Oficinas Centrales fue la culminación del primer programa de Liderazgo en español efectuado en el Centro Winpisinger este año. La próxima clase en español será Organización I en español, programada para el 11 de diciembre. El calendario de programas en español del Centro Winpisinger para el 2023 será publicado en las próximas semanas.
In honor of our late Sister Maria Santiago Lillis, the IAM proclaimed every August 10 as “A Commitment to Serve Day”, or ACTS, for short. To celebrate this year’s ACTS Day, officers and members of IAM Locals 1998 and 1979 got together to volunteer at the Pantry, a food bank supporting the community of Honolulu on the Island of Oahu.
“My dear friend and sister Maria never once batted an eye at the thought of helping anyone. No matter the circumstance and no matter her workload, Maria dedicated her life to serving others,” said IAM Western Territory General Vice President Gary R. Allen. “I am grateful for the work Local Lodge 1998 and 1979 did to honor our Sister and I look forward to what they, and the rest of the IAM, will accomplish in her honor in the ACTs Days to come.”
In addition to the time dedicated to working at the Pantry, Local 1998 set a goal to collect 300 pounds of food to donate. They were successful in meeting and exceeding that goal and donated over 400 pounds of food.
One of the goals of the Maria Santiago Lillis Advocacy Day – A Commitment to Serve (ACTS) is to highlight a member who exemplifies the qualities that made Sister Lillis an outstanding advocate for working families. For the first dedication, it makes sense to select someone who Santiago Lillis mentored and developed into the leader they are today.
Jan Suster is from Santiago Lillis’ own Local 1998. Santiago Lillis took the time and energy to mentor Suster, now a Western Territory Special Representative, over the years.
Santiago Lillis wanted the best for everyone and she would have been elated that Suster, someone she mentored, has taken on a leadership role in the Grand Lodge for the Western Territory.
“Corporate America has done an amazing job making people feel small, irrelevant, and uninfluential,” said Suster. “Maria broke this stigma by inspiring people to believe in themselves. Through her mentorship, I saw people overcome and rise as leaders. These new leaders not only believed in themselves, they believed they could make a difference.
“With Maria at the helm, she made the impossible, possible,” continued Suster. “In my eyes she was larger than life, she was hope. Maria’s devotion and drive for a better tomorrow renewed my faith in unions and humanity. She is my role model. Although she wasn’t without flaws, her dedication to her beliefs was infectious. That’s when I decided I wanted to carry on her legacy for years to come.”
Suster has already followed these words of wisdom with her own actions. She began her career with the IAM as an office assistant for Local 1998 in 2016. She was hired as an organizer in 2018 and promoted to a business representative in 2021. Effective June 2022, Suster has served as a Special Representative assigned to the Western Territory. She is active within Hawaii AFL-CIO, Hawaii Metal Trade Council, Center for Labor Education and Research (CLEAR), and Appleseed, an organization fighting for economic justice.
“The Western Territory, and the entire IAM, continues to mourn the loss of our Sister Maria Santiago Lillis,” said IAM Western Territory General Vice President Gary R. Allen. “As we march into the future and carry on Maria’s legacy, it gives us all great pride to continue exemplifying the service that Maria dedicated her life to. This year, we are thrilled to recognize one of our own, Sister Jan Suster, for putting into action what Maria stood for—service, solidarity, and a dedication to a better world for all working people.”
“We help make our members’ lives better by being a part of their lives,” said Suster. “We stand with them, support them through all of life’s struggles. We feel every hardship, every triumph like it’s our own. As a union, we address the fundamentals: wages, health, and retirement. We demand equal opportunity and respect in the workforce. In turn, we help shape the labor standards for all—union and non-union. But, as an organization called to serve, the IAM is so much more.
“‘Kokua’ in a literal term means to help or to assist,” said Suster. “In Hawaii, Kokua is a lifestyle, not just a word. In the IAM, our Kokua is what sets us apart.”
From Left to Right: Richard Johnsen, General Vice President, Air Transport, IAMAW, Sara Nelson, International President, Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), & Sean O’Brien, General President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)
Johnsen spoke on behalf of transportation, aerospace, automotive, aviation, and rail workers. He addressed how technology continues to change the world and the importance of unions having a seat at the table in the design and introduction of new tech, automation, and artificial intelligence.
“I have spent the last year traveling the country to listen to our air transport members and address their concerns as our industry continues to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Johnsen said in his remarks to the Pope. “Pope Francis’s words have inspired millions of workers, especially in the airline industry, who have faced recent challenges with understaffing and unruly passengers. I look forward to jointly working with our global partners to ensure we can address ongoing global crises using social justice.”
During the two-day meeting, the group tackled various issues facing the world. Some problems included the impact of artificial intelligence, modern-day slavery, human trafficking, and climate change in the transportation industry. Other members of the U.S. delegation included Sara Nelson, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, and Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien.
The 12 labor unions of the AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council, with over 4 million members, wrote an urgent letter today urging members of the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Inflation Reduction Act without delay.
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) International President Robert Martinez Jr., chair of the AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council, led the letter along with Vice-Chair and President of the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) Ray Curry.
“Taken together, the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act are unquestionably the most important policy measures to support domestic manufacturing in our nation’s history,” reads the letter from the 12 unions of the AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council. “The tax incentives, grants, and domestic content provisions will not only spur job-creating investment in the manufacturing sector, they will also move the sector towards the investment needed to reduce emissions while positioning the United States to be competitive in a wide range of clean energy goods.
“We do not expect the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) provisions to have a measurable impact on the manufacturing sector. We reject the idea that asking the largest, most profitable corporations to pay a minimum level of taxes is an economic impediment for the United States – history is replete with examples of just the opposite.”
The AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council endorses the Inflation Reduction Act as a huge step toward revitalizing domestic manufacturing and job creation in this vital sector.
