IAM District 66 members recently gave back to the community by volunteering and participating in a large-scale food distribution for an organization that helps feed over 4,000 Wisconsin families monthly.
On December 17, 2022, IAM District 66 members and their families assisted in the Food Fair at Wafer Food Pantry in La Crosse, WI.
IAM members performed a variety of activities for this coordinated effort including food distribution, stocking, donation packages assembly and more. They served nearly 300 vehicles providing food supplies to Wafer Food Pantry beneficiaries.
This effort brought together IAM District 66, IAM Local 21 and IAM Local 1115 as part of their IAM H.E.L.P.S. program.
“Our members care about their communities and want to help build better lives for everyone. No one should go to bed hungry or worry about their children going hungry. We want to do what we can to help”, said IAM District 66 Directing Business Representative Jana Kirch. “The Wafer Food Pantry has been crucial for many people in the La Crosse area and we are happy to play a small role in their continuance to help those in need.”
“IAM members pride themselves on giving back to those in need and ongoing efforts like this one prove it,” said IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Steve Galloway. “Through the H.E.L.P.S. initiative, we want to keep supporting hardworking families so they can have a better life, which ultimately will strengthen their communities.”
The IAM Midwest Territory began the “IAM H.E.L.P.S. in the Community” initiative in the spring of 2017 to provide essential assistance to residents in need. H.E.L.P.S. stands for Honoring, Engaging, Lifting, Providing and Servicing. For more on IAM H.E.L.P.S. click here.
IAM District 751 President and Directing Business Representative Jon Holden was recently appointed to a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) panel to review Boeing’s safety management processes. The 24-member panel was required by Congress under a 2020 law to reform how the FAA certifies new airplanes.
The appointment comes days after Congress recently reached an agreement on an end-of-year government spending bill that included an amendment granting Boeing a modification to the certification deadline, which would allow the 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 jets to complete aircraft certification without significant disruptions. The amendment, which includes several mandatory safety enhancements, protects thousands of Machinists’ jobs by ensuring a deadline included in legislation passed in 2020 does not apply to the MAX 7 and MAX 10 models that have yet entered service.
Holden was hired at the Boeing Co., starting his career at the Everett, Washington plant in 1997. Since 2014, Holden has served as the president and directing business representative of IAM District 751, which represents about 32,000 aerospace workers at Boeing and other suppliers, as well as other manufacturing industries.
“It’s an honor to represent our members’ voice on the future and culture of Boeing,” said Holden. “Our members are on the frontlines daily and understand the processes needed to ensure the customer’s safety and well-being. This panel is a step in the right direction and allows us to strengthen our presence in the aerospace industry.”
The panel is tasked with reviewing Boeing Co.’s safety management processes and will have nine months to complete the review and issue findings and recommendations.
IAM members from across the country gathered in Washington, DC, for the AFL-CIO’s Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference to listen and learn about critical issues affecting the labor movement and minorities.
The conference workshops and plenary sessions focused on the labor movement’s key priorities: youth organizing, civil rights, racial and economic justice, and many other topics that affect working families and unions.
Hundreds of union members, including Machinists, also honored Dr. King’s legacy by performing community service projects throughout the Washington DC Metro Area.
Some of the community service projects included letter writing for the Armed Services retirement home, meal preparations for families in need and more.
“MLK Day is also recognized as a National Day of Service, which calls for all of us to band together to give back to our communities,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “The Machinists take great pride, individually and collectively, in spearheading the betterment of our neighbors.”
IAM members also joined civil and labor rights activists and community members for the 2023 MLK Holiday DC Annual Peace Walk & Parade in South East Washington, DC. This year’s theme was “Recapture The Dream Lift Every Voice: ‘Till Victory is Won!
Machinists are proud to be attending the @AFLCIO Martin Luther King Jr. Human and Civil Right Conference this weekend to discuss and learn how we can continue to fight for economic justice and protect our democracy!#MLKDay2023#1upic.twitter.com/wRlQUT7psQ
Mutual aid and community service always has and always will be an essential part of the labor movement.
Today union members are giving back across across the Washington, DC region as part of our #MLK Human and Civil Rights Conference! #1upic.twitter.com/g8MsKeq6gV
Machinists writing letters for residents of Armed Forced Retirement Home here in DC, one of the multiple community service projects happening now at the 2023 MLK Civil and Human Rights Conference #MachinistsCarepic.twitter.com/DfY061Iox3
This executive order led to greater equality for employees in the workplace, and significant changes regarding promotion systems, scheduling, working conditions, benefits and more.
The IAM, along with the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM Federal District 1), represents approximately more than 100,000 blue and white collar government workers across the United States and continues to advocate to ensure that America’s civil servants get the respect and dignity they have earned.
The IAM is supporting legislation sponsored by Maryland State Del. Steve Johnson (D-34A), which would provide a consistent process for employees of unorganized public library systems in Maryland to form a union and collectively bargain. Senator Nancy King (D-39) is cross-filing the legislation in the Senate.
“All of our state’s hard-working library workers deserve a voice in the workplace,” Sen. King said. “These public servants are so important to their communities, and they deserve a process to collectively bargain if they wish to do so.”
This legislation, House Bill (H.B.) 65, does not guarantee union organizing or require library system employees to form a union. H.B. 65 enables Maryland library workers to organize for union representation, should they wish to do so.
“This is a constitutional bill,” Del. Johnson said. “This important piece of legislation gives our state’s unorganized public library workers a clear and consistent pathway to use their constitutional right to join a labor union if they wish.”
In 2022, the IAM ratified its first collective bargaining agreement covering about 460 Baltimore County Public Library (BCPL) employees. The one-year collective bargaining agreement, which was overwhelmingly ratified by BCPL employees in May, includes pay increases and paid leave, among other significant improvements.
The plight of BCPL workers seeking a pathway to organize also gained the attention of President Joe Biden, who invited a BCPL member to speak before the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment.
“Library workers in every county of Maryland should have the same ability to join a union if they choose,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez, Jr.in a letter to members of the Maryland Assembly. “Library workers’ ability to exercise their right to join a union in the state of Maryland should not be based on the county system in which they work, but instead on the universally-recognized right to freedom of association. This freedom should be available to any library worker who wishes to seek the option.”
