Apr 28, 2022 | iMail
The Transportation Department’s Critical Incident Response Training (CIRT) team recently returned to the Winpisinger Center (W3) to participate in its fifth annual class. The 25 participants applied the knowledge and experience they gained from their first four years on the team to this year’s back to the basics curriculum.
“The IAM is excited that the CIRT team was able to return to the W3 Center for more vital training,” said Richard Johnsen, IAM Chief of Staff to the International President. “Their continued education ensures our members have a team ready and able to provide the safety and protection they may need in the event of a crisis.”
This year’s class was taught by Dr. Jeffrey Mitchell, Clinical Professor and Co-Founder of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. The course focused on basic crisis intervention: strategies and assisting individuals in crisis.
The team also prepared by working through mock disaster scenarios to understand better how to handle crises and apply Dr. Mitchell’s techniques.
The class members are active Employee Assistance Program (EAP) representatives selected from the Transportation Department. The main goal of the annual courses is to train the students on how to best help individuals cope with the effects of a traumatic event or critical incident.
The Transportation Department developed the class in response to the horrific Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016 in Orlando, directly affecting some of its members.
Since its inception, the CIRT team has responded to numerous incidents, including the aftermath of a deadly hurricane season, a fatal incident aboard a Southwest Airlines plane forced to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia, and the shootings in a Henry Pratt manufacturing plant in Aurora, IL and a Walmart store in El Paso, TX.
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Apr 28, 2022 | iMail
WASHINGTON, DC., April 28, 2022 – The International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM), one of the largest unions to represent woodworkers in the U.S., today called on President Joe Biden to implement an executive order that would halt imports of all Russian and Belarusian soft- and hardwoods, as action intended to halt the funding of the violent invasion of Ukraine, and help spur more U.S. wood production.
“Our 600,000-member union stands in support of rejecting Russia’s violent military aggression towards Ukraine. That said, our union believes your administration’s ongoing series of sanctions against Russia and Belarus should also include banning all its wood products, which are often used for items such as furniture manufacturing,” IAM International President Robert Martinez, Jr., said in the letter to President Biden. “Halting imports of Russian and Belarusian wood, because it is conflict timber and import is therefore illegal, would also cut off the financial gains used for furthering this unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.”
It has been reported that in 2021, Russia was the third-largest source of U.S. hardwood plywood imports at about $334 million. Lumber is a large economic engine for Russia, which exported about $12 billion in wood products across the globe last year, according to publications that cited data from Wood Resource Quarterly.
The IAM represents 20,000 workers in the nation’s wood, pulp and paper industries.
Banning Russian and Belarusian imports to the U.S., would also help create good-paying domestic jobs in the woodworkers industry if employers follow suggested guidelines, including worker’s rights, Martinez wrote.
“These guidelines would promote more good-paying and decent jobs for woodworkers and forestry workers throughout the U.S.,” Martinez wrote.
Read the complete letter here.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is one of the largest and most diverse industrial trade unions in North America, representing approximately 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, railroad, manufacturing, transit, healthcare, automotive and other industries.
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Apr 28, 2022 | iMail
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 28, 2022 – The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the nation’s largest airline union, supports the recent introduction of the bipartisan bill Protection from Abusive Passengers Act (H.R. 7433, S. 4019), which would help thwart passenger assault on airline workers.
The legislation, introduced in the Senate by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), and in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), would direct the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to create and manage a program that bars passengers who are fined or convicted of serious physical violence against airline personnel from flying.
“We greatly appreciate congressional lawmakers for taking the rising tide of passenger assault on airline workers very seriously,” said Richard Johnsen, IAM Chief of Staff to the International President. “These hard-working men and women are tasked with getting people to their destination safely, so we should always repay them by ensuring that airport and airline workers have a place that is safe for them too. I urge Congress to move swiftly to pass this legislation and give airline workers the safety and protections they deserve.”
The legislation would also permanently ban abusive passengers from participating in the TSA PreCheck or Customs’ Global Entry programs.
This marks the latest effort by IAM transportation leadership urging lawmakers and federal agency officials to take actions to halt passenger assaults on airport and airline workers.
For example, earlier this year, the IAM joined a letter with other transportation unions, urging President Biden, U.S. Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to help find solutions to thwart the rising passenger assaults.
The FAA has reported a total of 5,981 passenger incidents in 2021, which is up sharply from previous years.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is one of the largest and most diverse industrial trade unions in North America, representing approximately 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, railroad, manufacturing, transit, healthcare, automotive and other industries.
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Apr 26, 2022 | iMail
IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. has appointed Neil Douglas to serve as a Special Representative assigned to the IAM Eastern Territory. Douglas has served as President and Directing Business Representative of IAM Local 1943 in Middletown, OH since 2011. The appointment is effective May 1, 2022.
Douglas hired into AK Steel, now Cleveland Cliffs, in 1998 and quickly got involved in his union (AEIF joined the IAM in 2006), becoming a Grievanceman in 1999. He served as Shop Steward, Committeeman, Vice President, and ultimately President and Directing Business Representative.
Douglas has served the Ohio State Council of Machinists as Vice President and Legislative Agent. He also sits on the Executive Board and Executive Committee of the Dayton Miami Valley AFL-CIO.
Douglas is a proud U.S. Navy veteran who chairs the Middletown Veterans Memorial Fund and has helped raise over $120,000 for scholarships for Middletown area veterans and their families.
“Brother Douglas has been a long-time activist in the labor movement and has been one of the driving forces at IAM Local 1943,” said IAM Eastern Territory General Vice President Brian Bryant. “Neil has not only served the IAM with pride, but he has been a tremendous asset in the Ohio community. Eastern Territory members will benefit from Neil’s extensive experience negotiating fair contracts and bringing new members into the IAM.”
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Apr 26, 2022 | iMail
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 26, 2022 – The 600,000-member International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), recently submitted a series of suggestions to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the U.S. Department of Commerce, offering pro-worker guidance as the two federal agencies are shaping a U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). The framework seeks to solidify ties with nations in the Asia-Pacific region.
IAM International President Robert Martinez, Jr., submitted formal comments in the U.S. federal registry, urging a focus on “trade policy that is worker-centric and does not follow any of the flawed trade policies in our past that have resulted in scores of job losses in the U.S.”
“In short, the IPEF agreement should place workers first. This means provisions like enforceable labor and environmental standards,” Martinez wrote. “Our nation’s workers often rely on trade, and what we want is a fair playing field, not policies that force U.S. workers to compete with horribly-abused sweatshop workers overseas. Our nation’s workforce can compete with other countries when we are given a fair chance.”
The Biden administration is in the early stages of shaping the IPEF, which has not finalized involved nations and could take nearly two years to complete. The proposed framework has been labeled as a means to counter China’s influence in the Asia-Pacific region. The IPEF will includes the following pillars: fair and resilient trade; supply chain resilience; infrastructure clean energy, and decarbonization; and tax and anti-corruption.
Martinez offered policy suggestions such as enforceable, labor and environmental rules, as well as transparency in the negotiations process. He also cautioned that the IPEF should not resemble the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), a once-proposed flawed trade deal under the Obama administration that would have gutted the nation’s manufacturing sector.
“Moreover, the problem this country has faced with supply chains is simply the result of bad trade policies that has allowed American jobs to go overseas and corporations to profit from low wages,” Martinez wrote. “Will IPEF’s proposal seek to address the real problems of our supply chain with remedies that will benefit the American worker? The Machinists Union is not sure that IPEF is the recovery road we seek, especially when real protective enforcement mechanisms are lacking.”
The IAM has not taken a position on the proposed IPEF, but has been actively engaged in continued discussions with the Biden administration’s trade officials and members of Congress.
The economic framework does not require congressional approval, but Martinez wrote that Congress, as well as labor unions and civil groups “should also be involved in the discussions and review process of this very important trade policy that will impact U.S. workers and their families.”
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is one of the largest and most diverse industrial trade unions in North America, representing approximately 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, railroad, manufacturing, transit, healthcare, automotive and other industries.
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Apr 26, 2022 | iMail
WASHINGTON, April 26, 2022 – Matt Hollis, National Vice President and Special Assistant to the President for Transportation Communications Union (TCU/IAM), will testify before the Surface Transportation Board on Wednesday, April 27, 2022. Hollis will testify on behalf of the IAM Rail Division to address urgent issues in the freight rail service. Other speakers include U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Deputy Agriculture Secretary Dr. Jewel H. Bronaugh, and Commissioner Carl W. Bentzel of the Federal Maritime Commission.
WATCH: STB Hearing on Urgent Issues in Freight Rail Service- April 26 and 27
The Transportation Communications Union (TCU/IAM) and IAM District 19, which together represent tens of thousands of rail workers, will become part of the IAM Rail Division on May 1, 2022.
The testimony will highlight three specific crafts in the rail industry that reveal the impact of Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) on the workforce and current issues with freight rail service.
“From my position at TCU/IAM, I have had a front-row seat to the complete and utter degradation of our nation’s Class 1 railroads over the past six to seven years,” said Hollis. “I’ve watched as private equity firms have acquired controlling stakes in railroads only to use their power to deploy business models that extract as much wealth as possible, to the detriment of the railroads’ workers, their customers, and ultimately, the public interest. The Class 1 railroads have deployed their variations of the Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) business model – a misnomer, as any real railroader would tell you that PSR is neither precise nor well-scheduled and hardly resembles what they would call ‘railroading.’ A more accurate description would be doing ‘less with less’ – or moving fewer carloads with drastically fewer employees.”
The Transportation Communications Union (TCU/IAM) represents approximately 46,000 members in the U.S., most employed in the railroad industry.
IAM District 19 represents 11,000 active machinists across the country at every Class 1 commuter railroad, Amtrak and others. Members primarily maintain and repair locomotives and track maintenance equipment both in shops and on the line of road. They also perform complete overhauls of locomotives and many assemblies and sub-assemblies used in all aspects of railroading.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is one of the largest and most diverse industrial trade unions in North America, representing approximately 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, railroad, manufacturing, transit, healthcare, automotive and other industries.
goIAM.org | @MachinistsUnion
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Apr 26, 2022 | iMail
Last week, IAM Transportation Coordinator Edison Fraser represented the Machinists Union at the International Transport Workers’ Federation’s (ITF) executive board meeting in London, England. The conference’s emphasis was for the ITF to renew its commitment to the fight to represent its affiliates’ union members worldwide.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to meet and strategize with union sisters and brothers worldwide. It is important to remember that an injury to one is an injury to all,” said Fraser. “There was also a focus on union members in Ukraine and how they were being affected by the Russian invasion. The IAM Air Transport members stand with our Ukrainian sisters and brothers as they struggle through these difficult times.”
“The IAM has a long, storied history of developing and maintaining relationships with all ITF affiliates,” said Richard Johnsen, IAM Chief of Staff to the International President. “We will continue to be at the forefront in the fight to protect workers’ rights globally.”
Johnsen serves as an ITF Executive Board member.
Another focal point of the meetings was a planned day of action against P&O Ferries, which fired 800 Britain-based seafarers on March 17, 2022, with only 30 minutes’ notice via a prerecorded zoom call.
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Apr 25, 2022 | LL S6 Leadership Alerts, LL S6 Upcoming Events, Negotiations
Brothers and Sisters,
Please find the below correspondence sent to Bath Iron Works regarding Article 51 of the CBA.
CLICK HERE: Article 51 Notice: CLICK HERE
In Solidarity, Local S6 Leadership
Apr 24, 2022 | iMail
FORT WORTH, Texas, April 24, 2022 – Approximately 5,000 members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 776 in Fort Worth, Texas on Sunday voted to ratify a new contract with Lockheed Martin. The four-year, two-month contract takes effect Monday, April 25.
IAM members at the Fort Worth facility build the F-35, the world’s most advanced multi-role fighter. The IAM has long championed continued support for the F-35 program.
The new contract includes:
– 16% effective general wage increase over the life of the contract
– Additional cost-of-living adjustments and a $1,000 yearly cost-of-living supplement
– Improvements to retirement plan and maintains strong healthcare plan
– $4,000 ratification bonus
– Improvements in field pay, annual progression raises, shift premiums and more.
The IAM District 776 negotiating committee unanimously recommended the proposal. Contract negotiations had been ongoing since February. The contract also covers IAM members at Edwards Air Force Base, CA, and Patuxent River, MD.
“We have once again proven why the IAM is the largest and strongest aerospace and defense labor union in the world,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr., who began his IAM career as an aircraft assembler at the Fort Worth facility. “Our members stood strong and demanded a strong contract every step of the way. I want to thank the District 776 leadership and negotiating committee, the IAM Aerospace Department, the IAM Southern Territory and every department at the IAM Grand Lodge who supported these important negotiations.”
Negotiations were pivotal not only for IAM District 776 families, but for the Dallas-Fort Worth community, the state of Texas and the aerospace industry. The F-35 supply chain supports over 254,000 jobs with 1,800 suppliers spanning 48 states and Puerto Rico.
“We demanded an equitable contract that fairly compensated the best aerospace and defense workers in the world—and today, we succeeded,” said IAM District 776 President and Directing Business Representative Paul Black. “The solidarity and strength of our membership and negotiating committee carried us through this process.”
The IAM District 776 negotiating committee prepared for contract talks for more than six months, including a preparation session at the IAM’s Winpisinger Education and Technology Center, which included trainings on contract language, strategic planning, contract costing and a negotiation simulation.
“Our negotiating team made it clear that retirement security, and increasing 401(k) plan funding, was critical to ratifying a contract,” said IAM Aerospace General Vice President Mark Blondin. “I’m proud to report that we have delivered on retirement security and much more for our membership.”
READ: Machinists Union advocacy grows bipartisan support for F-35 program goIAM
“IAM District 776 members are rightfully proud of the work they do to support our military,” said IAM Southern Territory General Vice President Rickey Wallace. “Thanks to the strength of this negotiating committee and the membership, we have secured a fair and equitable contract that will secure the futures of our members and their families.”
READ: Here’s why Lockheed’s F-35 program remains vital to U.S. security, Fort Worth economy Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“I could not be more proud of the work done by this negotiating committee,” said IAM Aerospace Chief of Staff Jody Bennett. “We used every resource necessary to achieve our goal—a contract that delivers pay and benefit increases for our membership.”
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is one of the largest and most diverse industrial trade unions in North America, representing approximately 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, railroad, manufacturing, transit, healthcare, automotive and other industries.
goIAM.org | @MachinistsUnion
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Apr 22, 2022 | LL S6 Leadership Alerts
Brothers and Sisters,
Please find the most recent Leadership Alert below.
Leadership Alert 4_22_22
In Solidarity,
Local S6 Leadership
