Code 14 Usage From February 1 through February 18, 2022, MOA
NFFE-IAM Applauds Biden-Harris Administration for Raising Federal Employee Minimum Wage to $15 an Hour
The National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) recently applauded the Biden-Harris Administration for implementing pay raises to guarantee all federal employees earn at least $15 per hour. The Office of Personnel Management announced that agencies are directed to make pay adjustments by January 30, affecting nearly 70,000 civilian employees.
Nearly 70k federal workers are getting a raise, including the wildland firefighters who put their lives on the line to protect this country. Thanks to @NFFE_Union who never gave up the fight to get these workers a much-deserved raise. https://t.co/wNYqMXTWPf
— Machinists Union (@MachinistsUnion) January 24, 2022
“This is a tremendous stride towards ensuring all federal workers are paid a living wage that allows for them to provide for their families,” said NFFE-IAM National President Randy Erwin. “No employee working for the federal government should be struggling to make ends meet. As these pay increases take effect in the coming days, there is no doubt that these workers will be given some much needed and well deserved relief.”
The pay adjustments will increase wages for more than 56,000 workers at the Department of Defense, as well as many employees at Veterans Affairs and the Department of Agriculture, among others. Roughly 130 wildland firefighters will have their pay increased to at least $15 an hour, a policy which NFFE-IAM has been pushing for over the past several years.
“Since our first wildland firefighter bargaining unit was formed, this union has been advocating for federal wildland firefighters to be fairly compensated for the grueling and life-risking work they do to protect our country,” continued President Randy Erwin. “Early in his presidency, President Biden promised to ensure no federal firefighter was paid less than $15 an hour. Today, the President fulfilled that promise. Not only for our wildland firefighters, but for all government workers.”
“This administration understands that a strong, apolitical federal workforce is critical to maintaining a democracy that is open to everyone. From day one, President Biden has been committed to preserving and advancing the interests of government employees. We are grateful that the President’s vision for the federal workforce is coming to fruition with momentous executive actions like those announced today.”
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Local 201 Members at Non-Profit CAUSE Prepare for Contract Negotiations at Winpisinger Center
Negotiating committee members from IAM Local 201 (District 947) recently attended Negotiation Prep training at the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center (W3) to prepare for upcoming contract negotiations with Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE). The non-profit group, which entered their first contract negotiations last week, unanimously voted to join the IAM in October 2021.
CAUSE is a base-building organization committed to social, economic, and environmental justice for working-class and immigrant communities in California’s Central Coast. They build grassroots power through community organizing, leadership development, coalition building, civic engagement, policy research, and advocacy.
Respect and equality in the workplace are two values the 13 new members of IAM District 947 in California want in a first contract with CAUSE.
“I’m so excited to be representing my coworkers and their families through the negotiation process,” said Alex Garcia, CAUSE Community Organizer and IAM Negotiation Committee member. “We want to ensure that our social justice work and love for our community continue in ways that are healthy and sustainable.”
“I’m excited to represent my coworkers and to elevate our mission of making sure community organizing moves forward in a safe, equitable, and sustainable way,” said Wendy Santamaria, CAUSE Community Organizer and IAM Negotiation Committee member. “A win for labor anywhere is a win for our communities everywhere.”
“We look forward to negotiating and partnering with an organization that does a lot for their community like CAUSE does,” said Milton Duena, IAM District 947 Business Representative. “That starts by uplifting our new members’ voices and ensuring their rights are protected in their first contract.”
The CAUSE Negotiating Committee was the first class in about two years to visit IAM Headquarters (social distancing protocols were followed). They spoke with IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr., who encouraged them in their fight for a first contract.
“It was an honor to meet some of our members from CAUSE and personally welcome them into our IAM family,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “CAUSE workers share the same core principles as the Machinists, fighting every day for social, economic and environmental justice. I assured them they will have every resource available to achieve a great first contract.”
“I am humbled the workers at CAUSE overwhelmingly chose to join the IAM,” said IAM Western Territory General Vice President Gary R. Allen. “Their work for a non-profit organization is a testament to their mission in life, bringing equality and hope to those who might not be able to achieve that themselves. I thank IAM District 947 President/DBR Sal Vasquez for his vision and leadership in targeting this sector over the last few years. Business Representative Milton Duena, IAM District 947 Assistant Directing Business Representative Gabe De Alba, and the whole staff at District 947 are to be applauded for their support and guidance of our new members at CAUSE.”
The Winpisinger Center works with several departments at IAM Headquarters, including Strategic Resources, Legal, and Communications, to amplify the importance of roles for the members, stewards, and negotiating committees.
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Not a Super Bowl Champion? Be Top Dog in Another Way with Guide Dogs of America
While many of us will never be Super Bowl Champions, there is another way for you to be a legend or rather, top dog. By purchasing a square in the Guide Dogs of America/Tender Loving Canines (GDA/TLC) Super-Puppy Bowl Squares Pool, you too can be a winner and help an organization that is changing the world.
Enter the GDA/TLC Super-Puppy Bowl Squares Pool.
So here’s how it works. The GDA will assign random numbers 0-9 for each Super Bowl team. On Friday, February 11, 2022, at 10 a.m. PST, a live drawing will be held on the GDA Facebook page to assign numbers to squares. If your number matches the final score at the end of each quarter of the big game, you win a prize and the ability to sponsor some service pups that are making life easier for thousands of people across North America. Each square will cost $100 and participants can reserve as many as they wish – the pool is limited to 100 total entries. Reserve a square and become top dog today!
Guide Dogs of America/Tender Loving Canines provides service dogs for people who are blind/visually impaired, veterans, children with autism, and facilities to become trusted companions that bring confidence, independence, and mobility. Their services are provided free of charge to residents in the U.S. and Canada.
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Enter This Year’s IAM Photo, Newsletter, and Website Contests
We are calling all IAM District and Local Communicators to participate in the 2021 IAM Newsletter and Website contests. The contest is an excellent opportunity to recognize the hard work of our brothers and sisters across the Machinists Union.
You can visit the official call on the Contest website to learn more.
The IAM Newsletter and Website Contest is open to all local and district lodges in good standing, having publications in distribution regularly or mailed to members and maintaining regularly-updated IAM websites.
This contest will consider newsletters published between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021, and websites operating online during the judging period.
An independent panel of judges will review submitted entries and select the winners. Contact the Communications Department at 301-967-4520 if you have any questions.
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Enrollment Deadline Extended for IAM Women’s Leadership Training Program
Want to build up our IAM Sisters while sharpening your leadership skills? Consider joining other active IAM women from across the U.S. and Canada and participating in the 2022 Women’s Leadership Program March 20-25, 2022, at the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center in Hollywood, MD.
Download the call letter in English or French and return the completed registration form to the Women’s and Human Rights Department no later than February 15, 2022.
Space is limited and the class fills quickly, so get registered now.
Please contact the Women’s and Human Rights Department at 301-967-4747 with any questions.
The curriculum empowers participants to look for resolutions to working women and family issues through education and solidarity. It is an excellent learning experience for members to strengthen their leadership skills, build women’s committees, or be interested in the issues.
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First Woman President of Victory Lodge 1725
Dora Cervantes speaking at the podium: “This is a special moment from the first woman General Secretary-Treasurer to the first woman Local Lodge President.”
That new President is Helena Thornton of Victory Lodge 1725 in Charlotte, North Carolina… a lodge that houses two transportation districts, 141 and 142. after general secretary treasurer Dora Cervantes swore in new officers, three of the local’s eight executive board members are now women.
“I’m still at a loss for words, I am so honored,” said Helena Thornton, First woman president of Victory Lodge 1725. “To have all these people here, to have our leadership team here and our own General Secretary Treasurer Dora has really shown me that it’s a good thing.”
So many members packed into the union hall, it was standing room only… to see the e-board and shop stewards sworn in for a new three-year term.
“It feels amazing just to have sister Dora here to swear us in, was something that is just like totally off the chain,” said Renae Miller, Victory Lodge 1725 Recording Secretary. “And to have all the other people here to witness this historic day for our first female president was amazing and I just hope I can do as good a job as she did as the recording secretary and make our local and our union proud.”
Miller has a good role model in Thornton, who acknowledges her own mentors… Assistant General Chairs Mike Fairbanks and Mark Baskett, who she says, never left her side and always supported her. Now, she hopes to do the same for her membership.
“They have my total dedication and support to ensure that this local will be one of the best locals that we have ever had,” said Thornton. ”All I want to do is bring more to it because we’re already awesome.”
Thornton has a long history of performing community service and even received an award for it at the Women’s Conference in 2019. It’s that type of dedication that members saw in her previous work as recording secretary and auditor… all leading up to her election as president.
“The individuals that were sworn in, they’ve been committed to their local for quite some time, from different facets of their local,” said Mike Noble, of Victory Lodge 1725. “I really feel like they put they weight in and their time in and it proves that the membership recognizes their hard work.”
“I think it’s fabulous,” said April Adcock, a Victory Lodge 1725 Member. “I am so excited, I’m so happy for them. I’m so proud of them. I think this is just an amazing moment.”
Thornton says her goals include holding everyone accountable for their actions and making sure local members hold her accountable, along with uniting the two districts.
“My philosophy is, because we have two districts don’t mean we’re two separate locals. To me, 141 and 142 equal 1725. We are one.”
One Victory Lodge, proud to make history in a union that fights for human rights every day of the year.
“I’m truly a full-blown Machinist, from my children, to my three grandchildren, everything is Machinists… in talking to them, they just say, ‘Everything you say is union!’ Because it is. You want a pension, you don’t want to work forever, you want a good retirement and if you don’t have a union, Machinists preferably, it’s gonna be hard for you.”
For the Machinists News Network, I’m Tanya Hutchins.
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IAM Milwaukee Art Museum Employees Ratify First Agreement
IAM District 10 members at the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) recently ratified a first agreement representing more than 75 employees.
The new three-year accord features guaranteed general wage increases in the second and third contract years of 2.75% and 2%, respectively, with a guaranteed minimum raise of 55 cents in these years for all bargaining unit employees.
The new deal includes job security improvements such as a clear and defined process for future layoffs and recalls based on seniority, and limitations on subcontracting when qualified employees are on layoff. Workers also secured increased access to health insurance through the Machinists Custom Choices Plan.
The success follows a long effort by museum management to deny workers efforts to unionize, or even have a vote. Workers endured an anti-union campaign leading up to their historic wall to wall organizing win.
“My thanks go out to the Bargaining Committee,” said IAM District 10 Directing Business Representative Alex Hoekstra. “The bargaining unit called for a focus on equity and fairness, and their new contract does just that.”
“We are thrilled to welcome this dedicated group of workers,” said IAM District 10 Organizer Anne Wiberg. “By uniting together, they changed their workplace for the better. This contract reflects their commitment and persistence. They knew the value of being in the IAM from the start.”
“I couldn’t be more proud of what these new members accomplished,” said IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Steve Galloway. “Securing a first contract is the ultimate, true win of a successful organizing campaign. The IAM members at MAM took their future into their own hands bargaining and ensuring guaranteed raises and procedures that protect workers. I congratulate them on ratifying their first agreement.”
Museum employees work in various departments including Art Preparation, Conservation, Curatorial, Design, Development, Education, Facilities, Food & Beverage, Information Systems, Library, Marketing, Registrar, Museum Store, and Visitor Services.
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IAM Organizes First Veterinary Hospital in Rochester, New York
Nearly 130 workers at Veterinary Specialists and Emergency Services in Rochester NY voted “Yes” to joining the IAM family.
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IAM Vows to Keep Fighting to Protect Voting Rights
The recently unsuccessful opportunity for the U.S. Congress to thwart the rising attacks on our nation’s voting rights is unfortunate, but that will not stop the Machinists Union from continuing to advocate for means to restore the voting rights to protect the democracy of this great nation.
Despite aggressive advocating from the IAM and scores of other labor unions, the Senate recently failed to get enough votes to pause the filibuster rule, which is the 60-vote threshold to advance most legislation. The action failed in a 48-52 vote with Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) joining all Senate Republicans in the opposition of the rules change.
That essentially halted the advancement of the House-passed Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, two pieces of legislation that would restore and strengthen parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
That includes:
- Require early voting in all fifty states
- Create a national standard for mail voting
- Give Americans a public holiday to vote
- Establish clear federal redistricting standards to stop gerrymandered districts
- Create automatic voter registrations
The right to vote for whom we want to represent us is the foundational cornerstone of our democracy. Our ability to cast our ballot each Election Day is fundamental to our system of government. Yet, in 2021, at least 19 states passed 34 laws restricting access to voting. American democracy is under attack.
“Despite the disappointing vote in the Senate, our only recourse is to keep battling and organizing to protect our basic democratic right, the freedom to vote,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez, Jr., who previously wrote a letter to U.S. Senators. “This fight is far from over. The Machinists will continue to lobby for this vital legislation because our democracy is too important for us ever to relent.”
Also, IAM members contacted their Senators, asking them to end the filibuster procedure and support the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
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