Machinists Fight $20M Tax Hike

Sep 26, 2018 | Departments, Featured, Home, MNPL

Machinists Union members in New Jersey are fighting to stop legislation that will make travel even more expensive for the millions of passengers that travel through Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) each year.

Sponsored by New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney and Newark Senator Teresa Ruiz, the proposed bill would add $20 million annually in jet fuel taxes to airlines already facing rising fuel costs. There are serious doubts as to whether such a large cost increase could be fully absorbed by the airlines, which would prompt them to pass on costs to passengers, consider route changes or even job cuts in response. Airlines hit by the tax could be forced to scale back planned improvements to their facilities, especially those that are funded voluntarily and without subsidies.

In other words, higher travel costs, fewer route options, and deteriorating airport facilities: Things that no flyer wants to hear.

The bill would also endanger the careers of tens of thousands of airline workers at the airport, and may not even be legal.

In seeking to use the new tax to fund a proposed PATH Railway extension from downtown Manhattan,  Senate Bill 2892 would illegally divert airport taxes for non-airport use. This practice violates Federal Law and will place the Port Authority of New Jersey and New York at risk of incurring tens of millions worth of legal penalties. It would also put millions of dollars of critical federal grants in jeopardy.

All of which has left airline workers at Newark Liberty more than a little concerned.

The Machinists Union, which represents more than 3,000 airline workers at EWR, immediately mobilized its membership in opposition to the scheme.

Rich Creighton, Assistant General Chair for District 141 was among the first IAM leaders to organize union members for the effort.  “IAM members believe in fair and just laws and were outraged by this proposal that threatened our jobs. District 141 AGC Mike Cyscon, Local 914 President Bill Gula and our Legislative Director and NJ State Council President Ines Garcia-Keim all did incredible work contacting and informing our members about this issue. We were able to get members from all over the state to defend our interests in Trenton. I am convinced that our pride and solidarity moved the politicians this week.”

Bowing to the targeted pressure from the Machinists and other activists, legislators retreated from an earlier plan to direct the entire tax increase against United Airlines and its passengers, a move which would have certainly placed Machinists jobs in jeopardy.

While the amended bill distributes the tax increase among all carriers at EWR, it is still calculated based on consumption. Since United is the largest carrier at Newark, some estimates suggest that it will still be stuck with the tab for about 70% of the total $20 million annual cost. 

“While there’s still a lot of work ahead, this was a great show of solidarity,” said AGC Mike Cyscon, who represents Newark along with AGC Rich Creighton.  “When IAM Members come together as we did here today, we can have a huge impact.”

“The IAM Members that stood up to defend our work, our company and our union are absolutely making history. We don’t go down without a fight.”

IAM141 Members can help ensure that the interests of airline workers are represented in public policy – thanks to the IAM141 MNPL Program. The Machinists Non-Partisan League is funded entirely through voluntary donations from members like you. To become a supporting member of the IAM141 MNPL, please complete a MNPL Automatic Payroll Deduction Card for any amount today. Cards can be found by visiting the MNPL page at IAM141.org.

Meet a Union Activist: Dave Roderick, IAM141 Legislative Director

Aug 29, 2018 | Departments, Featured, Home, MNPL

Chances are, Dave Roderick has met the next President of the United States.

As he puts it, Dave has been “Woke” for a long time, since he was a teenager. And, in that time, he has pretty much seen everything and met everyone that has ever had a direct impact on the world that he’s lived in.

He has met or personally knows every major political player in American politics today, from Republicans like Ted Cruz and Susan Collins, to Democrats and Independents like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. He has worked with both Hillary Clinton and John McCain, who recently lost his battle with cancer after serving in the Senate for more than 32 years.

Not surprisingly, Dave Roderick’s years of high-level political activism have led to his becoming the Director of Legislation for IAM District 141. In this role, Dave is responsible for keeping public policy makers informed and educated on matters of importance to airline workers. In other words, he needs to keep our nation’s policymakers as woke as possible.

The IAMAW, or the “Machinists Union” as it is called by many of its 600,000 members, is the largest collection of aerospace workers on the planet, with District 141 representing the largest single group of airline workers within the union.

This year, Dave Roderick represented the 42,000 members of IAM District 141 at the Pride @ Work Convention, which seeks to build bridges between important decision-makers within the labor movement and the thousands of LGBT workers that are covered by union contracts in North America.

The Pride @ Work Convention was held this year in Phoenix, Arizona. Dave is also the first openly gay Legislative Director in the history of IAM141.

How did you get started as an activist for LGBT issues?
Since about the time I was 15 or 16. I don’t think of it as working for “LGBT” issues as much as fulfilling my social responsibility. When I was younger, I mostly worked as an ally for persons of color, for example. This eventually led me to work within the Equal Rights communities, which led to LGBT activism.

I’ll always be interested in human rights. I was lucky to have had the opportunity to study this topic at the Winpisinger Center, which our union operates, and provides trainings on how to be more effective as a human rights activist.

What was your first project?
One of my fondest memories was while I was in high school. My very close friend (who was black) and I formed a group that we called “SIT,” or “Students Involved in Togetherness.”

There were still major race relations problems in 1973 within my Hammond, Indiana high school. Our focus was to try to get ALL students together, so we held daily meetings during the lunch periods. In an unused conference room we played “albums” for students to enjoy and dance to. Unfortunately, it didn’t work as planned. We had a good number of people in attendance, but not enough white people. We tried to reach out to white allies, but we never attracted more than a handful.

Allies are critical because that’s the only way a minority community can reach majority support. But, this was high school. We were kids.

What are some of the things you’ve accomplished since then?
My involvement had always been in the political field. We’ve participated in so many events, I’ve just lost count. One notable program that I’m pretty happy with are the sessions with my community Congressional Representatives. We use those to discuss concerns in the LGBTQ communities.

Through the Machinists Union, District 141 and my home lodge in Chicago, Local Lodge 1487, there are many programs available for those of us that want to get involved. All you have to do is show up, and be ready to help out.

That’s the thing about unions. They’ve always been advancing equality for all. The IAMAW’s William W. Winpisinger Center in Hollywood, MD, has well-developed educational programs and classes to assist our union leaders. This includes their very active Human Rights classes, and Human Rights Department, which is now headed by Rhonda Rodgers at Headquarters. Young activists and veterans alike can find a role, whether it’s planting yard signs, fundraising, or taking on a leadership role.

Can you say something about your experience working with Pride@Work so far?
We are just beginning our relationship with “Pride at Work,” although the organization has been around for some time.

P@W is guided by the AFL-CIO, and involves over 20 chapters and union affiliates. It allows us to be leaders and to assist LGBTQIA+ members who are at-risk of mistreatment in the workplace.

As union members, we should be proud of the work that we’ve done on behalf of the LGBTQIA+ community. In states that don’t have explicit legislation protecting the Queer community, the union contract might provide the only legal protections that exist for these people at work. It’s critical that we make sure those contracts and union benefits are reaching everyone.

I am very proud to say that IAM141 President Mike Klemm felt that our district needs to be involved and participate. His support is critical, and very much appreciated. President Klemm thinks it’s past time for union members to make sure that worker’s rights are reaching all workers, and I couldn’t agree with him more.

Who has inspired you?
I have the highest respect for so many people within my union family who have encouraged me to be who I am today. I am so appreciative of the work that my Chicago Local 1487 has done under the guidance of Tony Licciardi. Tony has worked hard to make sure that all groups within our union are represented.

Monica Silbas, the Assistant Legislative Director for the IAM, was one of my first mentors when I was just getting started in union activism. Her work in Women’s Rights, Workers Rights, Human Rights and LGBT equality has been profoundly inspiring to me. Chris Wagoner, the Director of the Winpisinger Center, which I mentioned earlier, and his team at the harbor are a phenomenal resource to anyone in our union who is interested in serving the membership and their communities. Plus our own DL141 President Michael Klemm who continues to ensure that our union is inclusive of all.

Any final thoughts?
There are many ways to get actively involved in the union’s work. There is one area where we have a lot of work to do, and that is fundraising to support our allies in elected office. Federal law prohibits unions from using money from dues to support political candidates, so we rely on voluntary contributions from IAM members to the Machinists Non-Partisan Political League (MNPL). We will never match the huge sums of money that Corporate PACs funnel to anti-union politicians, but we can pool small contributions from members to support candidates and officeholders who support organized labor and all working people. As we have learned on our shop floors, the best way to advance the priorities and values of our union members is by combining our human and financial resources to realize the true power of collective action.

Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh Has History of Opposing Unions

Jul 11, 2018 | Departments, Featured, Home, MNPL

President Trump’s appointment of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, if confirmed by the Senate, could cement the court’s pro-business tilt for decades to come.

This appointment has the potential to affect every one of us in a labor union. Labor unions have fought for decades and continue to fight for fair policies such as the right to organize, equal pay for women, safety in the workplace, civil rights for women and the LGBTQ community, immigration and voting rights.

Kavanaugh’s nomination was triggered by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan and has served on our country’s highest court since 1987. Many recent Supreme Court rulings have been decided by the conservative majority by a 5 to 4 vote. Justice Kennedy was considered a “swing vote,” since he sided with the more liberal justices on social issues such as gay marriage and the Affordable Care Act. Judge Kavanaugh’s writings over his 12 years on the Federal bench show that he will side with the conservative majority in most cases. His confirmation will give the conservative wing of the court a 6-3 “super majority” which has many labor leaders concerned about future challenges to civil rights, including labor rights.

As a Federal District Court judge in DC, Judge Kavanaugh overruled an unfair labor practice decision from the National Labor Relations Board against the Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, stating that the hotel’s management was right to request that police issue citations for protesting on public property outside the casino. In 2007 he gave the Defense Department the ability to curb civilian workers’ collective bargaining rights. In a decision supporting Sea World, he wrote that OSHA cannot regulate safety in sports and entertainment. He supported a meat packing business against a successful organizing drive ruling that undocumented workers are not “employees” and had no right to organize a union.

The 51-49 split between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate, combined with the absence of Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) who is critically ill, sets the stage for a confirmation battle on Capitol Hill. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) are considered moderate Republicans who have stated their support of court precedent, particularly in regards to women’s reproductive rights. Will they join Democratic Senators who hope they can achieve a united front against the Kavanaugh nomination? Many observers are speculating about how the three Democratic Senators who voted for President Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee will vote this time. They are Joe Manchin (D-WV), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Joe Donnelly (D-IN), who joined Republican Senators including Collins and Murkowski and voted to confirm conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch in 2017.

In light of recent Supreme Court decisions like Janus vs AFSME which have put restrictions on the rights of unions to organize and represent workers, it is important that every American worker, whether they are a union member or not, understand the importance and the need to be informed and involved in this decision.

Each and every one of us should phone the United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. An operator will connect you directly to your Senator’s office.

Tell them not to support Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

The IAM Supports the Workplace Democracy Act

May 16, 2018 | Departments, Featured, Home, MNPL