Machinists and Aerospace Union Will Partner with Biden-Harris to Heal Country, Bring Jobs Home

Machinists and Aerospace Union Will Partner with Biden-Harris to Heal Country, Bring Jobs Home

Nov 9, 2020 | Community Service, COVID, Education, Featured, Featured News, Front Page, GOIAM Stories, MNPL, Organizing, Page Five, Page Four, Page Three, Page Two, Perusals, Row 2, Uncategorized | 0 comments

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2020 – Robert Martinez Jr., International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), released the following statement regarding the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the next president and vice president of the United States:

“The American people have spoken and democracy has prevailed. Our union and our nation are moving forward with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to do the work needed to emerge stronger than ever from these difficult times.

“We sincerely congratulate President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris, and all the pro-union candidates who won races from coast to coast. The Fighting Machinists Union was proud to endorse you in a membership vote and looks forward to building a better future with you. I am also grateful for every Machinists Union member who voted in this election, no matter how they cast their ballot.

“A new kind of work begins today—and the task in front of us is great. We have seen unemployment unrivaled since the Great Depression. Millions of American families have seen loved ones pass or sickened from an out-of-control pandemic. Our nation has deep divisions along the lines of race and class.

“But a new day has come to America. This time, the interests of working people must be put before corporations and the ultra-wealthy. Our members have seen their plants close, livelihoods upended and communities torn apart in the name of corporate greed. And just as we did during this administration, we will hold the next administration accountable to bring our jobs home.

“The Machinists Union can be counted on to serve as a trusted partner in building back our nation better than ever before. Working together, we can preserve and create good union jobs that will power us to a brighter future. We can ensure that every American has access to quality healthcare and a secure retirement. We can create opportunity for each and every one of us—no matter our race, religion, national origin or who we love.

“We can and we will accomplish great things together. The next chapter of this great American story begins now.” 

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is among the largest industrial trade unions in North America and represents nearly 600,000 active and retired members in the manufacturing, aerospace, defense, airlines, transportation, shipbuilding, woodworking, health care, and other industries.

goIAM.org | @MachinistsUnion

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Have You Voted Yet?

Have You Voted Yet?

Oct 30, 2020 | Community Service, COVID, Education, Featured, Featured News, Front Page, GOIAM Stories, MNPL, Organizing, Page Five, Page Four, Page Three, Page Two, Row 2, Uncategorized | 0 comments

We wanted to check in to make sure you have voted or have a plan to vote in this very important election.

Visit iam2020.org to get all the information you need to vote.

You may remember that IAM members voted to endorse Joe Biden in a first-of-its-kind membership vote this March. Click here to view the IAM’s endorsed U.S. Senate candidates.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will:

– Defend the Voices of Machinists Union Members: Joe Biden will fight against anti-union “right to work” laws.

– Protect Our Health and Keep Us Safe: Joe Biden will make sure employers aren’t risking our health and our lives during this pandemic.

– Secure Our Retirement: Joe Biden will work hard to make sure all our retirement plans are protected.

The stakes couldn’t be higher in this election, so please make your voice heard. Visit iam2020.org and make a plan to vote today.

 

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Big Money is Buying an Anti-Union Supreme Court

Big Money is Buying an Anti-Union Supreme Court

Oct 27, 2020 | Featured, Featured News, Front Page, GOIAM Stories, MNPL, Page Five, Page Four, Page Three, Page Two, Perusals, Row 2, Uncategorized | 0 comments

When it comes to who is chosen to fill an open seat on the highest court in the United States, the process isn’t just a matter of picking a well-known judge from the lower courts. It’s a multi-million-dollar industry-funded from hard to trace origins.

Former U.S. Attorney and current U.S. Sen. Whitehouse (D-RI) does a good job of explaining the dark money trail fueling Supreme Court cases and Justice nominations last week during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

Most notable is the part where he discusses the anti-worker Janus case and the amount of money being used to fight unions in the highest court in the U.S.

Watch the entire video here.

The current nominee to the court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett has an troubling anti-labor past, as highlighted in this IAM video.

The Senate Judiciary Committee confirmed Judge Barrett today, moving to a full Senate confirmation vote scheduled for next week.

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Broken Promises: Aerospace Workers on the Line

Broken Promises: Aerospace Workers on the Line

Oct 26, 2020 | Featured, Featured News, Front Page, GOIAM Stories, MNPL, Page Five, Page Four, Page Three, Page Two, Perusals, Row 2, Uncategorized, Video | 0 comments

United Technologies in California

In July of 2018, United Technologies Corporation (UTC) informed IAM Local 755 they were going to lay off approximately 300 members from their Chula Vista, CA facility. IAM members have been making aerospace components at that location since 1941.

“They’ll go to the cheapest corner of the world to make a profit,” said Juan Villalobos, IAM Local 755 member and 20-year employee who is laid off.

UTC has been steadily outsourcing the work performed at the plant to facilities in Mexico. UTC in Chula Vista is one of dozens of IAM-represented facilities that have closed during the Trump administration.

“When I was there they were getting 118 pesos, which was less than $10, a day,” said Villalobos. “Not an hour, a day.”

“When is it going to be important for us to have U.S.A made stuff,’” said Local 755 member and 22-year employee Kimberly Lepper. “I thought Trump was going to save my job, and I wish he would’ve.” 

Watch the IAM’s video about UTC outsourcing IAM jobs to Mexico on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

Watch all the IAM’s “Broken Promise” videos.

“Unfortunately we live in a time where corporate greed knows no boundaries and hard-working American families are the ones who suffer,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “We need elected officials who will hold these companies accountable for offshoring jobs, not reward them with tax breaks like the current administration does. This employer and all others shipping our jobs to Mexico and elsewhere should be ashamed of themselves, putting corporate profits over American jobs”

“It makes my blood boil every time another U.S. based corporation sends our work across the border or overseas, these corporations are guilty of economic treason against the United States,” said IAM Western Territory General Vice President Gary R. Allen. “We need leaders in Washington that will hold corporations accountable and penalize these companies for the economic devastation caused by outsourcing and off-shoring good paying union jobs. My heart goes out to our members who fall victim to the greed of this country’s elite – it’s time to fight back at the ballot box!”

 

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Machinists Prepare to Fight For a Pro-Work Agenda in Georgia

Machinists Prepare to Fight For a Pro-Work Agenda in Georgia

Oct 25, 2020 | Featured, Featured News, Front Page, GOIAM Stories, MNPL, Page Five, Page Four, Page Three, Page Two, Perusals, Row 2, Uncategorized | 0 comments

No one shook hands.  Everyone wore masks.  They practiced social distancing.  But that didn’t stop the participants who attended this year’s Georgia State Council of Machinists (GSCM) Conference which was held Oct. 11 – 13, 2020 in Macon, GA to accomplish some important items for Machinists.

Twenty delegates representing five local lodges listened to Georgia AFL-CIO President Charlie Flemming talk about the significance of the Peach State in the upcoming presidential and congressional elections.  For working families in the South, Georgia is a pivotal state in the nearing races.

The meeting also allowed members to vote and swear in new officers, including newly elected GSCM President James Clements of Local 2699, who will make sure the issues of Georgia’s working families stay front and center in the future.  The IAMAW state councils are located across the country, in cities where Machinists are represented, as a way to help ensure legislation is created that is good for working people.

 

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Supreme Court Nominee has Troubling Anti-Union Track Record

Supreme Court Nominee has Troubling Anti-Union Track Record

Oct 14, 2020 | Featured, Featured News, Front Page, GOIAM Stories, MNPL, Page Five, Page Four, Page Three, Page Two, Perusals, Row 2, Uncategorized, Video | 0 comments

The IAM Legal department is raising concerns about Amy Coney Barrett’s anti-labor record as a federal circuit judge.

“As a graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School, I know Amy Coney Barrett very well. Her positions and her approach to the law are actually a threat to American workers and other under-represented groups.”

-Laura Ewan,
IAMAW Associate General Counsel

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