Study: Right to Work Laws Create Lower Wages

Study: Right to Work Laws Create Lower Wages

Jul 8, 2020 | Featured, Featured News, Front Page, GOIAM Stories, MNPL, Row 2 | 1 comment

A Georgia Tech study has found that so-called “right-to-work” laws lead to a decrease in worker wages, confirming what labor unions have known for decades.

A study published in the Journal of Financial Economics examined more than 19,000 collective bargaining agreements in the United States between 1988 and 2016 and asserts that it is the “first paper to use wage information embedded in these contracts.”

“Companies are out for big money. They’re not out to protect to workers,” said Craig Norman, Director of the IAM’s Collective Bargaining Department. “They’re out to maximize their profitability at the expense of workers. We’re trying to get a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.”

The study found wage growth of 2.9 percent, with inflation at 2.6 percent, suggesting that the applicable RTW laws “eliminated a substantial fraction of real wage growth.”

When workers negotiate together, working people earn higher wages. The average worker in a RTW state makes $6,109 less per year than a worker in a free-bargaining state, according to the AFL-CIO. Twenty-eight states have RTW laws, mostly in the Midwest, South and Southwest, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

The authors of the study are Sudheer Chava, András Danis and Alex Hsu, professors at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Scheller College of Business.

 

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New NAFTA Won’t Prevent Outsourcing of Jobs

New NAFTA Won’t Prevent Outsourcing of Jobs

Jul 6, 2020 | Featured, Featured News, Front Page, GOIAM Stories, MNPL, Row 2 | 0 comments

Robert Martinez Jr., International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), issued the following statement regarding the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) going into effect today:

“USMCA won’t stop the hundreds of thousands of manufacturing and service jobs that are being offshored from the U.S. Contrary to this administration’s self-congratulations, USMCA, which goes into effect today, is not the dramatically improved NAFTA that the president promised. Nothing in the agreement will stop U.S. companies from sending aerospace, call center, food products, electronics, appliances and countless other jobs from going to Mexico. With a growing aerospace industry in Mexico that now employs over 40,000 workers and exports goods totaling over $9 billion, USMCA represents one more lost opportunity to save the U.S aerospace industry and its highly-skilled workers.

“While the agreement does contain some improvements in the labor chapter, these improvements were only made because of the hard effort of labor unions and the strong support of Democrats like Speaker Pelosi, Senators Brown and Wyden, Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal, Trade Subcommittee Chair Blumenauer, Congresswoman DeLauro and others on the majority side. These improvements in the labor chapter will only be effective, however, if they are enforced. They will also only be effective if Mexico moves quickly to finally implement the labor law reforms they have promised. The arrest of labor lawyer Susan Prieto, on trumped up charges, is a very bad indication of Mexico’s willingness to abide by the labor provisions. Sister Prieto must be freed immediately if USMCA is to have any chance at all to succeed.”

 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. For more information, visit goIAM.org.

 

 

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Texas Council of Machinists President Speaks at Labor for Black Lives Rally

Texas Council of Machinists President Speaks at Labor for Black Lives Rally

Jun 30, 2020 | Featured, Featured News, Front Page, GOIAM Stories, Row 2 | 0 comments

IAM District 37 President Byron Williams headlined an Organized Labor for Black Lives Matter rally in Huntsville, AL on Saturday, June 20. The rally was hosted by the North Alabama Labor Council.

Williams, a long-time IAM labor leader in Texas, is the first Black president of the Texas State Council of Machinists. He is a well-known human rights activist.

“Brothers and sisters, we are at a moment in time, that this will not be in vain,” said Williams. “We will not rest until every American can pursue the American Dream. We will not rest until every American is free from racism and discrimination. The labor movement will never rest or be silent to any injustice.”

Williams drew the historical line on injustices stretching from Emmett Till in the 1960s to the present day and George Floyd.

“The Machinists Union and the North Alabama Labor Council stands with you,” said Williams. “Our foundation of democracy has a long way to go to reflect the creed of this nation. We are seeing people of all races marching and speaking up, speaking out for a better today, a better tomorrow and for a better world, demanding that justice finally be done.”

“The Labor Movement has always been the great equalizer, allowing every working man and woman to have a voice and vote regardless of race, sex, religion or age,” said IAM Southern Territory General Vice President Rickey Wallace. “It’s the foundation of who we are and it directs our conscience as we fight for justice in the workplace and in our communities. By working together, standing in solidarity on the right side of history, we can and will change the world.”

Brother Williams and his wife traveled over 700 miles to speak at the rally.

Before the rally, the Valley Labor Report, on WVNN (Athens, AL) interviewed Williams. Jacob Morrison and David Story host the show live both on the radio and on the internet. It’s the only labor radio show in Alabama. Story is the President of Local 44 in Decatur, AL.

Watch the replay of the show.

This story first appeared at GoIAM.org ///

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Airline Labor Seeks Payroll Support Program Extension

Airline Labor Seeks Payroll Support Program Extension

Jun 27, 2020 | COVID, Featured, Featured News, Front Page, GOIAM Stories, Home, MNPL, Row 2 | 1 comment

Three months ago I wrote to the membership stating we were about to face a situation unparalleled in our lifetime due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that nobody could accurately predict what would come next. The picture is now starting to get clearer, and it is not pretty. 
In response to societal restrictions and the unprecedented global economic collapse, commercial air service has been cut dramatically. Only through an intense lobbying effort led by the Machinists Union, our membership and our Legislative Department did transportation unions secure early in the crisis pay and job protection for most airline employees through the CARES Act.
When the CARES Act job and pay protection we secured expires on October 1, the number of IAM members furloughed could easily rise into the tens of thousands, literally overnight. Although passengers are slowly returning to the sky, the industry’s downturn will last far beyond CARES Act protections.
Today, the Machinists Union and other airline unions sent a letter to the House and Senate leadership to pass a clean extension of the airline Payroll Support Program (PSP) contained in the CARES Act until March 31, 2021. I ask each IAM member to follow up and engage your representatives in Washington. You can contact your representatives to explain the importance of saving our workforce by clicking here.
Specifically, we are asking for:
  • Increase PSP funding levels by an additional $32 billion (covering six months)
  • Extend requirements relating to involuntary furloughs, share repurchases, dividend payments, and collective bargaining agreements to March 31, 2021
  • Require Treasury to immediately disburse funds to every air carrier and contractor that executed a Payroll Support Program Agreement, an amount equal to their current payroll support.
Nobody likes to ask the government for assistance, but without additional intervention, I fear a repeat of the multiple airline bankruptcies that marked the opening of this century. Tens of thousands of IAM families, hundreds of thousands of airline families from outside our union, will soon be faced with devastating job loss unless action is taken.

 

In solidarity,

Sito Pantoja

General Vice President IAM Transportation Department

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After IAM’s Pressure, United Backs Off Forced Furlough Plan

After IAM’s Pressure, United Backs Off Forced Furlough Plan

May 11, 2020 | GOIAM Stories | 0 comments

///This post originally appeared on GOIAM.ORG

The IAM’s campaign and the resulting public outrage against United Airlines has caused the carrier to back away from its illegal scheme to force 15,000 full-time IAM members into part-time positions.

After accepting $5 billion from taxpayers as part of the CARES Act, United made the unilateral decision to drastically reduce the wages, retirement benefits and paid leave of IAM-represented Fleet Service and Passenger Service members. The IAM quickly responded with a lawsuit, alleging United had violated the intent of the CARES Act, as well as the Railway Labor Act and the IAM’s collective bargaining agreements with the carrier.

United has since changed course, instead offering IAM members the opportunity to voluntarily work fewer hours without losing their full-time status. The carrier, however, has left the door open to resuming its forced reduction to the part-time program.

“While today it appears that, thanks to your hard work and solidarity, we have won an important battle, we have not yet won the war,” said IAM Transportation General Vice President Sito Pantoja. “We will monitor United’s action closely to see what further legal and congressional action may become necessary.”

United’s plan drew bipartisan scorn, including from U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) and U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO). More than 12,000 messages were sent to members of Congress from the IAM’s action alert asking lawmakers to intervene.

The IAM’s campaign captivated the attention of the entire labor movement since United’s action threatened to spur other companies to mistreat workers while accepting taxpayer dollars from coronavirus relief legislation. The International Transport Workers’ Federation supported IAM members in a letter to United Airlines, urging the carrier to reconsider forced layoffs.

American Airlines challenged United’s assertion that the CARES Act’s airline relief section allowed for furloughs.

IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka sounded the alarm with President Trump, asking the White House to step in and prevent United from moving forward with the furloughs.

“With over 30 million Americans out of work, now is not the time for unscrupulous companies to undermine the clear intent of the federal relief effort aimed at worker retention,” wrote Martinez and Trumka. “Is it too much to ask corporations like United to honor their commitment under the CARES Act?”

The IAM’s campaign made national headlines, including in the Chicago Tribune, CNBC, Forbes and CBS 2 Chicago.

The IAM represents more than 30,000 members at United Airlines and is the largest airline union in North America.

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