Oct 18, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
An amendment championed by the IAM and U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ) that would dramatically increase domestically made procurement requirements in major defense programs has cleared a critical hurdle in Congress.
The IAM, North America’s largest aerospace defense union, has been pushing the increase for years in order to strengthen the defense industrial base and domestic supply chain while helping prevent vulnerabilities created by military products being made in China and other countries.
“Buy American policies serve the public good by targeting our tax dollars for the purchase of American-made products and services,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “We must understand that the foundation of our industrial base lies with the skills and abilities of the American worker. Congressman Norcross’s amendment would help ensure that our tax dollars are used to support the U.S. workforce and the firms who employ them.”
READ: Machinists Union letter supporting Rep. Norcross’s “Buy American” NDAA amendment
The amendment passed on a bipartisan vote during a House Armed Service Committee mark-up of the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The legislation would increase “Buy American” requirements for major defense programs from 55 percent to 60 percent upon the bill’s enactment. Requirements would further rise to 65 percent by 2024 and to 75 percent by 2029.
“I am proud to have fought for provisions that make America safer by investing in the American worker,” said Norcross. “This bill will put us on a path to build back better by increasing our domestic supply chain capabilities, strengthening our workforce, and giving our service members the tools they need to win the future fight.”
The number of Chinese suppliers in the U.S. defense industrial base has risen 420 percent since 2010, according to a report from the data analytics firm Govini.
Under Buy American defense procurement policy, Canadian produced military components are considered domestically made. The Norcross Buy American amendment retains a preference for Canadian-made military products.
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Oct 18, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
IAM International President Robert Martinez, Jr., is urging union members and allies to help unseat the “right-wing radicals” who spearheaded the new Texas state law that suppresses voter rights.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott recently signed Senate Bill 1 into law after the Republican-led legislative passed it during a special session.
The new law sets restrictions such as banning 24-hour voting and drive-thru voting. The law also restricts officials from mailing unsolicited mail-in ballot applications and sets new requirements for those tasked with helping those with disabilities at the polls.
This is a blatant attempt by Abbott and the radical right to turn back the clock on voting rights when we should be making it easier to vote.
The Machinists Union strongly pushed for the successful passage of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 (H.R. 4) through the U.S. House of Representatives last month to fight back against laws just like this one. The legislation would restore key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that John Lewis fought for, and put us back on a path toward racial equity in voting.
Martinez, a Texas native, tweeted for IAM members and our allies to lift up “by defeating right-wing radicals at the ballot box and in the courts.”
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Oct 18, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
The United States (U.S.) economy added 235,000 jobs in August of 2021, the lowest in seven months and well below forecasts of 750,000 as a surge in COVID-19 infections may have discouraged companies from hiring and workers from actively looking for a job.
Most jobs were created in professional and business services (+74,000), transportation and warehousing (+53,000), private education (+40,000), manufacturing with most of them coming in motor vehicles despite ongoing struggles to source parts, and other services (+37,000). Employment in retail trade declined over the month (-29,000) mostly because of food and beverage stores (-23,000) and building material and garden supply stores (-13,000). Employment in leisure and hospitality was unchanged.
Source: Analysis U.S. Department of Labor and Wells Fargo Securities
Overall, nonfarm employment has risen by 17 million since April 2020 but is down by -5.3 million, or 3.5%, from its pre-pandemic level in February 2020.
The standard, headline unemployment rate (U-3) dropped to 5.2 percent in August 2021, the lowest level since March 2020 and in line with market expectations, as the labor market continued its steady recovery following business re-openings in the US and despite reports of labor supply shortages and concerns over the lingering threat of the COVID-19 resurgence. The number of unemployed people fell by 318,000to 8.38 million, while employment levels increased by 509,000 to 153.15 million. The broad or real unemployment rate (U-6) is at 8.90%, compared to 9.60% last month and 14.30% last year. This is lower than the long term average of 10.44%.
Headline and Real Unemployment Rates
Although the jobless rate remained well above the pre-crisis level of about 3.5 percent, experts believe that the rate should decline further due to strong economic activity and demand for labor
As indicated, the Delta surge is holding down job growth in the leisure & hospitality sector. After increasing by more than 300K for four straight months, employment growth was stagnant in August.
Unemployment Intensity is the product of the duration and the rate of unemployment. The unemployment intensity is constructed by multiplying the unemployment rate for an index representing the average duration of unemployment, with the idea that unemployment becomes more intense when its duration increases. As shown below unemployment intensity has increased since the end of the COVID-19 recession but appears to have leveled out and possibly shifting downward.
Unemployment Intensity Index .
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Oct 18, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
President Biden delivered a historic speech from the White House recognizing unions and essential workers for their sacrifices and courage in keeping America moving during the COVID-19 pandemic. The president honored the legacy of the late AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka and took a moment of silence to remember working people who have passed away from the virus.
The president called for the passage of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, legislation that would repeal anti-worker “right-to-work” laws and encourage the formation of unions while expanding collective bargaining rights to more sectors of the economy. Biden also pushed for stronger “Buy American” rules, expanding elder and child care, and passing infrastructure investments and middle-class tax cuts through Congress.
Biden specifically mentioned Machinists Union members and other union members who have worked on the frontlines during the pandemic.
WATCH: President Biden honors labor unions at White House
“President Biden has promised to be the most union-friendly president in our lifetime and he has kept his word,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “The Biden-Harris administration continues to move a historic pro-worker, pro-democracy agenda that supports and grows the labor movement. Our members will continue fighting to help build back better for our nation’s aerospace, manufacturing, transportation, and all workers.”
“In my White House, labor will always be welcome,” said Biden. “When unions win, workers across the board win. Families win, communities win and America wins. And despite this, workers have been getting cut out of the deal for too long a time.”
Biden’s pro-union address, which was preceded by speeches from U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, came after celebrating Labor Day with union workers in his home state of Delaware.
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Oct 18, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2021 – Robert Martinez Jr., International President of the 600,000-member International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the largest aerospace, defense, and transportation union in North America, released the following statement addressing our nation’s debt limit:
“IAM members over the last 19 months have been battling with one of the worst pandemics in our country’s history that has caused the loss of lives and uncertainty about their future. The last thing our members need to be concerned with is the recklessness of GOP leadership forcing our nation to default on our obligations by not raising the debt limit. A default that may have dire consequences for workers all across our union and the country.
“The debt limit has long been a bipartisan issue. Congress has addressed the debt limit 78 times since 1960: 29 times with a Democrat in the White House and 49 times under a Republican president. More recently, since 2011, Congress did so on a bipartisan basis each of the seven times that the debt limit was addressed. This includes three times under the last Administration. The full faith and credit of the United States should not be questioned. This is in the Constitution: Fourteenth Amendment, Section Four states: “The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law… shall not be questioned.”
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, airline, railroad, transportation, shipbuilding, woodworking, health care, and other industries.
The post Stop Playing Games With Workers’ Lives: Raise the Debt Ceiling appeared first on IAMAW.
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