Machinists Union Calls For End to Workplace Gender-Based Harassment, Violence

The IAM is joining the IndustriALL Global Union in calling for an end to gender-based harassment and violence, especially in the workplace.

The Machinists Union is specifically calling on the United States and Canada to ratify International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention Number 190 and Recommendation 206, the first international standards to recognize that everyone has the right to a workplace free from harassment and violence. The U.S. and Canada, among many other countries, have not yet ratified the standards.

The standards recognize that violence and harassment in the world of work can occur in the physical workplace, as well as during the commute, where workers rest and online.

Unions have an important role to play to make sure the Convention becomes part of national laws, as well as fills the gaps in existing laws. This toolkit provides ways for trade unions and other stakeholders to fight violence and harassment in the world of work. 

“Gender-based violence is absolutely a workplace issue and one that unions have a critical role to play in stopping,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “This important initiative leaves no one behind and protects all workers in all sectors. The IAM is committed to ending all harassment and violence.”

READ: What unions can do to put a stop to domestic violence IndustriALL

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Machinists Union Chairs Black State Legislator Labor Roundtable

Machinists Union Chairs Black State Legislator Labor Roundtable

IAM National Legislative and Political Director Hasan Solomon recently chaired the Labor Roundtable at the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL). The NBCSL Labor and Workforce Development Policy Committee members come together with members from different labor unions to discuss labor and workforce development issues pertinent to union members.

Examples include, but are not limited to, labor/management relations, minimum wage standards, so-called Right-to-Work initiatives, wage equality, employment security, family leave, and child care.

The NBCSL labor delegates concentrated on how to increase their collective voice at the NBCSL and pushing out messaging on vital issues for labor members, including the Build Back Better Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure package.

“We always say if your not at the table, you are on the menu,” said IAM Legislative and Political Director Hasan Solomon. “As chair of the Labor Roundtable, not only do we have a seat at the table – we also participate in setting the legislative agenda for state legislatures across the country. 

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Build Back Better

You may have heard about the Build Back Better Act, but what is it and how can it help to change your life?

The act would strengthen enforcement of employment and civil rights laws. That means safer workplaces, less discrimination and it would discourage wage theft, so you aren’t short-changed in your paycheck.  It would expand job training programs like apprenticeships, provide universal family and medical leave. That includes four weeks of paid parental, family caregiving. Build Back Better would extend the enhanced child tax credit through the end of 2022… lower the cost of child care, by making sure most families would pay no more than seven-percent of their income on child care. How does free, universal preschool sound for three and four-year-olds? How about more financial aid for college students?

Build Back Better would secure our nation’s manufacturing supply chains with $5 billion to identify and monitor critical vulnerabilities and support U.S. companies that end those weaknesses. Let’s build back better, together, to lower costs and fight inflation, without any more taxes to people who make less than $400,000 a year.

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Maine Lobstering Union Takes Fight to Save Fishing Waters to Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2021 – The Maine Lobstering Union (MLU) today filed a brief with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to end the misguided closure of productive lobstering waters off the coast of Maine.

The MLU previously won injunctive relief from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine to stop the closure on Oct. 16. A federal appeals court overturned the decision on Nov. 16, closing off about 967 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean to lobster fishing for a third of the year.

WATCH: This is Maine and This is What We Do

“Generations of Mainers have taken pride in sustainably cultivating the world’s best lobster while simultaneously protecting the Right Whales,” said Virginia Olsen of the Maine Lobstering Union. “The decision to close Maine’s waters to this time-honored industry is unfortunately based on misguided and incomplete science. The Maine Lobstering Union looks forward to continuing to fight to save this great American industry and defend the families and communities who rely on it.”

The Maine Lobstering Union (MLU) is a division of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) District 4 and the only union-based cooperative in the lobster industry owned and operated by Maine lobstermen. The MLU supports Maine’s lobster community and is committed to the sustainability and safety of Maine’s lobstermen and women and all wildlife that occupy and rely upon the fishery.

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