IAM Rail Division on Hand for Amtrak funding boost
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Federal Railroad Inspectors Visit Union Leadership
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IAM, AFL-CIO Urge Congress to Support High-Quality U.S. Jobs and National Defense
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IAM, Labor, Civil Society Groups Urge Biden Administration to Eliminate Corporate Power Grab ISDS in Existing U.S. Trade Agreements
The IAM and more than 200 organizations and labor groups sent a letter to the Biden administration urging the elimination of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) in existing free trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties.
The letter highlights the need to address the ongoing liability of ISDS in existing trade agreements. ISDS empowers multinational corporations to sue governments before panels of corporate lawyers, which threatens public interest policies.
Under the ISDS mechanism, corporations can seek compensation from taxpayers for the loss of expected future profits due to a challenged government policy. The lawyers acting on behalf of these corporations can award unlimited sums to be paid by taxpayers if they are convinced that a safety regulation, court ruling, law, or any other government action violates the investors’ rights granted by an agreement enforced by ISDS.
“When trade and investment agreements include ISDS, it is clear that they are not designed to benefit working people, but to give special rights to consolidate, formalize and expand corporate power,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “The IAM urges the Biden administration to eliminate these rigged and anti-democratic trade rules prioritizing corporate rights over national sovereignty and working people.”
As a strong supporter of workers’ rights, the IAM has consistently advocated for fair U.S. trade policies that prioritize the well-being of workers, including fighting to reduce ISDS liability in the renegotiated U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
It is crucial for trade policies to prioritize and uphold fundamental human rights rather than creating incentives for multinational corporations to undermine labor, health, environmental, and other essential public policies.
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IAM, AFL-CIO Urge Congress to Support High-Quality U.S. Jobs and National Defense
WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2023 – IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. has sent a letter to members of Congress, urging them to sign on to a letter supporting high-quality U.S. jobs, national defense and the domestic defense industrial base. The letter, led by U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) urges the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to support efforts to bolster Buy American domestic content requirements for major defense programs through H.R. 2670 Section 869 in the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
“The IAM applauds Congressman Norcross for championing this important language, which passed into the House version of the FY24 NDAA with bipartisan support,” wrote Martinez in the letter. “This language would dramatically strengthen the domestic content requirement for future major defense acquisition programs and thereby create and support hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the U.S., ensure that our men and women in uniform have consistent access to the tools they need to safely complete their mission, and bolster our industrial base and domestic supply chain.”
The AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States, has also voiced its support for the Buy American language. In a letter to members of Congress, the AFL-CIO emphasized that Buy American policies align with their values, ensuring that government procurement supports U.S. labor, environmental, and health and safety standards. By reinvesting taxpayer dollars in domestic products, these policies lead to family- and community-sustaining jobs in cleaner and safer American factories.
The Union Veterans Council weighed in with a letter urging members of Congress to support the Buy American language.
The IAM, AFL-CIO, and the Union Veterans’ endorsements emphasize the importance of strengthening domestic manufacturing and supporting the men and women in uniform who rely on high-quality, American-made defense products.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is one of North America’s largest and most diverse industrial trade unions, representing approximately 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, railroad, transit, healthcare, automotive, and other industries.
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