Nov 5, 2025 | Politics & Legislative News
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2025 — The 600,000-member IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers), North America’s largest aerospace, defense and airline union, is calling on the U.S. Trade Representative to strengthen labor enforcement, raise wage standards, and close loopholes that allow offshoring of aerospace, manufacturing and other jobs under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
In written comments submitted to USTR for the mandatory six-year joint review of the USMCA, the IAM Union emphasized that weak labor enforcement in Mexico and inadequate rules of origin continue to threaten good-paying union jobs in the United States and Canada. The IAM Union notably opposed the USMCA during its 2019 adoption, and NAFTA in the early 90s.
“The USMCA promised to lift standards for workers across North America, but too many companies are still chasing low wages and weak enforcement,” said IAM Union International President Brian Bryant. “It’s time for a trade policy that defends North American manufacturing, protects our workers, and ensures that every product bearing the USMCA label is truly made under fair conditions.”
The IAM Union’s USMCA filing highlights the need to:
- Expand and strengthen the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) to reach more workers and strengthen labor rights in Mexico.
- Extend the Labor Value Content rule to cover aerospace, shipbuilding, and other key manufacturing sectors.
- Tighten rules of origin to prevent non-USMCA content from entering duty-free supply chains.
The IAM Union’s USMCA filing reads, in part:
“Unfortunately, our concerns about USMCA have proven to be accurate: Mexican industrial wages remain lower than those in China, and offshoring of well-paid U.S. jobs continues, including many in the aerospace sector. Indeed, since USMCA was enacted, we have seen further erosion of good, middle-class, union jobs in the United States. In order to prevent this from continuing, we need to take vigorous action on a number of fronts during the upcoming review.”
The IAM Union represents more than 600,000 active and retired members in aerospace, airlines, defense, and manufacturing across the United States and Canada.
The IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) 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, shipbuilding, railroad, transit, healthcare, automotive, and other industries across the United States and Canada.
goIAM.org | @IAM_Union
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Nov 5, 2025 | Politics & Legislative News
ST. LOUIS, Nov. 5, 2025 – U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has sent a letter to Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg urging the company to “negotiate in good faith” and “quickly reach an agreement that the IAM 837 machinists can afford to accept,” continuing growing bipartisan pressure on Boeing to end its strike in St. Louis.
Nearly 3,200 IAM District 837 members have been on strike for more than three months—14 weeks without a paycheck or health care—after Boeing has refused to offer a fair contract that reflects the value of the highly skilled workforce building America’s most advanced military aircraft.
“These workers help produce our Nation’s most crucial, most advanced, and most expensive defense tools,” writes Hawley. “And since your company receives billions in government contracts, it is incumbent upon you to do the right thing.”
In his letter, Hawley cites the testimony of IAM District 837 member Joshua Arnold—an Army veteran and longtime Boeing Defense shop steward—who told a Senate committee last month that he and his coworkers have been without pay or health care for months because of Boeing’s refusal to offer a fair contract. Hawley also met privately with Arnold after the hearing.
“Senator Hawley’s letter adds to the growing bipartisan call for Boeing to come back to the table and reach a fair agreement,” said IAM Union International President Brian Bryant. “Our members have built their lives, families, and communities around this work—and they deserve a contract that reflects their value and the critical role they play in protecting our nation. It’s time for Boeing to do the right thing for the people who build the aircraft that keep our country safe.”
This latest show of congressional support builds on the growing bipartisan outrage over Boeing’s refusal to offer a fair contract. Bipartisan members of the powerful House Armed Services Committee recently urged Boeing to negotiate in good faith as military deliveries fall further behind. Five members of the Senate Armed Services Committee followed up with a strong plea to the company as well, saying that choosing replacement workers over IAM Union members “will be sacrificing the needs of the U.S. military in order to benefit the corporation’s bottom line.”
In October, U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Hawley voiced strong support for IAM Union members. In addition, Reps. Wesley Bell (D-Mo.), Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) and the Congressional Labor Caucus have joined calls for Boeing to bargain fairly and protect good-paying jobs in the St. Louis region.
The IAM Union submitted a responsible counterproposal to Boeing on Monday, Oct. 27, which included significant union concessions in a good-faith effort to end the strike. Boeing summarily rejected the offer and has still not provided a counteroffer, despite the fact that the difference between the IAM’s proposal and Boeing’s rejected offer amounts to only about $8 million over four years—a fraction of the company’s massive revenue and executive payouts. The IAM Union has now submitted two Unfair Labor Practice Charges against the company for not bargaining in good faith.
IAM District 837 members build and support production of the F-15EX, F/A-18, T-7A, MQ-25, and the future F-47 fighter jet—aircraft vital to U.S. and allied defense readiness. Boeing’s failure to propose a fair contract has already led the U.S. Air Force to publicly acknowledge that F-15EX deliveries are delayed.
The IAM Union continues to urge Boeing leadership to return to the bargaining table and secure a deal that brings these skilled workers back to work with the dignity and fairness they’ve earned.
The IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) 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, shipbuilding, railroad, transit, healthcare, automotive, and other industries across the United States and Canada.
goIAM.org | @IAM_Union
The post Senator Hawley Letter Continues Calls for Boeing to ‘Get a Deal Done’ with 3,200 Striking IAM Union St. Louis Defense Workers appeared first on IAM Union.
Nov 4, 2025 | Politics & Legislative News
WASHINGTON, Nov. 4, 2025 – Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee are urging Boeing President and CEO Kelly Ortberg to negotiate in good faith and reach a fair agreement with more than 3,200 striking members of IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) District 837 in the St. Louis area who have been on strike for three months.
In a letter to Ortberg, the Senators on the Armed Service Committee are urging Boeing to “bring this strike to an end with an expedited resolution of the negotiation and the successful ratification of a proposal that pays IAM Union District 837 members what they are worth while ensuring that Boeing is able to fulfill its mission and ensure that the men and women of our military have what they need.”
The Senators also expressed deep concern over Boeing’s recent decision to replace striking workers with permanent replacements, warning that such actions could have serious consequences for product quality, safety, and national security.
“If you choose to proceed with replacement workers to complete these projects, you will be sacrificing the needs of the U.S. military in order to benefit the corporation’s bottom line,” wrote the Senators. “Rather than proceeding down this dangerous path, we urge you to rededicate yourself to meeting the needs of your current workers, who are a fount of experience, knowledge and professionalism. Now is the time to make a deal. Our military’s effectiveness and our country’s national security depends on it.”
The Senate letter follows a bipartisan group of 17 members of the House Armed Services Committee, who signed a letter urging Boeing to return to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith.
The IAM Union has estimated that the difference in added costs between the union’s latest proposal — which Boeing summarily rejected without even offering a counter — is approximately $8 million more over four years when compared to the first four years of the company’s latest five-year offer. At the same time, Boeing has handed out $100 million in golden parachutes to failed CEOs, reported $23 billion in third-quarter revenue, and sits on a $76 billion defense backlog.
IAM District 837 members build and support the production of the F-15EX, F/A-18, T-7A, MQ-25, and the future F-47 fighter jet.
“We are deeply grateful to the members of the Senate Armed Services Committee for standing up for our members in St. Louis and demanding accountability from Boeing,” said IAM International President Brian Bryant. “The Senators recognize that our members’ skill, dedication, and experience are vital to our national security. Their call for Boeing to negotiate in good faith sends a powerful message that protecting America’s military readiness begins with respecting the people who build it.”
U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) have also voiced support for IAM Union members during a Senate HELP Committee hearing where an District 837 member testified about Boeing’s bad-faith tactics. In addition, Reps. Wesley Bell (D-Mo.), Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) and the Congressional Labor Caucus have joined calls for Boeing to bargain fairly and protect good-paying jobs in the St. Louis region.
For more than 13 weeks, IAM Union members have stood strong on the picket lines while Boeing continues to reject fair and responsible union proposals that would bring the strike to an end. The IAM Union has continued to present reasonable, good-faith contract offers that ensure Boeing can maintain the skilled workforce needed to meet its military delivery obligations.
The IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) 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, shipbuilding, railroad, transit, healthcare, automotive, and other industries across the United States and Canada.
The post Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee Urge Boeing to Negotiate in Good Faith as IAM Union St. Louis Defense Strike Enters Third Month appeared first on IAM Union.
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