Jan 15, 2026 | Politics & Legislative News
The IAM Union joined the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) and other federal worker unions at a rally calling on U.S. Senators to pass the Protect America’s Workforce Act (PAWA), critical legislation that would restore collective bargaining rights and protect the voices of federal workers nationwide.
The rally brought together union leaders, federal workers, and elected officials to demand action from the U.S. Senate following the bill’s passage in the House of Representatives. Speakers included National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) National President Randy Erwin, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and other labor advocates and activists.
READ: Federal unions, employees urge Senate to take up bill restoring collective bargaining Federal News Network
“We have this essential piece of legislation, which passed the House and is now waiting for action in the Senate,” said Erwin. “This bill would protect the U.S. Constitution and the First Amendment rights of American workers by reversing an unconstitutional executive order that stripped more than one million federal employees of their right to collectively bargain.”
See rally photos here.
The Protect America’s Workforce Act would reverse a March 27, 2025, executive order issued by President Donald Trump that unlawfully eliminated collective bargaining rights for federal workers. That order represented a direct attack on civil servants and undermined the fundamental rights of workers to have a voice on the job.
Federal workers play a vital role in keeping the nation running, from ensuring public safety and national security to delivering essential services to communities across the country. Restoring collective bargaining rights is essential to protecting their ability to advocate for safe workplaces, fair treatment, and effective public service.
The IAM Union stands with NFFE-IAM and all federal workers in urging the U.S. Senate to immediately pass the Protect America’s Workforce Act and restore long-standing worker protections.
Federal workers and allies are encouraged to contact their U.S. Senators and urge them to vote YES on the Protect America’s Workforce Act to restore collective bargaining rights and protect the civil service.
Help us restore collective bargaining for federal workers by sending a letter to your Senators NOW asking them to vote to PASS the Protect America’s Workforce Act!
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Jan 9, 2026 | Politics & Legislative News
WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2026 – The IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) issued a statement thanking longtime labor ally U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., for more than four decades of dedicated service following his announcement that he will retire from the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Steny has been a consistent and trusted ally of the labor movement and the IAM throughout his career,” said IAM Union International President Brian Bryant. “He has always had a strong pro-labor voting record. We will miss his support for our IAM Local 4 members at Naval Air Station Patuxent River (PAX) in Maryland. He always stood strong for their rights and fought for consistent funding throughout his career.”
Hoyer, the longest-serving Democrat in the House, represented Maryland for more than 40 years and was central to advancing pro-worker legislation on Capitol Hill. As House Majority Leader, he helped pass policies that strengthened collective bargaining rights, protected retirement security, expanded access to health care, and invested in U.S. infrastructure and manufacturing.
“Steny Hoyer never forgot where he came from or who he was fighting for,” said IAM Eastern Territory General Vice President David Sullivan. “He stood with our Maryland members in the Eastern Territory and with working families time and again. His leadership helped deliver real wins for workers across Maryland.”
The IAM’s presence in Maryland and the nation’s capital has long benefited from Hoyer’s advocacy and long tenure.
“Congressman Hoyer has always understood that working people deserve a seat at the table,” said IAM Union National Legislative and Political Director Hasan Solomon. “His leadership helped advance legislation that protected union jobs, strengthened worker rights, and ensured labor’s voice was heard on Capitol Hill. His retirement marks the end of an era, but his impact will be felt for generations.”
His legacy of solidarity with working families will continue to guide the labor movement’s fight for fairness, dignity and opportunity on the job.
“On behalf of our members in Maryland and Washington, D.C., we thank Congressman Hoyer for his decades of service and unwavering support for working families and wish him all the best in his well-earned retirement,” said the IAM Union Maryland/DC State Council President Rick Compher. “He listened to our members, supported our priorities, and consistently fought for good-paying union jobs.”
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.
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Jan 8, 2026 | Politics & Legislative News
International President Brian Bryant has appointed Laura Ewan as the IAM’s Legislative Chief Counsel, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
Ewan is tasked with supporting the political and legislative activities of the IAM’s Legislative Department and MNPL, the IAM’s political action committee.
“Laura Ewan is a relentless advocate for IAM members and a highly effective labor lawyer,” said IAM International President Brian Bryant. “Her leadership strengthens our Political and Legislative Department, which sets the standard for how unions win legislative fights, protect workers’ rights, and build lasting political power for working families.”
Ewan brings extensive experience in labor law and union advocacy. She began her legal career at the largest union-side law firm in the Pacific Northwest, where she ultimately became a partner. She joined the IAM Legal Department in 2019, serving as Associate General Counsel.
Throughout her career, Ewan has represented public- and private-sector unions and individual workers in all aspects of litigation. Her experience includes court proceedings, arbitration, and class action wage-and-hour cases that have helped protect and raise labor standards for working people, particularly in Washington state.
“Laura has a deep passion for the IAM and a clear understanding of how the law can be used to expand and defend our members’ power,” said IAM National Political and Legislative Director Hasan Solomon. “Her legal insight, attention to detail, and experience working alongside our legislative and MNPL teams make her an invaluable asset to our political and legislative work.”
During her tenure with the IAM, Ewan has provided legal counsel across the union while also supporting the Political and Legislative Department. Her work has included drafting legislation, testifying before government committees on IAM-sponsored bills, submitting legal briefs to protect IAM members’ rights, and ensuring MNPL’s compliance with campaign finance laws.
Ewan earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Notre Dame Law School, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of College and University Law. She holds a master’s in Spanish Literature from Florida State University, where she also taught as an adjunct professor of Spanish, and a bachelor’s in International Affairs and Latin American and Caribbean Studies, also from Florida State University.
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Dec 18, 2025 | Politics & Legislative News
IAM Union International President Brian Bryant recently wrote a letter urging the U.S. Senate to pass the Protect America’s Workforce Act (H.R. 2550, S. 2837) following its bipartisan approval by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The legislation passed the House by a vote of 231-195. It would restore collective bargaining rights to federal workers impacted by a recent executive order that stripped those rights from roughly 75 percent of the federal workforce.
TAKE ACTION: Write a Letter to Urge your Senators to save the Civil Service
The bill was introduced in the House by Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.). The Senate companion legislation, introduced by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), currently has 48 cosponsors, including two Republicans.
“The IAM is a strong advocate for workers’ rights and firmly believes this EO is blatantly illegal,” wrote Bryant in the letter. “This EO is an assault on the rights and job security for federal workers caring for our veterans, keeping our military ready, adjudicating passport applications, caring for our public lands, and performing countless other essential public services.”
The IAM strongly believes the executive order is illegal and undermines the fundamental right to collective bargaining, which has long helped ensure workplace protections and efficient delivery of public services.
The IAM represents thousands of federal workers across the country, including members of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM), an IAM affiliate representing approximately 110,000 federal workers nationwide.
The bipartisan House vote demonstrates growing momentum to reverse the unjust removal of federal workers’ collective bargaining rights. The IAM is calling on the Senate to act swiftly and pass the Protect America’s Workforce Act to ensure fairness, stability, and respect for America’s federal workforce.
Read the complete letter here.
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Dec 16, 2025 | Politics & Legislative News
IAM Union International Affairs Director Peter Greenberg testified before the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), calling for the implementation of urgent and enforceable labor standards in the upcoming review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
The IAM Union warned that current shortcomings in the agreement continue to fuel outsourcing, weaken labor protections, and undermine the economic security of working people across North America.
Greenberg outlined the union’s longstanding concerns with USMCA’s failure to meaningfully improve labor conditions in Mexico or face the loss of good-paying U.S. and Canadian manufacturing and aerospace jobs.
“Unfortunately, our concerns about USMCA have proven to have been 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,” said Greenberg. “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 during the upcoming review.”
The IAM Union emphasized the crucial importance of strengthening rules of origin, expanding Labor Value Content, and ensuring that goods moving duty-free under the USMCA are genuinely produced in North America. IAM Union members build and maintain some of the most advanced aircraft and engines in the world, supporting both commercial aviation and U.S. national defense.
Weak USMCA provisions have allowed products with significant non-North American content – particularly from China – to enter the U.S. duty-free, undermining domestic aerospace manufacturing and the integrated U.S.-Canada supply chain.
Greenberg also pointed to the findings of the Independent Mexico Labor Expert Board (IMLEB), which documented ongoing failures by the Mexican government to enforce core labor rights and penalize employers who violate them. Without more vigorous enforcement, increased funding for labor rights monitoring through the U.S. Department of Labor, and meaningful penalties for violators, Mexican workers will continue to be denied the rights necessary to build an independent and democratic labor system.
“The IAM Union message is simple: If we strengthen labor standards, they must be enforced. And if we enforce them, companies must not be allowed to undermine them by seeking cheaper labor elsewhere,” said IAM International President Brian Bryant. “Working families deserve a trade agreement that works for them and not against them.”
As part of the USTR’s USMCA hearings series, the IAM’s Maine Lobstering Union also delivered testimony, urging the USTR to confront long-standing inequities in the Agreement that place Maine’s lobstermen at a competitive disadvantage. These imbalances – ranging from unequal conservation requirements to inconsistent enforcement across borders – continue to threaten the livelihoods of working families and the stability of coastal communities that rely on a fair and sustainable fishing industry.
The IAM Union submitted formal comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on the upcoming joint review of the USMCA. In its submission, the IAM Union urged the administration to strengthen labor enforcement, raise wage standards, and close the loopholes that continue to fuel the offshoring of aerospace, manufacturing, and other critical jobs across North America.
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Dec 1, 2025 | Politics & Legislative News
The IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) and the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) issued the following statement in response to the end of the federal government shutdown:
“While we are extremely disappointed that the GOP did not negotiate a deal that prevents a healthcare crisis, nor does it restore draconian cuts to Medicaid, our top priority has and will always will be to protect our members who do vitally important work for the federal government — both as federal employees and federal contractors. We are encouraged by the reopening of the government and strongly urge Congress to do its jobs and provide back pay for all workers — federal employees and contractors — who were furloughed during this manufactured shutdown.
“The IAM Union represents more than 115,000 federal workers and over 30,000 Service Contract Act workers who have endured needless financial and emotional strain because of political dysfunction. These hardworking public servants perform critical duties every day: supporting our military, protecting our public lands and natural resources, caring for our veterans, and ensuring that essential government services reach every community in America. They deserve stability, respect, and timely pay for their labor.
“We believe that the contract workers who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with federal employees should receive full back pay without delay, and the IAM continues to point out that over a million federal contract workers went unpaid during prior shutdowns. The lack of back pay for federal contract workers shows a lack of respect for the work they do to help keep our nation safe.
“We urge Congress and the administration to work together to provide backpay to all federal workers and contractors while taking measures to prevent future shutdowns. The American people deserve a government that works as hard and as faithfully as they do. No family should ever again be forced to choose between paying bills and serving their country.
“The IAM and NFFE-IAM will continue to stand with our members and fight to ensure their voices are heard, their pay is protected, and their work is respected.”
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