Dec 7, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
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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Dec 2, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
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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Dec 2, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
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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Nov 19, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) applauds the U.S. House passage of the Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376), a bill that would invest in the nation’s working people.
“I want to thank the U.S. House members who voted in favor of this crucial bill that gives much-needed support to our nation’s workforce. These are important provisions like Child Tax Credit, child care, workplace development and access to clean energy jobs just to name a few,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez, Jr. “This legislation embraces a pro-worker agenda that provides millions of working families with the resources and opportunities of better wages and benefits.”
Highlights of the Build Back Better bill:
- Invests a total $390 billion for the child care initiative and the universal preschool initiative.
- Provides $20 billion in workforce development programs.
- Provides $9.5 billion in public health infrastructure and workforce.
- Provides $3.5 billion for domestic manufacturing conversion grants to automobile manufacturers and suppliers.
More details are available here.
The IAM has been a strong advocate for passage of the Build Back Better bill, which would build on the new bipartisan infrastructure bill that President Joe Biden signed into law days ago.
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Nov 18, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2021 – The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the largest defense and aerospace labor union in North America, applauds the Biden Administration’s reinstatement of Service Contract Act (SCA) Executive Order 13495, which will greatly improve job security for service contract workers across the country.
The IAM led efforts in urging the Biden administration to protect Service Contract Act (SCA) workers’ jobs by reinstating critical job security protections.
“The reinstatement of Executive Order 13495 is a win for workers and employers who work under the Service Contract Act,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “President Biden’s reinstatement of President Obama’s Executive Order turns back the disastrous policy of President Trump and creates clear guidance for employers. President Biden is a champion for working families and continues to put them at the top of his agenda. Thousands of IAM members and other service contract workers can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing their jobs won’t be displaced when government service contracts change hands from one employer to another. Our nation can take great pride in the efficient government procurement and fairness to these workers and their families under this new Biden Executive Order.”
FACT SHEET: President Biden Signs Executive Order To Ensure Quality Jobs For Service Workers On Federal Contracts
Service Contract workers are private-sector employees who work under federal contracts, primarily at military bases and other federal installations. The IAM represents nearly 40,000 Service Contract Workers in various industries, spread across more than 800 locations.
In 2019, former President Trump rescinded Executive Order 13495, which President Obama implemented to provide essential job security to service contract workers. The order, known as “Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts,” granted workers the right of first refusal for continued employment when an SCA government contractor or employer is replaced by a new successor contractor at the same location. This policy benefited both the government and the workers by ensuring workforce stability as government contracts change hands.
In February 2021, IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. wrote a letter to President Biden urging him to restore Service Contract Worker’s job protections.
IAM members work at more than 800 SCA locations across the country, primarily at military bases and federal institutions. Some of the IAM’s larger bargaining units include 4,000 SCA workers at Fort Rucker, Alabama; more than 1,000 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada; nearly 800 at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona; and 750 at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Maryland
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.
goIAM.org | @MachinistsUnion
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Nov 18, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2021 – The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) sent a letter to members of the U.S. Senate in full support of including a critical amendment to the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The amendment would strengthen Buy American domestic content requirements for major defense acquisition programs.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) sponsored the amendment, entitled “Enhanced Domestic Content Requirement for Major Defense Acquisition Programs.” Under the current Buy American requirement, an end item need only be made up of 55 percent domestic content for the whole item to be considered “Made in America.” Sen. Duckworth’s language included in the House-passed FY22 NDAA with bipartisan support would gradually increase this percentage to 75 by January 1, 2029. This phased-in approach will give the domestic defense industry the time and clear signal needed to create jobs by adjusting to the increased domestic content requirement.
The amendment, championed in the U.S. House by U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ), was included in the bipartisan House passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
“Buy American policies serve the public good by targeting our tax dollars for the purchase of American made products, thereby employing U.S. workers and putting our federal tax receipts to work here at home,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “For far too long we have neglected to properly consider the impact of defense procurement policy on our domestic industrial base and, consequently, on the U.S. economy. We as a nation need to act strategically when it comes to defense procurement. Not only do we need to supply our men and women in uniform with the best possible products and equipment, but we must also support the U.S. defense industrial base, including the small and midsized firms across America that constitute the supply chain for critical defense programs.”
The IAM 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.
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.
goIAM.org | @MachinistsUnion
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