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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Nov 18, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2021 – Robert Martinez Jr., International President of the 600,000-member International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the largest aerospace, defense, and transportation union in North America, released the following statement strongly supporting increased accountability around the Buy American Act:
“The IAM supports the Biden-Harris administration’s goal to strengthen our American manufacturing and services industries. The new waiver transparency process will benefit American families and boost our supply chain. I applaud the administration for talking the talk and walking the walk. Our nation has done an injustice to our manufacturers who have wanted to make items in America for too long.
“Today’s action will move us one step closer to securing our supply chain and our children’s future. This change brings historic levels of transparency and accountability to the longstanding waiver process. It will help advance the Biden-Harris administration’s vision and strategy for ensuring a future made in all of America by all of America’s workers.”
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 17, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
The IAM recently met with House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) regarding the lack of enforcement of federal laws that are meant to protect U.S. loggers.
The IAM and Maine Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Allagash) sounded the alarm on how Canadian logging drivers are engaging in “point to point” deliveries within the United States, which is not permitted under federal cabotage law. The law stipulates that Canadian and Mexican drivers may only deliver international shipments into the U.S. and then pick up a load to be delivered back to their country of origin. Lack of enforcement of cabotage law has resulted in the loss of jobs for Maine communities that count on the logging industry.
Thompson, a longtime pro-worker member of Congress, responded by sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, urging enforcement of the law.
“The lack of consistent enforcement of this bill has hurt all American workers, especially our Maine loggers,” said IAM Eastern Territory General Vice President Brian Bryant. “The law’s intent is to protect all American workers, their livelihoods and families. For too long Maine loggers have not been safeguarded accordingly. The IAM Legislative team along with our Eastern Territory staff will exhaust every resource necessary until all loggers in Maine are fully protected.”
“For too long organizations like the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine and the Maine Forestry Products Council have used Canadian Contractors and Canadian Drivers to put US workers out of business and depress wages industry wide,” said IAM Eastern Territory Grand Lodge Representative Craig Hughes, who attended the meeting. “Now they are trying to weaponize the US Constitution to defend the practice. We will not stand by and watch this exploitation of these hard-working Mainers continue.”
The Machinists Union has been at the forefront in addressing the challenges the loggers and wood-haulers face in northern Maine, recently participating in a discussion at the Maine State House with U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME).
IAM Eastern Territory Chief of Staff Dave Sullivan and the IAM Political and Legislative staff participated in the discussion with Thompson.
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Nov 16, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
The IAM applauds the much-needed trillion-dollar new federal investment in the nation’s infrastructure. The bipartisan legislation that was signed into law will create good, union-paying jobs to help repair the nation’s crumbling highways, bridges, and also mark the most significant federal investment in public transit and passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak.
President Joe Biden on Monday, Nov. 15 formally signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684) into law. Biden was joined at the White House by several key stakeholders, including a large delegation of IAM members.
“We applaud the signing of this very critical trillion-dollar piece of legislation into law, paving the way for much-needed improvements to several of our nation’s economic drivers,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “This law will provide historic investments for the airline, transit, aerospace, manufacturing and other critical industries. This law also strengthens Buy America rules to help boost our domestic manufacturing sectors.”
The IAM was a strong advocate for the trillion-dollar legislation, which helps reverse the backlog of thousands of buses and rail cars for public transit agencies and critical improvements to transit stations and thousands of miles of track and power systems.
This doesn’t end the push for improvements to the nation’s infrastructure. The IAM is also lobbying aggressively for passage of Biden’s Build Back Better legislation.
Some highlights in the new infrastructure law:
- $110 billion for roads, bridges, and major projects.
- $66 billion passenger and freight rail.
- $11 billion for transportation safety.
- $39 billion for public transit.
- $17 billion for ports and waterways.
- $25 billion for airports.
- $7.5 billion for clean school buses and ferries.
- $7.5 billion for electric vehicle charging.
- $1 billion to reconnect communities, including funds for projects that remove barriers to opportunity caused by legacy infrastructure.
Biden has steadily touted the importance of the new infrastructure investment as a measure to repair problems as well as spur job growth. He mentioned the IAM and several other unions during Monday’s signing ceremony. The White House on Monday tweeted the importance of the new law for union workers.
The IAM delegation at the White House on Monday included David Roderick, legislative director for District 141; Josh Hartford, General Chairman, IAM District 19; Elliot Benton, TCU-IAM Local Chairman, Amtrak; David Arouca TCU-IAM Assistant National Legislative Director; NFFE-IAM National President Randy Erwin, IAM National Legislative and Political Director Hasan Solomon; and Local 1976 member Mark Ball.
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Nov 9, 2021 | Air Transport, Politics & Legislative News
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) on Monday, Nov. 8, sent a letter to Robin Hayes, CEO JetBlue Airways Inc., alerting him that the union will reach out to federal lawmakers in an attempt to help workers who wrongfully lost wages and benefits even as the carrier took taxpayer-funded relief as part of the CARES Act.
“We will reach out to key federal lawmakers, inform them that JetBlue management took almost $2 billion in federal tax-payer funds and then cut the hours, pay and benefits of hundreds, if not thousands, of JetBlue workers in potential violation of federal law. At present, you may ignore the IAM, but ignoring the questions of federal lawmakers would likely not be a good strategy,” wrote Richard Johnsen, IAM Chief of Staff to the International President.
Johnsen’s correspondence was a follow-up attempt by the IAM.
On Oct. 13, James Carlson, the IAM’s Assistant Airline Coordinator, wrote Hayes, urging him to rectify the matter.
“JetBlue Crewmembers deserve better,” Carlson wrote. “They deserve to be repaid the money you wrongly took from them last year. They deserve to have their 401k accounts increased by the exact amount that was lost due to their working hours/pay being wrongly cut.”
The IAM lobbied aggressively to make sure the airline Payroll Support Program (PSP) was included in the CARES Act.
JetBlue applied for and received taxpayer funds under the Payroll Support Program, which required airlines to maintain workers’ jobs, pay and benefits as a condition of taking the funds. In May 2020, a group of 13 U.S. Senators, led by Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), wrote to Hayes, urging the company to reverse its decision to cut hours of workers after receiving the financial assistance of the CARES Act.
“Your decision to cut employee hours is inconsistent with congressional intent and is a blatant and potentially illegal effort to skirt your requirements to keep workers on payroll, and you should reverse this policy immediately,” the senators wrote.
The IAM is actively trying to organize JetBlue’s Ground Operations (GO) Crewmembers.
Johnsen’s letter to Hayes pointed out some falsehoods in the company’s messages to its workers, many of which are an attempt to thwart union representation.
“The truth is that JetBlue management will do everything in its power to coerce GO Crewmembers against forming a union. JetBlue management knows that by unionizing GO Crewmembers will be able to gain the power needed to secure a legally binding contract that they deserve, which recognizes their value to JetBlue Airways,” Johnsen wrote. “JetBlue management also knows it will lose the power to dictate every aspect of GO Crewmembers working lives if these brave, dedicated workers join a union.”
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Nov 9, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
On November 6, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, better known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal. It’s great news for Machinists Union members in the United States, especially in the transportation sector, because the I-A-M fought for these investments. Not only will this legislation repair and rebuild our roads and bridges, but it will improve transportation options through the largest investment in public transit in U.S. history.
Our airports and ports will be upgraded to strengthen supply chains, address repair and maintenance backlogs and create more, good-paying union jobs.
It will also make the largest investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak… allowing the U-S to catch up to the rest of the world in reliability, speed and coverage, especially when it comes to high-speed rail. The package will also strengthen Buy America rules to help boost our domestic manufacturing sectors. This all means working families can live a better life with decent wages and benefits.
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