Jan 4, 2022 | Politics & Legislative News
WASHINGTON, Dec. 30, 2021 – The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Dec. 28 ruled that is permitting the Maine Lobstering Union (MLU) to intervene as a plaintiff in a case against the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The closure of a large area of prime lobstering territory is having a hugely negative impact on Maine lobstering communities. The MLU won injunctive relief to stop the closure on Oct. 16, but 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. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take the case.
“This matter is the second case to which the MLU is a party in the District of Columbia involving lobster regulations intended to protect the North Atlantic right whale, with the MLU already having intervened as a defendant in a case brought by conservation groups challenging NMFS’s 2021 Biological Opinion,” said Alfred C. Frawley IV, lead attorney representing the MLU. “As an intervener in both cases, the MLU will seek a ruling that NMFS’s biological opinion and recent regulations are arbitrary and capricious in that they do not rely on the best scientific evidence available, but instead rely upon assumptions that have no basis in reality.”
The MLU also remains an active intervener in CBD v. Ross, a case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
“The Maine Lobstering Union will continue to use every resource at our disposal to protect both the Maine lobstering community and the environment, which we have been stewards of for generations,” said the MLU’s Virginia Olsen. “We simply ask that decisions that impact the livelihoods of countless communities be grounded in science. Our resolve is steadfast to protect this world-renowned industry and the men and women who depend on it.”
The Maine Lobstering Union (MLU) is an affiliate 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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Jan 4, 2022 | Politics & Legislative News
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has passed and been signed into law by President Biden. The legislation totals $768 billion for national defense programs, including extensive funding for IAM-built programs.
“The Machinists Union is the largest defense labor union in the United States and we tirelessly fought for all of the Machinists Union priorities included in this bill,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “This act will go a long way to ensuring our members and their families have a stable future. The legislation will also provide much-needed wage increases for our military men and woman while expanding their healthcare benefits, parental leave and in-home child care.
Thanks to the IAM’s lobbying efforts, the 2022 NDAA authorizes funding for the following IAM- built and maintained programs:
- 85 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters
- 12 F-18 Super Hornets
- 4 C-130J Super Hercules
- 17 F-15 Eagles
- 14 KC-46 Tankers
- Two P-8 Poseidons
- Three DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class Destroyers
- Two Virginia-class Attack Submarines
- Robust funding for ramp up of Columbia-class Ballistic Submarine program
Other highlights include:
- Renews, expands and improves oversight into domestic content in critical defense acquisition programs.
- Supports Administration efforts to increase public availability of Department of Defense reporting on waivers of certain domestic preference requirements.
- Establishes strong, recurring oversight mechanisms to detect and deter egregious violations of domestic preference laws.
- Improves the legal framework to mitigate risk in critical defense supply chains and across the broader acquisition process, using leading-edge digital tools, technology, and approaches to enhance supply chain transparency.
- Tightens restrictions on acquisitions of certain printed circuit boards for which supply chains may be susceptible to interference by the Chinese government.
The law also authorizes $27.8 billion for nuclear weapons activities allotted for the Department of Energy and fully funds the Department of Defense budget for the National Security Launch Program.
The post IAM Advocacy Results in Major Funding for Machinists Built Programs in the 2022 NDAA appeared first on IAMAW.
Dec 17, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
New Jersey State Council of Machinists President Cristino Vilorio, along with Executive Board members, this week met with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ) to thank them for their continued support of legislation that is beneficial to the over 20,000 New Jersey Machinists Union members.
“I thank Sen. Booker and Rep. Norcross for always advocating for legislation that will protect and enhance the workers of New Jersey,” said Vilorio. “The New Jersey State Council of Machinists will continue to urge our representatives to support the PRO Act, Build Back Better Act and any other bills that can create good union jobs in New Jersey for our members and their families.”
“The New Jersey State Council of Machinists, led by President Vilorio, is always at the forefront in protecting and enhancing the livelihoods of all workers in their great state,” said IAM Eastern Territory General Vice President Brian Bryant. “Our members are in good hands thanks to their hard work and diligence.”
Vilorio recently represented the IAM at President Biden’s Build Back Better event in New Jersey, which focused on the status of the Infrastructure and the Reconciliation Bill and how it will create thousands of union jobs in New Jersey and across the nation.
The post New Jersey State Council of Machinists Meet with State Representatives appeared first on IAMAW.
Dec 16, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
Ty Richardson, who has served as an IAM Communications Representative, has been appointed IAM Assistant Political and Legislative Director. The appointment is effective January 1, 2022.
Richardson first joined the IAM in 2019 after a 15-year career as a journalist, including several years covering labor unions, trade and employment policy on Capitol Hill for Bloomberg BNA/Bloomberg Law. In the IAM Communications Department, one of Richardson’s many responsibilities has been working closely with the IAM Political and Legislative Department to advance worker-friendly legislation through the mass media and internal IAM communications channels.
That includes media outreach, as well as routinely writing press releases, legislative action items and helping author Machinists On The Hill, a twice-monthly roundup of legislative advocacy on behalf of IAM members.
“Ty brings an extraordinary level of knowledge and skill to our efforts to defend our membership on Capitol Hill,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “His experience both inside and outside the IAM will be a critical asset to the Political and Legislative Department.”
Richardson, a graduate of Seton Hall University, has also served as a Communications Specialist at the National Nurses United. Before his time at Bloomberg, Richardson was a reporter for publications such as The (Charleston, SC) Post & Courier, The New York Law Journal and The Baltimore Sun.
Richardson joins a department headed by IAM National Political and Legislative Director Hasan Solomon and Assistant Political and Legislative Director Loren Almeroth.
Richardson replaces Monica Lee Silbas, who has been appointed Chief of Staff to the International President.
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Dec 15, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
Over 64 members of Congress recently wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III calling for additional funding for the IAM-built C-130J program. The current C-130J program has been a tremendous success resulting in millions of dollars in savings.
“The current C-130J Super Hercules is the most capable tactical airlifter in the world,” reads the letter. “C-130J production is currently declining from 2020’s health rate of 24+ aircraft per year down to a minimum 16 per year. Such a significant drop in production could dramatically affect C-130J pricing and undermine the national supplier base.”
“Machinists Union members have been proudly manufacturing C-130 aircraft for decades,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “Efficiency and safety are qualities that make the C-130J program one of the most trusted military production aircraft. The IAM members display extreme pride, knowing how our nation depends on this program. I commend the members of Congress for standing up for the program and the thousands of good-paying jobs provided with this program and its supplier base.”
The letter is requesting serious consideration be given to request a Block Buy to accommodate the fleet demands for both the U.S. military and the National Science Foundation’s climate change study missions.
Read the full letter here.
The post Members of Congress Call for Additional Funding for C-130J Airlift Program appeared first on IAMAW.
Dec 15, 2021 | Politics & Legislative News
If federal funds are being used by American transit agencies to purchase things like rail cars or buses, those vehicles and their parts, should be made in America.
That’s the message coming from the Machinists Union, which is standing alongside other national labor unions to let Congress know that millions of good jobs, the country’s supply chains, and our global competitiveness are at stake.
“Our members are proud to manufacture equipment used by our government to take care its citizens across this nation. But if federal dollars are used to pay for it, it should made in this country, by workers in the United States, using American ingenuity. This should be non-negotiable,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “Our elected leaders need to take action immediately to make sure we aren’t giving away our country’s competitive edge and endangering our national security.”
In a joint letter signed by the IAM, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Transport Workers Union of America, the United Steelworkers, and the United Auto Workers, the group outlined how detrimental it will be to the economy and our national security if this action remains unchecked, putting our country at risk for the future.
The letter is addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
“On behalf of millions of workers throughout the U.S. supply chain that supports our transportation infrastructure, we write in strong opposition to any policy actions that would weaken the Transportation Infrastructure Vehicle Security Act (TIVSA),” writes the coalition. “This law was enacted in 2019 to prevent the use of federal assistance administered by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) from being used to purchase rolling stock equipment from China’s state-owned, -controlled, and -subsidized firms.”
The letter makes clear the importance of protecting the country’s supply chains and ensuring American manufacturing remains a global powerhouse, as well as safeguarding future interests such as emerging transportation infrastructure technologies including electric vehicles, rechargeable batteries and other clean energy platforms.
Click here to read the letter.
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