Fresh off a victory at the Boeing Co. that was hailed as a win for organized labor nationwide, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is turning its formidable strength to organizing new members with a nationwide campaign that kicks off this week in Chicago.
More than 900 Local Lodge Presidents and Organizing Chairpersons from the U.S. and Canada are taking part in a 3-day organizing summit designed to create battle plans for hundreds of organizing campaigns at sites previously identified by delegates attending the conference.
“The demand for union representation is growing nearly as fast as the support for President Bush’s economic policies is dropping,” said IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger, who is chairing the Chicago summit. “Millions of American workers would join a union today if they could. We intend to give them that opportunity.”
The summit will employ an unprecedented computer hookup allowing hundreds of delegates to simultaneously examine opportunities and obstacles encountered in past campaigns and debate solutions proposed to break through organizing chokepoints.
“Until now, our cumulative experience could not be tapped in real time,” explained Buffenbarger. “This technology will allow the brightest minds in our organization to electronically swarm over problems and give everyone the benefit of the debate. We are determined to find solutions to the political and logistical challenges that have stymied organizing drives in the past.”
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers represents nearly 720,000 active and retired members under more than 4,000 separate contracts and is among the largest industrial trade unions in North America.
