Remarks for GST Mart, IAM Human Rights Conference, Sept 1-5, 2011

Good morning and thank you all very much for taking part in this very important conference with the theme of: Embracing Diversity in the House of Labor.

It’s good to see so many new faces here with us today.

It might come as a surprise for some of you to learn that this is the IAM’s first International Human Rights Conference.

Does that mean that the IAM hasn’t been involved in the field of human rights before now?

Not hardly.

For many years, the IAM has taken part in a wide range of initiatives that include many of the issues that come under the heading of human rights.

The IAM in particular, and the labor movement in general, has a long history of working side by side with the civil rights community, just as we have a history of supporting women’s and retirees’ rights.

Many of our locals and district lodges have very active committees that engage with other groups at the state and national level.

But it is true that this is the first time we’re having a conference that is exclusively dedicated to the concept of human rights. I think that is great. Don’t you?

It’s a more inclusive description that will hopefully bring together activists in the civil rights, workers rights and women’s rights fields, along with Labor, to address our concerns.

And going forward, we intend to make sure that young workers’ rights are given the attention, the respect, and the voice, they deserve.

In addition to my responsibilities as the IAM’s chief financial officer, I also attend a great many meetings and conferences around the country.

Some are large conventions with several hundred union representatives.

Others are smaller state council meetings with a few dozen dedicated men and women.

Together, the people who attend these meetings make up the backbone of our organization.

They are the ones who answer the call over and over.

They’re the ones who write their representative when an important piece of legislation is up for consideration.

They’re the ones who show up before dawn when the call goes out for volunteers.

They’re the ones who stand up for their fellow workers when someone is being treated unfairly on the job.

In short, they’re the unsung heroes of the labor movement and some of them are here with us today.

I want to take a moment to recognize them and to pay our respects for the years and years of service they’ve given to this union.

Would all those who a have been an IAM member for more than 30 years please stand?

To each of you, we offer our deepest thanks and appreciation for your service and dedication to our union.

And now, please sit down.

Would all those here who have been active for more than 20 years, but less than 30 years, please stand?

To each of you, we also offer our thanks and appreciation.

You have been through a great many battles and you too have stood the test of time.

Please be seated.

But now we get to what makes this conference unique.

Would all those who have been involved in their union for less than 10 years please stand.

I want everyone to look around because right here in this room you’re looking at the future of this union.

Please remain standing for just a moment.

Some of you may go on to become elected officials at the state or national level.

Some of you will become involved in the union’s community service activities.

Some of you will no doubt go on to full time careers as union representatives.

It’s quite possible that someone in this room will one day be an Executive Council Member.

You may not think so, but trust me – this is how it begins.

Please be seated.

I’d be willing to bet that every one of the 30 and 20-year veterans who stood up a minute ago started out just like you.

They went to a meeting – maybe a meeting like this - with nothing in particular in mind.

Next thing you know, they volunteered to serve on a committee, or maybe they were elected Shop Steward in their workplace.

But I can tell you one thing for certain – they didn’t start out thinking this would be their life’s work.

This kind of work grows on you. It’s a way of life. It is what is in your heart, the desire to help our members have a better life, a pension, health care, and a good job, and equality.

Maybe it happens when you find out that all those wonderful protections that we have as U.S. citizens – don’t really exist in the workplace without a union contract.

Don’t believe me?

Well just try exercising freedom of speech with your boss if you don’t have a union contract and see what happens.

And, your right to due process as a citizen is non-existent in the workplace without a grievance procedure that’s spelled out in black and white.

It’s not hard to understand why people get hooked on this kind of work.

It’s part legal, part law enforcement, part counselor, and every now and then, part street fight.

Where do you think we got our name as the Fighting Machinists?

Because you see, these rights, like our rights as citizens, are not guaranteed and are very often under attack.
All you have to do is look at what’s happening at the National Labor Relations Board.

The NLRB has been around for decades, since it was established by FDR to enforce the laws that protect workers’ right to organize and bargain collectively.

You may hear it referred to in the news as “a small and little known federal agency.”
But it is hardly insignificant for the hundreds of thousands of U.S. workers who rely on it to protect their rights.

Pro-business groups and conservative republicans have hated the NLRB since it was established and they have never ceased their attacks on it.

But never have the attacks been as fierce and bold as they are today.

With a GOP majority in the House of Representatives, there have been repeated attempts to defund and eliminate that agency.

Subpoenas have been issued and hearing held with the express purpose of slowing the agency’s work and to crippling their effectiveness.

And the one case that their attacks are focused on right now is the IAM complaint against the Boeing Company.

While the case against Boeing was really quite straightforward, it has blossomed into a larger attack on the agency itself.

And this is why it matters to every worker here and every worker in the United States.

If the extremists are successful in their attempt to cripple the agency, then we will all suffer – not just workers at Boeing.

The stakes are very high, but I want you to know that the IAM is sparing no effort in this fight.

There’s one more issue that I want to mention before I close.

As a financial officer, I followed the so called debt crisis very closely.

Like the Boeing case, it’s another example of a straightforward issue that was hijacked for a completely separate agenda.

Let me be perfectly clear – this was a manufactured political crisis, not a fiscal crisis.

We should never forget the words of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell before the so called crisis unfolded.

He said that the number one job for Republicans in Congress was to ensure Barack Obama did not win a second term.

Now, Republican’s don’t agree on everything, but they’re in total lockstep on this.
And they firmly believe that if the economy is bad enough, if the unemployment numbers are high enough, then the voters will be so angry come Election Day that they’ll vote for anyone but Barack Obama.

It’s hardly a sophisticated campaign strategy, but what is amazing is the degree that they are willing to put the U.S. economy into a death spiral to make it happen.

Default? They said Bring it on.

30 Million unemployed? To them, that’s good news.

And the prospect of massive cuts to programs like Medicare and Social Security – cuts that will cause deep and widespread suffering – well that’s icing on their plan to take back the White House.

There may be those who wonder why this union and the union movement is so involved in politics.

I would remind you that our adversaries – and there are many – understand that the best way to undo a good contract is to attack the laws that protect collective bargaining and organizing.

We simply cannot afford to prevail at the bargaining table and then be a no-show on the political battlefield. So I know we can count on you to do your part in politics.

Thank you all very much for being here this week and I look forward to talking more with each of you.

Always be proud to be a Fighting Machinist member.

Thank you.