Thursday, April 16, 2009

Take Action Now to Preserve F-22 Raptor Jobs

Urge Members of Congress and the new Administration to take immediate action to release funds already authorized to continue production of the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft, the F-22 Raptor. Keeping the production line of this model aerospace program open currently requires no additional taxpayer dollars, and is not a rescue or bailout. Rather, it will allow us to maintain a healthy program that delivers considerable economic benefit while providing our Air Force with appropriate numbers of the best fighter aircraft ever made. Production of this aircraft is in jeopardy - and with it more than 95,000 American jobs, over $12 billion in national economic activity and the air superiority of America’s Air Force.

Read more and take action on this: http://capwiz.com/iamaw/issues/alert/?alertid=12541266&PROCESS=Take+Action

Obama Urges Skills Training in Georgetown Speech

President Barack Obama echoed the IAM’s call for 21st century skills training and a much needed rebirth of the U.S. manufacturing sector during a speech at Georgetown University.

“We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand,” he told the crowd. “We must build our house upon a rock. We must lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity.”

The president outlined five “pillars” to help grow our economy, one of which included new investments in education and skills training. As he did at a joint session of Congress back in February, Obama once again asked every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or technical career training.

“In the 20th century, The G.I. Bill helped send a generation to college,” he said. “For decades, we led the world in educational attainment, and as a consequence we led the world in economic growth. But in this new economy, we’ve come to trail the world’s leaders in graduation rates, in educational achievement, in the production of scientists and engineers. That’s why we have to set a goal that will greatly enhance our ability to compete for high-wage, high-tech jobs of the 21st century.”

Obama said he’d like to once again see “our best and our brightest commit themselves to making things.”

“For so long, we have placed at the top of our pinnacle folks who can manipulate numbers and engage in complex financial calculations. And that’s not good. We need some of that, but what we can really use is some more scientists and some more engineers who are building and making things that we can export to other countries.”

Obama says he’ll be talking more about technical career training in the coming weeks.

His remaining four pillars include setting new rules for Wall Street, making new investments in renewable energy and technology, new investments in health care, and creating new savings in our federal budget to bring down the deficit.

Union Training Helps Maersk Alabama Crew

The entire crew of the piracy target Maersk Alabama are union members. The Seafarers International Union (SIU) represents 12 of the mariners aboard the vessel. Some of the officers are represented by the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA), while the rest are represented by the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P).

The SIU members aboard the Maersk Alabama have undergone safety training at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, which is located in Piney Point, Md. Among the school’s course offerings are an anti-terrorism briefing that is given to every student; security awareness; vessel security officer; basic and advanced fire fighting; chemical, biological and radiological defense; small-arms training and damage control.

 On NBC's April 16th, 2009 Today Show, crew member John Cronin acknowledged the importance of being a union member when he explained the crew's defense of their ship by saying, "We are American seamen. We are union members. We stuck together and we did our jobs."

To view the interview, go to: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/30242549#30242549

Thunder Bay Airport Workers Join Machinists

Airline workers employed by Wasaya Airways at Thunder Bay International Airport in Thunder Bay, Ontario, are the newest members of the IAM. The new members of Local 714 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, include Ramp agents, Passenger service agents, Cargo agents and Ground Equipment Maintenance personnel.

“When these workers saw that management didn’t object to the pilots forming an association, they were quick to seek out the Machinists,” explained District 140 Organizer Ian Morland. “The security of a union collective agreement was foremost in their mind.”

Wasaya Airlines provides scheduled passenger service to 21 First Nation communities in northwestern Ontario. The airline operates a fleet of Beech 1900D passenger aircraft.

Railroad Retirement System to Provide Stimulus Payments

If you receive benefits from the Railroad Retirement system, you may be among those eligible for a one-time economic recovery payment as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act).  This Act, recently signed into law by President Obama, provides a one-time economic recovery payment of $250 to nearly 540,000 railroad retirement beneficiaries. 

The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has received $135 million from the Treasury for the one-time payments to qualified individuals. The RRB plans to issue advance notice to beneficiaries about the payments in late April, and expects to issue the one-time payment to entitled beneficiaries in late May, 2009.

To more about the One-Time Economic Recovery Payment, go to: http://www.goiam.org/uploadedFiles/TCUnion/Railroad_Retirement_Updates/pub_0904.pdf.

To view the Railroad Retirement Board’s weekly report, go to: http://www.recovery.gov/?q=content/weekly-report&agency_code=60&startdate=2009-04-03&noofreports=1&status=1&report_id=156

Future Union Member Supports Employee Free Choice Act

Millions of adults know about the importance of the Employee Free Choice Act, but what about our children?

Alycia Melvin clearly knows the score. The seven-year-old granddaughter of District W2 Business Rep. Melvin Montford wrote a letter to her senator, Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC), asking Hagan to co-sponsor the Employee Free Choice Act. The letter was featured on the AFL-CIO's blog. 

Alycia says when she grows up, she wants to “have a choice” just like her grandparents.

Join Alycia and thousands of others in the fight to give workers a choice in the workplace.

You can view Alycia’s letter at: http://blog.aflcio.org/2009/04/11/7-year-old-joins-thousands-writing-to-congress-for-employee-free-choice/

To send a message to your member of Congress to support the Employee Free Choice Act, go to http://capwiz.com/iamaw/issues/alert/?alertid=12318361 .