Wisconsin Machinists Ratify Mercury Marine Proposal

Members of Local 1947 in Fond du Lac, WI, concluded an extraordinary month with a vote last week to ratify a proposal from Mercury Marine that will result in additional work and jobs coming to the IAM-represented facility. Mercury had threatened to move the jobs if members did not approve a cost-cutting proposal.

The IAM represents more than 850 hourly workers at the Fond du Lac facility, however, those jobs support an additional 4,250 jobs in the surrounding community, according to the Fond du Lac County Economic Development Corporation.

The vote drew national attention, with lawmakers from Wisconsin and Oklahoma offering competing incentives to attract the engine maker, whose business has sharply fallen in the ongoing recession. Despite strong feelings and an initial rejection of the proposal, a majority of members voted to ratify the proposal once clarifications were included.

“We met with Mercury Marine top management and have a commitment that with this vote, the company will stay in Fond du Lac, WI and move more work to Fond du Lac over time,” said Midwest Territory GVP Philip J. Gruber. “Our members’ vote for the company proposal, while being a very difficult decision, clearly says they are willing to work with Mercury to secure a sound future for themselves, the company and the community.”

In a statement issued after the vote, Mercury Marine President Mark Schwabero said the company will begin consolidating work in Fond du Lac this year, including moving work from a non-union plant in Stillwater, OK., within two years.

LCLAA Support Boosts IAM Campaign at Delta

The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) is joining the fight to ensure Delta and Northwest Airlines employees are able to cast ballots for union representation in an atmosphere free from intimidation, threats, harassment or pressure from Delta management representatives.

“LCLAA fully supports the IAM’s campaign to win representation rights for ground workers at the New Delta Air Lines, and LCLAA urges Delta Air Lines to refrain from anti-union campaigning and let their employees be free to cast a ballot without employer interference,” said LCLAA National President Milton Rosado (pictured) in a September 3rd letter of support to IAM President Tom Buffenbarger.

More than 12,500 IAM members stand to lose their union representation and pensions as a result of the Northwest Airlines merger with Delta Air Lines. The IAM is calling on Delta to remain neutral during the upcoming union representation elections – as they are required to under the Railway Labor Act – and allow their employees to be educated as to the advantages of union representation. An election win could also extend the benefits of union representation to nearly 18,000 Delta Air Lines workers who could enjoy the benefits of union representation for the first time.

The IAM has worked closely with LCLAA for years to advance an agenda that includes social, political and economic empowerment of working families in the workplace and in their communities.

New Mexico Machinists Work to Save G.E. Jobs

IAM members in New Mexico are working every avenue to save more than 1,300 jobs that could be lost if G.E. Aviation closes an engine facility that has been an economic driver in Albuquerque for nearly four decades.

The IAM and G.E. are currently in a 60-day period of “Decision Bargaining” to explore alternatives to closing the facility. Barring a resolution, G.E. says it plans to close the facility in the fall of 2010.

In addition to community outreach and rallies by union members that garnered statewide TV coverage, IAM representatives have met with local, state and federal representatives to emphasize the importance of preserving high-skill manufacturing jobs in New Mexico. A pair of articles in the Labor Day edition of the state’s largest newspaper, featured the campaign on the paper’s editorial pages.

In ‘Community Needs G.E.’s Good Jobs,’ Local 794 President and Directing Business Representative Ernest “Red” Dow called on the community to join the effort to preserve jobs for the next generation. “These high-quality jobs have been in our community for 40 years and played a crucial role in our standard of living,” wrote Dow. “We have an obligation to give our children the same opportunities to enjoy a good level of compensation and benefits.”

Pratt & Whitney Agrees to Extend Deadline

The offer by the state of Connecticut is in addition to $63 million in annual cost cuts proposed by the IAM, including an agreement to help reduce overtime by 40 percent for all of Pratt's Connecticut workers, not just the ones threatened with job elimination.

The IAM also secured an agreement from P&W to extend the deadline for negotiations from Sept. 6 to Sept. 13, giving the two sides and state officials more time to craft an alternative to closing the two facilities.

‘Young Workers: A Lost Decade’

Young workers are significantly less likely to have economic security and health care than they were 10 years ago, says a new national survey released by the AFL-CIO.

According to the “Young Workers: A Lost Decade” report, one in three workers 18-35 years old currently live with their parents because they either don’t make enough money to cover their monthly bills, or make just enough with a little to put aside. The study also found that 31 percent of young workers have no health insurance, up from 24 percent in 1999. Of those, 79 percent say they either can’t afford it or their employer doesn’t offer it. Numbers show only a quarter of 18-35 year olds currently belong to a union.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka say the results are unsettling. As part of the federation’s annual Labor Day briefing, the leaders announced plans to make an unprecedented effort to reach out to young workers in the coming months through broad recruitment and training. “Young workers are facing the worst kind of insecurity – struggling to find good jobs and hold down debt while trying to grow into adulthood,” says Trumka. “We owe them better. Unless we change it, their economic standards are going to define a new norm – a norm of lower job and living standards. Their future is our country’s future and we must commit to creating an economy that provides a strong economic future for all.”

To read more about these key findings, click here.

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