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IAM ADVOCACY SAVES THOUSANDS OF MACHINISTS’ AEROSPACE JOBS: As a result of intense lobbying by the IAM, Congress recently reached an agreement on an end-of-year government spending bill that included an amendment granting Boeing a modification to the certification deadline, which would allow the 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 jets to complete aircraft certification without major disruptions. The amendment, which includes several mandatory safety enhancements, protects thousands of Machinists’ jobs by ensuring a deadline included in legislation passed in 2020 does not apply to the MAX 7 and MAX 10 models that have yet to enter service.
The actions of the federal lawmakers came just days after IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. sent letters to the Biden Administration, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging them to support legislative and administrative remedies to modify the deadline for the Boeing 737 MAX-10 and MAX-7 programs to attain the certification of the flight crew alerting system, as mandated under the Aircraft Certification, Safety and Accountability Act (ACSAA) of 2020.
“This Machinists Union relentlessly fought for this extension that will ensure the livelihoods of thousands of Machinists in the aerospace sector,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “I applaud Senator Maria Cantwell for developing this amendment and Congress for supporting it. This will allow the MAX-10 and MAX-7 variants an opportunity to complete the certification process without jeopardizing aircraft safety.”
“The amendment affords our Machinists members at Boeing the stability and security they deserve,” said IAM Western Territory General Vice President Gary R. Allen. “Machinists play a vital role on the frontlines of the aerospace industry by building and producing some of the best aircraft in the world. I commend IP Martinez and our Legislative Department for this achievement.”
“This is great news and a relief to our members who prove every day that they are the most skilled to build these new aircraft,” said IAM District 751 President and Directing Business Representative Jon Holden. “I want to thank International President Martinez, GVP Allen, our Legislative Department, and all Machinists who fought for this certification process of the Max 7 and Max 10.”
President Biden signed the spending bill into law days ago.
The IAM will continue to work with the Biden Administration to further aviation safety, the efficiency of the aircraft safety certification process, and the superiority of the domestic aerospace manufacturing industry.
MACHINISTS WIN CRITICAL FUNDING FOR IAM-BUILT DEFENSE PROGRAMS: Thanks in large part to the IAM’s relentless efforts, the recently passed Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and Department of Defense Appropriations bill include extensive funding for defense programs that are built and maintained by IAM members.
The legislation, recently signed into law by President Biden, provides for record funding levels for defense spending totaling $858.4 billion for national defense programs.
Each year, the NDAA authorizes funding levels and provides authorities for the U.S. military and other critical defense priorities, ensuring our troops have the training, equipment, and resources they need to carry out their missions.
Thanks to the IAM’s lobbying efforts, the 2023 NDAA and DoD Appropriations bill provides robust funding for the following IAM- built and maintained programs:
The annual legislation also authorizes significant funding for federal employees in this year’s iteration, including many priorities for NFFE-IAM members.
NFFE-IAM supported many provisions of the 2023 NDAA, including the continuation of the one-year probationary period for DoD workers, the extension of a waiver on annual pay caps for international DoD workers, resources for Child Development Centers available to DoD employees, and the insertion of both the Plum Act and the Water Resources Development Act of 2022. Two specific priorities contained in the final bill that NFFE promoted were funding for new workloads at Army depots, including $183 million for the Red River Army Depot, as well as new presumptive illness provisions for federal firefighters.
The Machinists will always fight for robust funding for these programs and improvements in the ongoing negotiations over defense appropriations.
MACHINISTS WIN FUNDING VICTORY FOR NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD: The Machinists and our labor allies fought for and won a funding increase for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). After receiving the same appropriation since 2014, Congress funded the NLRB at $299 million for 2023, an increase of $25 million. The much needed boost comes at a time when cases are surging at the agency. The IAM has been on the frontlines in calling for increased funding for the NLRB.
In fiscal year 2022, the NLRB saw a 53% increase in union representation petitions from the prior year, as well as a 19% increase in unfair labor practice (ULP) charges.
The agency’s 9% gain may be the first increase in years, but still is less than President Joe Biden’s 16% hike request and is also slimmer than what the House and Senate budget panels proposed this summer.
“The increase in funding to the NLRB will impact millions of American workers,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez, Jr. “The increase in union elections and ULP complaints should be met with the resources needed for the NLRB to process them.”
The NLRB is an independent agency created by Congress in 1935 to administer and enforce the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The agency is tasked with protecting the rights of most private-sector employees who seek to join together, with or without a union, to improve their wages and working conditions, and is responsible for enforcing the law when it comes to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices, and safeguard workers right to organize.
IAM LOCAL 207 SHOWS MACHINIST STRENGTH, HALTS CRIPPLING RESTRICTIONS ON MAINE LOBSTERING: The Maine Lobstering Union (IAM Local 207) and the IAM Political and Legislative Department have won a provision that delays instituting regulations that would have destroyed Maine’s lobster industry. With the assistance of the Maine Congressional Delegation, Congress passed an omnibus appropriations bill that includes this provision.
The IAM and its allies have long shown that lobstering practices in the Gulf of Maine are not harming right whales and that proposed regulations unfairly target the Maine lobstering industry.
“IAM Local 207 members and the entire Maine lobstering industry have shown again that when we stand together, we win critical victories for our state, community and livelihoods,” said IAM Eastern Territory General Vice President David Sullivan. “We’re so thankful for the IAM Political and Legislative Department—specifically Assistant Director Loren Almeroth and Local 207 Political Director, Virginia Olson, for their diligence in this effort—the Maine congressional delegation and all of our allies in this fight.”
The provision protects the lobster industry by delaying NMFS’s newly recommended regulations for six years, until enough data is collected to determine what the appropriate regulations should be for the Gulf of Maine and if the existing regulations prove sufficient.
“Maine’s lobstermen and women have long demonstrated their commitment to maintaining and protecting a sustainable fishery in the Gulf of Maine,” said the Maine delegation.
“They have invested in countless precautionary measures to protect right whales, including removing more than 30,000 miles of line from the water and switching to weaker rope to prevent whales from being entangled. And the fact is— there has never been a right whale death attributed to Maine lobster gear. We know the right whale population can be protected along with a thriving fishery because Maine lobstermen are already doing it.”
In October, IAM Local 207 called on the Biden Administration to protect Maine’s lobster fishery being threatened by the proposed regulations. The Maine delegation also sent letters to President Biden, urging him to take action to save thousands of jobs.
“It bears repeating that Maine’s lobster industry is an economic engine for the state, generating approximately $1.4 billion annually and supporting the livelihoods of 4,500 lobstermen and thousands of Mainers employed through lobster dealers and seafood processors, vessel and trap manufacturers, restaurants, and other coastal businesses,” reads U.S. Rep. Jared Golden’s letter to the president.
MACHINISTS UNION’S ADVOCACY HELPS PROTECT TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: The Machinists Union applauds Congress and the Biden administration for the one-year extension of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, which provides crucial benefits to workers who lost their jobs as a result of outsourcing and unfair trade practices. The $450 million for the U.S. Labor Department program was included as part of the $1.7 trillion omnibus funding bill recently passed by Congress, and signed into law by President Biden.
The IAM, along with allies on Capitol Hill, worked tirelessly to make sure the TAA program was preserved, as many workers and their families’ livelihoods rely on this vital support system that includes tuition assistance and other re-employment services.
Last month, the IAM sent a letter to Congress urging the federal lawmakers to ensure the reauthorization of the TAA program.
“This victory is a step closer to a long-term solution to protect the TAA program that is critical for workers displaced from their jobs by unfair trade policies,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “An enhanced TAA program does not only help affected workers, but it also helps their families and communities stay afloat.”
The IAM has made it clear that it will push against bad trade policies, and has been active domestically and abroad advocating for pro-worker trade initiatives such as the TAA program.
SENATE RECONFIRMS ROBERT PRIMUS TO STB: The Senate confirmed Robert Primus to be a Member of the Surface Transportation Board (STB). The STB is the independent federal agency tasked with economic regulation of the freight rail industry. Since joining the STB in 2021, Mr. Primus has been a thoughtful leader in addressing corporate rail actions that have wrecked freight service and threatened public safety. SOURCE: TTD-AFL-CIO
