Quick links+
The IAM Retirees Conference opened with a call on the leaders and legends gathered to prepare for a fight. Over 300 delegates with decades of institutional knowledge of how the labor movement moves forward gathered to share experiences and hand down lessons learned. It was also a great time to reminisce with old friends and colleagues.
“In the IAM you may retire, but you never quit,” said IAM Union International President Brian Bryant. “Our great grandparents fought to make our way of life possible, and we are here to continue that fight. We’re not going to let the billionaires and oligarchs tell us that our earned benefits are over. Hell no!”
See photos from the conference here.
The current fight surrounds the attack on earned benefits that many Americans rely on. Medicaid was targeted by Congress in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” with $415 billion in cuts in 2026 to a program that costs $880 billion a year. Thus the appearance that America cannot afford the costs of many popular programs that the labor movement has fought for since the Great Depression.
Opponents of the Medicaid program claim the system is ripe with abuse. Facts show that medical corporations and medical providers defraud the programs with $60 to $87 billion in improper and fraudulent claims each year, not a surge of ineligible recipients. Many IAM retirees qualify for additional benefits through the EBS/TLC Medicare Retiree Program.
Medicare & You 2026 | @medicare.gov
“I was raised in a union household, and I didn’t understand what that meant at the time,” IAM Retirees and Membership Assistance Director James “Stretch” Little told members. “I watched my dad leave in the evening and go to union meetings. That’s the work it takes. That’s the fight that we all need to keep going. You know how to fight these fights, you have shown that over many years – and we need you now more than ever.”
Retirees have become a potent force in the battle for fairness for the working class. They organize, communicate, and rally like few other groups in politics. They vote in record numbers. Thus the push to ignite the IAM retirees to join the battles happening right now.
See a highlight video from the conference here.
The delegates met in breakout sessions to organize, educate, and motivate the group to return to their home areas and rally more support. A key drive is to leverage the knowledge and experience of these legends and leaders and ensure that they act as mentors for new and current members of the IAM Union. Plans were made to encourage more retiree committees at all levels of the union to bring more energy to the fight.
Many visited vendor booths in the conference facility to get more detailed and specific questions answered about the vast benefits available to IAM members just by belonging to the union.
Some recorded videos to encourage younger members to understand the importance of solidarity in times of change in the labor movement and struggles that strain our democracy.
Other guest speakers included:
The leaders and legends of the IAM Union identified the action needed to be taken. Even in retirement, there is still work to be done.
