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The IAM is leading the charge on Capitol Hill to continue C-130J production at current levels. IAM Local 709 members at Lockheed Martin in Marietta, Ga., proudly build the aircraft.
A growing list of members of Congress have added their signatures to a letter calling for reconsideration of the “zero budgeted” pause in orders for the C-130J aircraft production line in the FY 2025 and 2026 budgets. The pause threatens to slow the production line of the U.S. military’s workhorse airlifter until FY 2027, the first time in the program’s history.
“For over 60 years, IAM members in Marietta have been producing military aircraft that are unmatched,” said IAM Southern Territory General Vice President Craig Martin. “This community relies on those jobs, and those jobs support other jobs in Georgia and across the country. We need to take a longer view at what ‘zero budgeted’ funding will actually do to jobs in Marietta.”
A record 68 members of Congress have signed the C-130J support letter.
“The current C-130J Super Hercules is the most capable tactical airlifter in the world, the members of Congress write. “A stable C-130J production line supporting current and future validated DoD requirements is the best approach to preserving the 380 suppliers across 36 states that support the 27,200 direct and indirect jobs, yielding more than $3.7 billion of total economic impact.”
