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James R. “Spanky” Yungkans The IAM mourns the death of Phoenix Local 519 Recording Secretary and Office Manager James R. “Spanky” Yungkans, who passed away on March 7, 2013. A Machinist member for nearly 50 years, Spanky first joined the IAM in 1965 when the Double A Production Plant in Manchester, MI, was unionized. In
Read moreAlthough decades of struggle by workers and their unions have resulted in significant improvements in working conditions, the toll of workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths remains enormous. Each year more than 56,000 workers die from job-related injuries and illnesses and another six million are injured. The unions of the AFL-CIO remember these workers every year
Read moreWestern Territory General Vice President Gary Allen, right, speaks to striking workers on the picket line at Belshaw Adamatic Bakery Manufacturing Plant in Auburn, Washington. “After two weeks of being on strike, the line is still holding strong; not a single machinist member has crossed the picket line,” said Local Lodge 79 President Clifton LaPlant.
Read moreHouse Republicans have introduced a bill that would end the 40-hour work week, dismantling an important component of the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 and hurting middle-class families across the country. Sponsored by Rep. Martha Roby (AL), the dubiously-titled “Working Families Flexibility Act” (H.R. 1406) would remove the requirement that employers pay a
Read moreLabor activists in Anchorage, Alaska are gearing up to overturn a new labor ordinance that prevents public-sector unions from striking and using binding arbitration. Sponsors filed an application to launch a petition drive for a referendum to strike down the new law sponsored by Republican mayor Dan Sullivan. The measure passed the Anchorage Assembly by
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