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 moreMandatory budget cuts at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) caused by sequestration could cause more than 6,700 flight delays per day at 13 of the nation’s biggest airports starting this week. Affected airports include JFK, LaGuardia and Newark in the New York area; Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco in California; O’Hare and Midway
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
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