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The IAM Communication Department is proud to announce the release of the Winter 2020-2021 IAM Journal. The latest edition of the IAM’s flagship publication is hitting mailboxes now and is available online.
This has been difficult year for our country, and the Machinists Union family is no exception. The articles in this edition are designed to update our members on what’s going on in the IAM, and inspire them with stories of strength and solidarity.
Please enjoy the latest edition of the IAM Journal, along with the following message from IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr.:
Sisters and Brothers,
We have all been put to the test over the past several months. A global pandemic has taken the lives of loved ones. The ensuing recession has left millions out of work. Our nation is grappling with racial injustices of the past and present, wildfires of historic proportions out West, and a record number of hurricanes and floods in the South. In the middle of it all, we are going to the polls to determine the future of this country.
I know there’s been some tough conversations at the dinner tables of many IAM families this year. And it’s easy to feel alone amidst everything going on around us.
But let me be very clear—you are not alone. Your union has your back and we will always be there for each other. We will make it through this crisis and we will come out stronger on the other side.
You’ll see the perseverance of our membership in the pages of this IAM Journal. We are keeping our nation and the world moving, ensuring that critical supplies get to their destinations. We are standing up for good jobs and ensuring that the best workers in the world—our members—continue to build the military equipment that keeps our nation safe. We have been fighting for relief for our membership and every working family since Day 1 of this crisis.
But let’s call it like it is—not everyone has been on the side of working people. The indifference and inaction from the White House and its allies in Washington have cost us far too many lives and livelihoods. More than 50 IAM-represented plants have closed in the past three years. Despite our requests for assistance, this administration has said nothing—and more importantly—done nothing. The divisions in this country threaten our democracy, and the stakes have never been higher.
That’s why our membership, in the modern labor movement’s first-ever rank-and-file vote for a presidential endorsement, made it clear that this nation needs to move in a different direction. Up and down the ballot, we have the opportunity to elect candidates who will get us through this crisis and restore power back to where it belongs—with working families.
I’m not telling you how to vote. But I do want to make sure that you make your voice heard. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to be engaged when our nation needs us most.
It is times like these in the history of our union that have made us what we are today—a strong, united union. We’re known as the Fighting Machinists because we don’t back down and we never give up.
We’ll get through this, Sisters and Brothers. Keep up the fight. Stay safe, stay strong, stay united—together in solidarity, we shall overcome.
Robert Martinez Jr.
International President
