The Machinists News Network has released two videos on the IAM’s 2013 National Staff Conference and 125-year anniversary march and rally in Atlanta.
“125 Years of Strength” provides an overview of the conference’s many speakers, including IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger, IAM Southern Territory General Vice President Robert Martinez Jr., Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, and a special appearance by 83-year-old actor and labor activist Ed Asner, who portrayed IAM founder Tom Talbot in a monologue.
“Machinists March to Georgia State Capitol” follows hundreds of IAM members, led by the beat of bagpipes and drums, as they parade to the steps of the Georgia State House to mark the union’s founding and declare Atlanta the IAM’s hometown. Members later joined Buffenbarger and General Secretary-Treasurer Robert Roach Jr., as they unveiled a 125 th anniversary plaque to be affixed on Talbot’s statue in Atlanta’s Grant Park.