Machinist to Lead Kentucky Labor Department Kentucky’s Democratic Governor-elect Steve Beshear named IAM member J.R. Gray as the state’s new Commissioner of Labor. Gray is a retired Directing Business Representative (DBR) of District Lodge 154 in Calvert City, KY and has served 26 years in the Kentucky House of Representatives, much of that time as
Read moreThe Human Toll of Chinese Imports As Americans continue to express outrage over Chinese-made products being recalled due to toxic lead levels, a new report looks at the large number of Chinese workers who are losing their lives producing these products. The report was prepared by Salt Lake Tribune reporter Loretta Tofani, who spent fourteen months in
Read moreBush Steps in Amtrak’s Mess President George W. Bush this week waded into the eight-year old dispute between Amtrak and its union workers by appointing a five-member Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) to “investigate” the dispute and make recommendations for settlement. The interference by the President suspends a 30-day countdown that was scheduled to expire on
Read moreUnions Sue Florida Cities over FTAA Riots An AFL-CIO lawsuit charges four Florida municipalities with violating the constitutional rights and civil liberties of thousands of workers and retirees who traveled to Miami to protest the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) summit in 2003. The lawsuit documents extensive police use of tear gas, truncheons
Read moreIAM to Launch ‘America’s Edge’ Campaign The IAM is launching ‘America’s Edge: Our Skills, Our Kids,’ an issue campaign urging more public investment in skills development. By re-emphasizing technical and vocational education in America’s high schools, expanding industrial and manufacturing technology courses in America’s community colleges and creating High-Tech Institutes that will focus on 21st Century manufacturing technologies, the IAM
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