IAM members and representatives attended the 30th annual Alabama Governor’s Labor Management Conference last week in Mobile, AL, using the event to tout the ability of the IAM and labor to help develop the skilled workforce needed to grow business and create jobs.
The conference offered a forum for representatives of both labor and management in Alabama, as well as nearby Mississippi and Florida, to come together and discuss training and apprenticeships, health and safety, and new models of bargaining.
Allison Beck, former IAM General Counsel and current Deputy Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), highlighted her union background as she helped kick off the conference.
“I know from first-hand experience the value of labor and management working together,” said Beck. “At the Machinists, they’ve built successes around joint training programs and labor-management partnerships at the likes of Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems and more.”
The IAM represents some 5,000 members in Alabama at Boeing Missile and Space, L-3 Communications, United Launch Alliance, TVA and more.
“The IAM is an established presence in Alabama and throughout the South,” said International President Tom Buffenbarger. “As more and more manufacturing operations find their way to Alabama, the IAM can help provide the stable and skilled workforce needed to ensure these companies, their workers and the surrounding communities all thrive.”
