Legislative — 8

Woodworkers and the Timber Industry

Since the last Grand Lodge Convention, the Legislative Department has continued its watch of Capitol Hill for legislation that would have further damaging affects on an already challenged industry. Timber is a renewable resource. Unlike other growth and harvest cycles in the agriculture industry, 20 years is but a brief moment in time. Previous legislation placed the forest products industry and its workforce at an economic disadvantage in the global economy. Enlightened federal policies can remedy many of these disadvantages. The federal government must take an active role to ensure responsible timber management of the industry’s jobs and its environment. Federal policies must be designed to encourage long-term growth of our forest, responsible timber harvesting and reforestation to maintain this priceless natural resource. All these goals can be met under enlightened tax policies.

In the 108th Congress, the Machinists Union fought hard for the passage of the “Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003.” This legislation, signed into law by President Bush, will reduce the threat of destructive wildfires while upholding environmental standards and encourages early public input during review and planning processes.

Transportation

The IAM represents more workers in the transportation industry than any other union. Given our strong position, the IAM is at the forefront in supporting and developing legislation that will protect and strengthen worker rights, and fend off attacks that would be detrimental to our members.

Airlines

Airline Collective Bargaining—Airline workers negotiate under the Railway Labor Act which provides an orderly process for collective bargaining. Delta, FedEx and American and the Air Transport Association are pushing Congress and the Bush Administration to gut the collective bargaining process through a “winner-take-all” binding arbitration process, frequently known as “baseball arbitration.” The IAM and the rest of transportation labor strongly oppose this effort. The right to settle disputes at the bargaining table is fundamental.

Transportation labor also rejects the interference of Congress or the White House in labor-management negotiations. Outside interference will only serve to further destabilize labor-management relations and to make service disruptions more likely in the future.

Flight Attendant Certification
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires flight attendants on board commercial aircraft and establishes the basic training requirements. But while crafts such as pilots, flight engineers, navigators, dispatchers, mechanics and air traffic controllers are required to be federally certified, flight attendants are not. Given the wide range of responsibilities flight attendants are required to perform—such as safety, security, anti-terrorist efforts, and assisting in medical emergencies—we believe the FAA should ensure that they are properly trained and qualified. Certification would be an over-due recognition that the work of flight attendants is on par with other aviation safety professionals. The IAM remains vigilant in its fight to pass the “Flight Attendant Certification Act” which was included in the 2003 FAA reauthorization bill, and still pending at the time of this report.

Due Process for Transportation Workers
Workers in the transportation sector have often become the targets of unlimited mandatory criminal background checks with little attention being given to the need for due process protections. In the post-September 11th environment, this trend has accelerated as background check mandates were established in the aviation and trucking sectors and in the Senate-passed seaport security bill. As currently constructed, these background check proposals violate transportation workers’ basic rights and reject traditional notions of fairness and due process. The IAM is committed to ensuring that, at a minimum, all background check proposals include specific due process protections for workers. We will continue to speak out against excessive background check measures and will insist that appropriate employee protections including appeal procedures be incorporated in any background check program.