GST Warren Mart intends to work for a union which is stronger organizationally and financially.

IAM Stays Strong Through Tough Financial Times

The IAM has weathered the one of the toughest economic climates since the Great Depression and stayed financially strong due to sound fiscal management. “While many forces hammered away at us, the IAM still stands strong,” said General Secretary-Treasurer Warren Mart in his comprehensive report on the state of IAM finances. “The strides we take in the next four years to grow our membership will result in a stronger union, stronger organizationally and stronger financially.”

Mart described the painful job losses of our members and harsh economic times are reflected in declining General Fund per capita revenue. Even though per capita revenue has declined, the General Fund saw a net increase over the last four years because of aggressive cost-cutting and an above-average return on investment income.

The IAM Pension Plan provides a safe harbor for thousands IAM members and is financially secure and fully-funded. The IAM Strike Fund has grown to more than $150 million.

“All of us today are looking to make the future brighter for our children and grandchildren. Our financial stewardship is the test we face, in our own homes and our District and Local Lodges,” said Mart. “We owe it ourselves, to our members and to future generations of Machinists.”

IAM President Tom Buffenbarger delivered a rousing address to the delegates as he called on government leaders to form a national industrial policy.

Delegates Applaud Call for National Industrial Policy

“Our economy is our greatest strength and our greatest defense against those who would do us harm,” said Buffenbarger, after delivering a hard-hitting address on the challenges ahead for manufacturing. “We simply can not continue giving away the resources, the technology and the jobs that made our economy and our democracy what it is today.”

Buffenbarger cited the enormous impact China’s economic strategy is already having on the worldwide availability of raw materials. “The Peoples Republic of China, which was once a minor importer of raw materials, is nor absorbing half the world’s cement production, a fourth of it’s copper and a fifth of its aluminum.”

The Machinists President also accused global corporations of falling over themselves to finance and facilitate the China economic juggernaut. “From all over the world, investment is pouring into China,” said Buffenbarger. “In a single month – June of this year - $8 billion came in from overseas. GM, Ford, Intel, Microsoft, Boeing and many other leading companies have major investments in China.”

Lawmakers were given equally harsh treatment for looking the other way while China maintains an undervalued currency, giving products produced in China an enormous advantage on the world market.

The solution is not to lower North American workers’ wages and working conditions, explained Buffenbarger, but to create trade policies with enforceable labor and environmental standards. “We need leaders who are committed to creating a national industrial policy,” said Buffenbarger. “Nothing less will do. Nothing less will work.”


Convention Action
Convention delegates acted to approve resolutions supporting the creation of an IAM scholarship named after inspirational Machinist Roman Mayfield and to make March 8 International Women’s Day on the IAM calendar. Delegates also approved resolutions to encourage IAM members to buy American-made products, endorse legislators who support the Railway Labor Act, endorse a single-payer universal healthcare system, support efforts to add a minimum of 250 new members a year in each district lodge, continue to work on international relations and support Machinists in the tobacco industry.