IAM Eastern Territory General Vice President David Sullivan and Resident General Vice President Jody Bennett recently testified before Democratic Members of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.
The Select Committee was interested in hearing labor leaders views on the bipartisan report “Reset, Prevent, Build: A Strategy to Win America’s Economic Competition with the Chinese Communist Party.” The report, issued late last year, included nearly 150 policy recommendations for Congress.
“The IAM is ready to build and maintain our 21st century Naval and commercial fleet,” said Sullivan. “We remain steadfast in our devotion to that goal. We urge lawmakers to work with us to bolster and reinvigorate this vitally important domestic industry for the sake of long-term U.S. economic and national security.”
IAM members face issues like cyber espionage, risks to critical infrastructure, and China’s human rights abuses. This hearing focused on the most pressing job-related concerns, highlighting areas needing more action. The IAM applauded the Congressional and Biden-Harris administration efforts on CHIPS, the IRA, export controls, and other issues.
China continues to use every tool available to establish a strong aerospace industry at the expense of U.S. workers,” said Bennett. “The U.S. needs to immediately find more effective ways to stop China from using market-distorting activities – like curbing the transfer of technology and production. China’s commitments in the 2020 Phase One Agreement did not resolve many of these concerns about forced transfers and other market-distorting practices.”
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