Hundreds of lobstermen, represented by IAM Local 207 in Maine, recently held a rally in the state capital of Augusta to call attention to the governor’s endorsement of offshore windfarms, a project that could decimate the fishing industry and destroy the livelihoods of thousands of lobstermen and their families.
Things Workers Need to Know After President Biden’s Address
President Biden rolled out his pro-union plan to rebuild the nation’s roads, bridges, water pipes, and expand broadband access during his first address to a joint session of Congress. President Biden also mentioned jobs more than 40 times during his address, touting not only the addition of 1.3 million jobs during his administration but the […]
Machinists Union Applauds Appointment of Celeste Drake to Head President Biden’s Made in America Offi
WASHINGTON, April 27, 2021 — Robert Martinez Jr., International President of the 600,000-member International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), released the following statement: “The IAM could not be more pleased with President Biden’s appointment of Celeste Drake as head of the Buy American/Made in America Office. Simply stated, Celeste is the best candidate for the job. She is a tireless […]
Amazon Faces Growing Worker Pressure in Shadow of Alabama Union Vote
Amazon.com Inc. warehouse workers in Alabama are voting on whether to unionize this month. Whatever the result, the e-commerce giant faces pressure from staff world-wide to make changes to its working conditions. So far those actions stop short of a formal unionization push, but each one involves hundreds of employees and shows how work conditions […]
Americans want Biden to advance labor standards
The AFL-CIO and Data for Progress released a nationwide poll of likely voters that found widespread support for executive actions addressing key issues impacting working people, including employee misclassification, union-busting and federal purchasing power. President Joe Biden should use federal purchasing power to lift labor standards and compliance, advance such policy as ‘Buy American,’ and advance other progressive contracting […]
Machinists Call for Job Security for Service Contract Workers
The IAM is calling on the Biden administration to reinstate critical job security protections for Service Contract Act (SCA) workers, many of whom work at military bases across the country. Service Contract workers are private sector employees who work under federal contracts, primarily at military bases and other federal installations. The IAM represents nearly 40,000 […]
Peters, Stabenow introduce bill to strengthen Buy American laws
U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters introduced a bipartisan bill to strengthen Buy American laws. The Make it in American Act will make it harder for federal agencies to use waivers to bypass Buy American requirements, according to the senators. This would require the federal government to favor American companies and spend taxpayer dollars on American-made […]
Rep. Garamendi Meets With President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary Buttigieg In Oval Office To Discuss Infrastructure Bill
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) joined President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and a small bipartisan group of Members of Congress in the Oval Office to discuss a path forward to pass a transportation infrastructure bill into law this year. The bipartisan group of Representatives consisted of House […]
Amazon loses attempt to delay milestone union vote at Alabama warehouse
Thousands of Amazon warehouse workers at an Alabama facility will be able to cast their votes on whether to unionize by mail-in ballots beginning next week after the National Labor Relations Board rejected the company’s latest attempt to stall the vote by pushing for it to be held in-person, despite the pandemic. In a decision posted Friday, the NLRB […]
Google settles with Department of Labor over allegations of worker discrimination
Google has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the US Labor Department over allegations of pay and hiring discrimination, the agency said Monday. The company is expected to pay more than $2.5 million to roughly 5,500 employees and job applicants who allegedly were under-compensated or faced hiring discrimination. The settlement resolves allegations that the company had discriminated against […]