The workers build F-15 and F-18 aircraft as well as other military equipment like drones and missiles. A strike at the Boeing plants is expected to significantly effect Boeing and also supply chains to the U.S. military.

The union is demanding pay increases to keep up with rapidly rising costs, and to keep retirement plans in effect, as well as to get rid of a two-tier system for Boeing workers which is currently in place. They say that over the last seven years, workers at the bottom of the pay scale received only 6% in pay increases, and workers at the top of the scale have seen no raise at all despite skyrocketing inflation and cost of living.

IAM released a statement that said in part, “It is the bravest decision a union member can ever make to go on strike, putting their family and loved ones at risk. We do not make this decision lightly or in haste, but do so in order to stand up for working people around the globe and fight for the contract we deserve.”

Unless a deal is reached in the next three days, IAM members at Boeing will be on strike.

#StLouisMO #StLouis #Boeing #InternationalAssociationOfMachinistsAndAerospaceWorkersIAM

A group of 176 Flight Line Inspectors and Technicians voted nearly 2-to-1 in May 2018 to join the IAM. Violating federal law, Boeing has refused to bargain with the IAM and resorted to harassing and unjustly terminating six union supporters on the Flight Line during the 2018 holiday season. The IAM filed unfair labor practice charges against Boeing alleging illegal retaliation for their open support for the union and Boeing’s refusal to bargain.

The regional director found five of six termination cases constituted unlawful discrimination against union supporters, including all three of Boeing’s alleged “bird-strike” cases, in which the company selectively and without precedent used safety inspection rules to unjustly terminate IAM members. This is the critical first step in an NLRB process that should lead to the return to work of these unjustly terminated workers.

Boeing is challenging the May 2018 NLRB election results despite the regional director’s ruling that the collective bargaining group of 176 Flight Line workers meets the requirements of an appropriate unit under the National Labor Relations Act.

Elected officials from across the country have joined the IAM in calling on Boeing to negotiate with its Flight Line workers and raised questions about Boeing’s repeated practice of fabricating safety violations to retaliate against union supporters at its South Carolina plant.

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The organizing win gives a boost to the IAM’s internationally-backed campaign to unionize thousands more IKEA distribution and fulfilment center workers. The IAM has partnered with a global union federation, Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), to grow leverage in organizing and bargaining with Europe-based IKEA, the world’s largest furniture manufacturer.

The IAM also represents workers at IKEA facilities in Danville, Virginia; Perryville, Maryland; Westampton, New Jersey and Savannah, Georgia. IAM workers at IKEA recently wrote a support letter to Illinois IKEA workers saying the “strong IAM contracts we have negotiated are not just words on paper – it has given us respect and fair treatment on the job.”

In the wood, pulp and paper industries, the IAM also represents workers at Weyerhaeuser, West Rock and Georgia Pacific, among others. The IAM Wood, Pulp and Paper Council recently held a conference to strategize on how to grow power in the sector.

#WashingtonDC #PeoplesStruggles #unionElection #InternationalAssociationOfMachinistsAndAerospaceWorkersIAM #IKEA

The IAM has overwhelming evidence that Delta Air Lines has interfered with the Flight Attendants and Ramp employees’ lawful right to seek a vote for union representation free from interference, influence or coercion exercised by the carrier.

“The IAM has provided the NMB with evidence showing Delta has run an unlawful, systematic anti-union campaign that includes intimidation, discipline and terminations of union activists,” said IAM General Vice President Sito Pantoja. “Last week, the public was able to see what many behind the walls of Delta have always known; that Delta will go to great lengths to suppress their employees’ collective voices.”

Some examples of Delta’s illegal activity include a coordinated misinformation campaign through postings and electronic messages in the workplace, surveilling and photographing employees participating in union activities and the singling out and termination of union activists.

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