App-based drivers for platforms like Uber and Lyft were forced to a grinding halt in New York City. And it wasn’t because of the traffic this time.

Instead, the gig economy workers were forced to leave their cars parked at home as the early impacts of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic forced city residents to stay indoors. Bustling city streets were largely abandoned as many businesses shuttered and area hospitals were overrun with the sick.

The scenario dwindled demand for Lyft and Uber transportation services, while other gig workers refused to drive passengers due to fear of potential exposure to the deadly virus.

“There was a lot confusion and anxiety but we decided the work will not stop. We will keep working to be there for the drivers,” said Aziz Bah, an organizer with the Machinists Union affiliate Independent Drivers Guild (IDG), an advocate for more than 200,000 app-based drivers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

The IDG has stepped up to champion for the rights of NYC’s app-based drivers during the pandemic. That includes helping COVID-positive drivers qualify for sick pay from platforms like Uber, and teaming with the non-profit Black Car Fund to help provide app-based drivers with personal protective equipment (PPE).

The IDG is also looking to roll out a safety certification program for these drivers.

“We want to help them get back to work,” said Brendan Sexton, IDG’s Executive Director. “We are working as a community. We are addressing our needs so we can recover from this together.”

New York City has faced one of the nation’s largest impacts of COVID-19, a coronavirus that has killed thousands and disrupted businesses across the globe. The city had 156,100 cases of the virus and 11,708 confirmed deaths as of April 27, according to the NYC Health Department.

The pandemic has essentially crippled New York City as residents abide by strict stay-at-home orders. The city’s subway and other mass transit has essentially shifted to “weekend” scheduling. That created a need for other transportation methods, IDG officials say.

“These brave men and women have shown solidarity and courage during an unprecedented time for New York City. These essential workers are important to help fight against COVID-19,” said IDG founder Jim Conigliaro Jr. “That’s why these app-based drivers have stepped up to ensure meals reach those in need, and healthcare workers and others on the front lines have a safe means to get to and from work.” 

Fighting for Drivers Rights

The need has heightened for Uber and Lyft drivers to deliver food to those in need for services like Meals on Wheels. There’s also the necessity of transporting nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers to and from work.

The IDG has handed out roughly 10,000 PPE bags to app-based drivers since the COVID-19 crisis began impacting the city in March.

“The first day we went out distributing the PPE to drivers, they were so grateful and appreciative, and they offered to help us,” Bah said. “We are just overwhelmed by the response of drivers offering to help hand them out.”

The IDG has also bolstered its network of resources to help drivers with benefits at their disposal. They set up a multilingual team to run its crisis response hotline for members, which includes licensed social workers. The organization is also steadily hosting webinars to help members with issues ranging from paid leave benefits to financial support.

IDG started with a couple hundred drivers and a GoFundMe.com page to cover expenses. It has expanded into an operation delivering millions of meals, working with thousands of drivers.

The group also led the charge on more safety mechanisms for its members, including urging platforms to suspend “pool” rides to lessen chance of drivers to be exposed to COVID-19. The IDG also pressed for app-based drivers to be deemed essential workers.

“Nurses and other emergency workers rely on app-based companies like Uber and Lyft to get to and from work and there is a huge demand,” Bah said. “The drivers were scared to go on the road and rightfully so because they didn’t have any PPE.”

More Driver Protections, Certification Program

The IDG has been calling for further protections and rights for the gig workers. That includes lobbying for hazard pay with the platforms and lowering auto leasing costs and other expenses such as auto insurance during the coronavirus pandemic.

“They’re not making money and making them pay full insurance is not logical,” Bah said.

Many drivers say they are trying to maneuver through the unprecedented situations created by the coronavirus.

“I had to adopt to the changes to help pay my bills,” Cimillo said.

Cimillo says he’s happy for his savings, which has helped him get by as demand for passengers has dwindled but is taking help from making food deliveries for the meantime.

There are also next steps for the IDG.

The group is forming a training and safety certification program to help workers prepare for an expected uptick in demand as the city tries to return to normal.

This also would help “alleviate” any “uncomfortableness” about taking app-based transportation during the recovery, Sexton said.

“Those like home healthcare and other essential workers can have the comfort of knowing that the driver picking them up is safety certified,” he said. “That means the vehicle is clean and the driver has all the necessary cleaning products.”

The post Driving to Save Lives appeared first on IAMAW.

Sisters and Brothers,

Perhaps the greatest part of being a member of our union is that it gives us all a voice in our future.

As IAM members, we have the right—and responsibility—to stand up to employers and fight for justice and dignity on the job. Put simply, your union card means democracy doesn’t stop when you punch the clock at work.

It also means you have a voice in the direction of our union. Every four years, IAM members just like yourself gather to chart the course of our collective futures.

In September 2020, for the 40th time in the IAM’s history, more than 1,000 members, elected as delegates by their peers, will gather in San Diego for the 2020 IAM Grand Lodge Convention.

Our 131-year tradition of union democracy will again take center stage as we debate, then together make the decisions that will define our path forward as one united union of Fighting Machinists.

We only need to look back at the 2016 Grand Lodge Convention, when our membership boldly voted to affirm your rights by passing the Members’ Bill of Rights and reallocating our union’s
resources back into the field. We are now a bolder, more aggressive union that has grown more in the past two years than in the past two decades.

Just like our Sisters and Brothers who came before us, you can make your mark on IAM history by becoming a delegate to our upcoming 2020 Convention. In the next few months, every Local Lodge will be sent details on delegate elections. So, if you aren’t yet engaged in our union—now is the time to step up and make your voice heard.

You’ll see some of what’s at stake in this latest edition of the IAM Journal. We are continuing our proud tradition of exploring the skies at NASA, building the most advanced transit systems here
on Earth, changing the game for loggers in the forests of Maine and saving lives with our generosity and selflessness.

Your Executive Council and I are honored to serve each and every one of you. Together, let’s continue the progress we’ve made for our great union.

Sincerely,

Bob Martinez
International President

The post IAM Journal – Winter 2019-2020 appeared first on IAMAW.

Sisters and Brothers,

Shortly after I was sworn in as your International President, a member asked me, “When are we going to have a say in who the IAM endorses for president?”

It was a good question, and one I’ve been thinking about a lot now that it’s election season.

The answer is that your Executive Council hears you. It’s time for a change. I am proud to announce that for the first time in the history of the IAM, during the 2020 primaries, members will be given the opportunity to vote online, through an independent firm, for a candidate of their choosing. Later, members—through their state councils—will decide whom the IAM endorses for president. If you want to be involved, you need to register to vote in our endorsement process at iam2020.org and attend and be vocal at your state council meetings. I want this process to include the voices of as many IAM members as possible.

So when presidential candidates call me and ask for our endorsement I will tell them all the same thing: If you want the IAM’s endorsement, don’t talk to me—talk to our members. Go visit them, and listen to them, at our locals, districts, conferences and state councils.

It might be easier to do it the old way. We could sit down with the candidates and negotiate in a private meeting, asking them to make promises they may or may not keep.

Or we could make them really work for our endorsement. Make them earn your trust. Make them understand that 600,000 Fighting Machinists are holding them accountable.

This election needs to be about issues like pensions, retirement security, health care, trade, workers’ rights and national defense. I want to make sure that the candidates know that while the dollars and cents are important, this is personal. This is about our livelihoods. And when it comes time to make the hard decisions, I want them to see your faces, to remember your stories, and to know that the Machinists are watching.

Make sure your voice is heard. Beginning now, you can register to vote in our endorsement process at iam2020.org. Talk to your IAM Sisters and Brothers and let’s get as many members as we can to register to have a say in our union’s endorsement. That’s how we win, and that’s how we make sure that the White House works for us. All of us.

Sincerely,

Bob Martinez
International President

The post IAM Journal – Summer 2019 appeared first on IAMAW.

Dear Machinists Union Members, Families and Friends,

Our union has a great record of achievement this year, and you can take pride in knowing it is because of your hard work and dedication. Machinists are true fighters, and I am humbled whenever I visit our members to see what you do each and every day.

The pages of this IAM Journal include just some of your stories. You will meet an IAM woodworker who helped the son of one of our members find a career in timber following his father’s death. We will see what community service means for IAM volunteers in Washington state and Minnesota. We will see how the IAM helps members deal with job loss in Texas and how a Pennsylvania IAM district creatively gets our union exposure on the race track.

We will learn how the entire world watched as IAM members led the charge to soundly beat down right-to-work in Missouri, and get a look at our ongoing campaign to organize tens of thousands of members at Delta Air Lines.

Growing our union is the key to our future, and I am proud to report that 2018 has been the IAM’s best organizing year in decades. One success is a group of 180 brave Flight Line Technicians at Boeing South Carolina, a place many said we could never organize. We also welcomed 2,400 healthcare workers in Canada, who just signed their first collective bargaining agreement. I am incredibly proud of our growth across North America.

We have taken steps to become bigger, stronger, louder and more influential. We also replaced our old organizing strategy with a new one that gives us more flexibility. All of these victories are because of your input and support.

You have my word that the IAM Executive Council will continue to listen to you and do what it takes to make our union even stronger. I hope you enjoy this edition of the IAM Journal and I wish you and your family a happy and healthy closing to the year.

Sincerely,

Bob Martinez
International President

The post IAM Journal – Winter 2018 appeared first on IAMAW.

Dear Members, Family and Friends,

I feel a renewed sense of purpose spreading across our union. We are joining together and standing strong; pushing back and demanding the respect our families deserve. The “fight” is back in the Fighting Machinists—and this is only the start.

While we look to the future, it is also important to reflect and learn from our past. This edition of the IAM Journal pays homage to the Machinists Union’s 130th anniversary. Our journey has taken us from a secret meeting in an Atlanta railyard to one of the most powerful voices for working people the world has ever seen.

From 1888 through today, our history has been shaped by men and women who dare to dream of a better life. Through it all, we have prevailed because we have been united. I know we can overcome any challenge we face today if members like yourself continue to step up and take an active role in our future.

The stories in the pages ahead illustrate the dedication, passion and spirit of our members. You will see how we are beating back an anti-union takeover in Missouri and how IAM bus mechanics in Massachusetts defied all the pundits to save their jobs. You will meet an IAM member in Texas who moves mountains to give back to his fellow military veterans and a longtime IAM activist who now fights for working people on his Washington state city council.

I hope you and your family are inspired as I am by these compelling stories. The Machinists Union has a great 130-year history. Thanks to all of you, that proud history is still being written.

Sincerely,

Bob Martinez
International President

The post IAM Journal – Summer 2018 appeared first on IAMAW.

I’ve been listening closely as many of you share ideas on how to move our union in a new and better direction. I want you to know that this union has your back and we are taking action. Our union is growing stronger, bolder and more united.

You are standing up to companies that slash our wages and benefits and ship our jobs overseas. You are rallying against politicians attacking our union and all working people. Together we are taking on these fights and we are winning them-at the negotiating table, in Washington, DC and in state legislatures across the country. There is new life being breathed into our union.

The Winter 2017-2018 Journal is the beginning of another change. We are now producing and mailing two editions of the IAM Journal per year to the doorstep of every member in the United States. This Journal builds upon the rebranding we introduced this spring. It is fresh, forward-looking and showcases the diver­sity, talent, and drive of our membership.

We profile members who are joining together to grow our union from the ground up, take you inside an innovative campaign to organize for-hire drivers and show how we’re mobilizing an entire state against a corporate-funded power grab. It’s because of these stories and more that we should all be excited about the future of our union.

One only needs to look at how we’ve joined together to help thousands of Machinists Union members recovering from the hurricanes that have hit the South, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Thank you to volunteers from the Southern Territory and the Transportation Department who have been on the ground from the beginning-delivering supplies, serving hot meals and lending a hand in whatever way they can. Our response has been made possible by 1AM leadership in affected areas and your generous donations to the Disaster Relief Fund.

I hope you and your family enjoy this edition of the 1AM Journal. If you aren’t involved in your union already, I hope it inspires you to join the resurgence of our mighty Machinists Union. With your help, we will turn this rigged economy around and bring respect and dignity to every working man and woman.
Sincerely,

Bob Martinez
International President 

The post IAM Journal – Winter 2017-2018 appeared first on IAMAW.

As you read this edition of the IAM Journal, I hope you will appreciate the new direction we have taken with it, and the increased emphasis we have placed on our members.

You will read about organizing successes and how the Machinists Union has brought our jobs home from overseas. You’ll meet a few of our members who have served in our nation’s military, and you’ll be introduced to IAM retirees who defy age. Many of the photographs throughout the magazine were taken by one of our lobstermen members. Once you see his work, you’ll understand why he has gained national recognition.

Please enjoy the stories and images included in the following pages of our IAM Journal. 

We are the Fighting Machinists.

Bob Martinez
International President 

The post 2017 IAM Journal – She’s Ready To Fight. Are You? appeared first on IAMAW.

Since having the honor of becoming the IAM’s 14th International President in January, I’ve been taking stock of where the IAM is and where our members want us to go.

The message is clear: Organize like our livelihoods depend on it, because they do.

From the low-wage bastions of the South to Uber drivers seeking a fair shake in New York City, the IAM is responding to the calls of thousands of working Americans who want, and deserve, a voice on the job. We’re shifting the IAM’s resources toward organizing efforts that will make their American Dream a reality, and we won’t be intimidated by corporations or politicians who say we can’t.

When we organize new members, we gain the resources necessary to better represent our current members. That means more power at the negotiating table and a better way of life for you and your family.

I encourage you to think how you can contribute as you look through this IAM Journal 2015-2016 Year in Review. You’ll see what a diverse and dynamic union the IAM has become, the wealth of opportunities our members have to get involved and the challenges we face as the IAM charges into its 128th year of fighting for working families.

In 2015, we organized new workers in new ways, expanded educational opportunities at the Winpisinger Education and Technology Center took our power in numbers to legislatures across North America, and much more.

We’re also looking ahead to a busy 2016 that will include the IAM Grand Lodge Convention in Chicago, where you – the membership – will chart the course of this great union for the next four years. I trust we’ll make the necessary decisions to continue our commitment to fighting for every IAM member while also expanding our organization for the benefit of all of us.

As one of the largest industrial trade unions in North America, the IAM has worldwide influence. To stay that way, all of us need to be engaged. When we realize we all have the ability to grow this great union, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish.-labor candidates get elected, to help run our local lodges, we can ensure we will be leaving the IAM in as good shape as those before left it for us.

Bob

The post IAM Journal – 2015 Year End Review appeared first on IAMAW.

When our union celebrated its 125th anniversary of its founding in Atlanta in 1888, it was a time to reflect on how far we’ve come as a union and think about what we need to do to stay a strong and vibrant union well into the next 125 years.

One task is to ensure our members know how diverse our union has become, both in the types of members we have and the thousands of different jobs we do. That is the goal of this IAM Journal 2014 Year in Review.

It’s a snapshot of the activities of our union in 2014, such as our 93-year-old D-Day veteran still fighting for working families, organizing victories in the South and helping Delta Flight Attendants launch the largest ever airline employee organizing drive.

We are also looking ahead with examples of innovative organizing, protecting pensions, our commitment to education and our Young Machinists program to prepare our future activists and leaders.

We are a strong, progressive union with a global reach second to none in the labor movement. But there is much work to be done to stay strong, and we need every member to know more about their union and get involved as much as they can.

If we all do just a bit extra to help organize, to help pro-labor candidates get elected, to help run our local lodges, we can ensure we will be leaving the IAM in as good shape as those before left it for us.

Tom

Click this icon to view full page

The post IAM Journal – 2014 Year End Review appeared first on IAMAW.

IAM District 751 organizing volunteers outside the AIM Aerospace plant in Sumner, WA, the day before AIM workers voted to join the Machinists Union.

Workers at AIM Aerospace, Inc., in Sumner, WA, have voted to join the Machinists Union. The more than 250 aerospace workers gave a thumbs up to the IAM by a 3-to-2 margin.

AIM is a tier-one supplier to the Boeing Co. and Airbus. It also provides components to major aerospace suppliers like Spirit AeroSystems. The company directly competes with Triumph Composites in Spokane, WA, which is also an IAM-represented aerospace company.

“The biggest congratulations go to the workers at AIM,” said IAM District 751 President Tom Wroblewski. “They stood up for themselves, and stood together in the face of a pretty vicious anti-union attack by management. This strong show of solidarity right at the start is a very good sign, and I’m optimistic about the future for our new brothers and sisters.”

Wroblewski also thanked the union staff and volunteers, who spent several months working on the unionizing effort, and Organizer Loren Guzzone, for leading his first successful organizing campaign as a member of the District 751 staff.

“Congratulations to everyone involved in this campaign, especially the workers of AIM,” said IAM Western Territory General Vice President Gary Allen. “The Machinists Union is proud to stand with the workers of AIM and provide them with the representation they deserve.”

The post AIM Aerospace Workers Win Organizing Campaign appeared first on IAMAW.