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Key Facts About the IAM
International Association of Machinists
& Aerospace Workers (IAMAW)
9000 Machinists Place
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772-2687
(301) 967-4500
www.goiam.org
The IAM; the Machinists Union or the IAMAW are accepted, proper names for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO/CLC.
Current Membership Nearly 600,000 active and retired members in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam.
Industries Represented: The IAM is one of the largest and most diverse labor unions in North America. From Boeing and Lockheed Martin to United Airlines and Harley-Davidson, you will find IAM members across all walks of life.
You’ll find Machinists in Aerospace, Transportation, the Federal Government, Automotive, Defense, Woodworking and several other industries. We represent workers at companies as diverse as Harley-Davidson, Southwest Airlines, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, Freightliner, Tennessee Valley Authority and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
As the largest airline union in North America, the IAM represents Transportation workers in the United States and Canada. The IAM is also heavily concentrated in Aerospace, Shipbuilding, Manufacturing, Pulp and Paper, Government Workers and Electronics. The Transportation Communications International Union (TCU) affiliated with the IAM on July 6, 2005.
Organizational Structure: IAM represented workers belong to one of nearly 1,000 Local Lodges, which typically represent employees at one or more companies. The Local Lodges are affiliated with an IAM District Lodge, which typically represents a larger geographic territory. IAM Headquarters, also known as the Grand Lodge, coordinates and supports the activities of the District and Local Lodges.
History: The IAM is one of the oldest U.S. trade unions, and one of the few unions founded in the south. The IAM was founded on May 5, 1888, by 19 railroad machinists during a secret meeting in a locomotive pit in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Members of the press are encouraged to contact us for inquiries for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. To expedite your request, please submit your request below.
Contact
DeLane Adams, Assistant Director, IAM Communications
301-967-4520
Frequently Asked Questions
What employment sectors have the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) members?
The IAM is one of the largest and most diverse labor unions in North America.
The IAM is a member of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) a democratic federation of 55 national and international labor unions representing 12.5 million working men and women.
Our members work in aerospace, transportation, the federal government, automotive, defense, woodworking and several other industries.
You’ll find IAM members at companies such as Harley-Davidson, United Airlines, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, Lockheed Martin, Freightliner, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, just to name a few.
What are the best terms to use when writing about our union?
The IAM, the Machinists Union, or the IAMAW are accepted, as proper names for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO/CLC.
Does the IAM have union bosses?
The phrase “union boss” is not the proper term for an elected leader of an organization representing the interests of workers. Please use the leader’s respective title.
Are unions, like the IAM, still relevant?
The 2022 Gallup poll shows that 71 percent of Americans approve of labor unions, surpassing 60 percent in the preceding years’ highest recorded measure since 1965.
For over 130 years, the Machinists Union has fought for workers’ rights and benefits.
Pensions, medical insurance, paid vacation, holidays, personal holidays, sick pay, shift differential, etc., are generally not only better in a union shop, but many of these don’t even exist without a union contract.
There is strength in unity – and the Machinists Union provides workers with a powerful, collective voice to communicate to management.
Union members:
- Earn wages, on average, 13 percent higher than non-union workers (earnings: union workers, $1,169/week vs. non-union workers, $975/week).
- 93 percent of union workers participate in a defined benefit program while 66 percent of non-union workers participate in a defined benefit plan.
- Are more likely to have employer-provided health insurance benefits.
- Have greater access to apprenticeships and training opportunities.
What year did the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers form?
In 1888, 19 machinists met in secret in a locomotive pit in Atlanta to vote to form a union. The next year, 34 locals were represented at the first Machinists convention, with Tom Talbot being elected Grand Master Machinist. With the granting of the first Canadian local, the union officially became the International Association of Machinists. Membership at this point was about 4,000.
Robert Martinez, Jr., International President
As the 14th International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), Bob Martinez inherits a legacy that spans the history of the North American labor movement. Seasoned by his own 39-year union career, Martinez is committed to aggressively grow the union and protect the contracts and careers of nearly 600,000 active and retired IAM members.
Previous to his January 2016 installment as International President, Martinez had served since 2013 as IAM Headquarters General Vice President (GVP) with responsibility for the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center and many IAM departments at Headquarters.
A U.S. Navy veteran, Martinez began his IAM career in 1980 as a member of Local 776A in Ft. Worth, TX after being hired as an Aircraft Assembler at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth Division.
From 1980 to 1994, Martinez served in various positions with his local lodge before being appointed in 1995 as a staff member in the IAM Safety and Health Department. He also served as a Project Coordinator for the Re-Employment and Safety Training (IAM CREST) and for the Center for Administering Rehabilitation and Employment Services (IAM CARES).
In 1999, Martinez was assigned to serve as the Southern Territory Education Representative with responsibility for training and education for IAM members in 14 southern states. In April 2002, he was appointed as a Special Representative and served in that capacity until joining the Executive Council in 2003 as the General Vice President assigned to the Southern Territory.
In addition to serving on the IAM Executive Council, Martinez sits on the executive councils of the AFL-CIO, IndustriALL, Guide Dogs of America, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), the Alliance for Retired Americans, the AFL-CIO Metal Trades Council, the Elderly Housing Development and Operations Corporation (EHDOC), America’s Agenda and the Economic Policy Institute.
Martinez was recently honored with Guide Dogs of America’s highest honor, the Gift of Sight Award, and the LCLAA Cesar Chavez Award for his work on behalf of the Latino Labor Community.
Dora Cervantes, General Secretary-Treasurer
Dora Cervantes became the IAM’s 12th General Secretary-Treasurer on August 1, 2015. She is the first woman to direct the IAM’s finances as General Secretary-Treasurer.
Cervantes first joined the IAM Executive Council on July 1, 2013, as the first Hispanic woman to serve as a General Vice President. Cervantes has served as the Assistant Secretary to the General Secretary-Treasurer since 2012. As General Vice President, Cervantes worked in partnership with the General Secretary-Treasurer to administer the IAM’s financial operations.
Cervantes initiated into IAM Local 2198 in Houston, Texas in 1989 as a Reservations Agent for Southwest Airlines. She served in many capacities for her Local Lodge, including Organizer, Shop Steward, Recording Secretary, and Vice President.
In 1999, Cervantes was chosen to serve as an Apprentice Organizer for Airline District 142 and became a General Chairperson for that District the following year. By appointment from International President Tom Buffenbarger, she served on the IAM’s 2002 Blue Ribbon Commission.
In 2005, Cervantes was appointed to the Grand Lodge staff in the Transportation Department as a Special Representative and was later promoted to Grand Lodge Representative. It was in July of 2012 when Cervantes was selected by General Secretary-Treasurer Robert Roach, Jr. to serve as Assistant Secretary to the GST.
Cervantes currently serves as a National Board Member on the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), is an active member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), is member of United Against Human Trafficking, and also serves as a Trustee for both, the National IAM Benefit Trust Fund and the IAM National 401(k) Plan.
Fluent in English and Spanish, Cervantes helps teach the Spanish Leadership series at the William W. Winpisinger Education Center and the IAM/Aviation High School Partnership Program. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Labor Studies from the National Labor College.
Gary Allen, General Vice President, Western Territory
Gary Allen was initiated into IAM Local 794 in 1979 upon his employment at the General Electric Aircraft Engine Plant in Albuquerque.
Following his father Ray’s example, Allen involved himself in the IAM very early in his career at General Electric by being elected Area Steward in 1981. One year later, he was elected First Shift Steward and by 1983 he was elected Chief Steward, overseeing the activities of all shop stewards on all shifts at General Electric. Allen also served as Local Lodge Auditor, Labor Relations Negotiating Committee member, Organizing Committee member, and as a delegate to, then, District Lodge 183.
In 1985, at the age of 24, Allen became President and Directing Business Representative of Local 794, representing members at a variety of shops including General Electric, Greyhound, Fruehauf Trailers, and Arkansas Best Freight. He held this position until 1989 when he was appointed Special Representative.
Brother Allen became a Grand Lodge Representative in 1991, and in 1996 he was appointed as the Territorial Organizing Leader for the Western Territory where he coordinated the region’s organizing activities. Allen was then moved to IAM Headquarters in 1997 as a Coordinator for Collective Bargaining and later that year was appointed Aerospace Coordinator in the newly-formed IAM Aerospace Department where he coordinated and participated directly in collective bargaining throughout North America with aerospace companies such as General Electric, Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney, Hamilton Sundstrand, and Raytheon, among others.
Allen was appointed to serve as the Western Chief of Staff in 2003, where he served in that capacity until 2009 when he was elected General Vice President of the Western Territory.
Allen has represented the IAM as a trustee on the IAM National Pension Fund, the 6th largest multiemployer pension fund in the United States with approximately $8.4 billion in assets, providing over 80,000 retirees and beneficiaries with retirement security.
In 1991 Brother Allen began serving his community as an Executive Board member of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), becoming a Vice President of the Board in 2010.
Allen brings a broad depth and breadth of experience in numerous industries, from aerospace to manufacturing, Service Contract and automotive, as well as his endeavors in organizing, servicing, and representation.
Since his election, he has demonstrated that our union is stronger when members come first by maintaining a steadfast emphasis on “growth through organizing, strength through servicing, and prosperity through collective bargaining.”
Allen and his wife Donna of 39 years have two sons Gary and Paul; a daughter-in-law Roberta; and two grandchildren Aubrie and Elijah. Brother Allen’s love of God, family, people and his passion for Social Justice is a guiding force in his life.
Sito Pantoja, General Vice President, Transportation
Sito Pantoja has served as the IAM General Vice President assigned to the Transportation Department since January 2012. The Transportation Department operates from IAM Headquarters and administers approximately 150 contracts in the railroad and air transport sectors in the United States.
Pantoja was initiated into IAM Local 1056 in Jamaica, NY in 1977 as an Air Frame and Powerplant Mechanic at TWA in New York. He served as a Shop Steward for Local 1056 until he transferred to Local 949 in St. Louis in 1988. At Local 949, Pantoja served as a Trustee, Recording Secretary and, in 1991, he was elected as the Chairman of the local’s full-time Grievance Committee. In 1996, Pantoja was assigned by IAM Air Transport District 142 to participate in the TWA Flight 800 accident investigation following the 747’s crash off the coast of Long Island.
Appointed as a Transportation Department Special Representative in 1999 and Grand Lodge Representative shortly thereafter, Pantoja then assumed the role of Transportation Department Administrative Assistant in 2005 where he served until becoming Transportation General Vice President in 2012.
After becoming Transportation General Vice President, now-retired International President Tom Buffenbarger appointed Pantoja as the IAM’s representative to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC). The ARAC provides advice and recommendations to the FAA on rulemaking activity, such as aircraft operations, airman and air agency certification and airworthiness standards.
Also in 2012, Pantoja was elected to serve on the Executive Board of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), headquartered in London. Pantoja has also served as Chairman of the ITF’s Civil Aviation Section Committee since 2010. The ITF is a global federation of transportation unions representing millions of transportation workers around the world.
A graduate of New York City’s Aviation High School, Pantoja also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Labor Studies from the National Labor College.
Mark Blondin, General Vice President, Southern Territory
Mark Blondin joined the IAM in 1978 while working at an IAM-represented machine shop in Seattle. On October 1, 2018, Blondin was reassigned to serve the IAM as General Vice President of the Aerospace Department.
Blondin was hired on at the Boeing Company in 1979, working as a Toolmaker at the Renton facility. As an active member of IAM Local 751C, he held numerous Local Lodge positions through the years, including Shop Steward, Auditor, Trustee, Financial Secretary, Recording Secretary, Vice President, and Delegate to the District Council. Blondin has always been a champion for workplace health and safety and served for many years on the Renton Site Safety Committee.
In 1996, Blondin was elected as a Business Representative for District 751, and in 2000 he was elected President and Directing Business Representative. Blondin held the position of Secretary-Treasurer of the Washington State Machinists Council. Blondin was also elected to the IAM Law Committee and served during the 2004 Grand Lodge Convention in Cincinnati.
Blondin was assigned as an IAM Aerospace Coordinator in 2007, with the primary responsibility of negotiating all agreements between the IAM and Boeing throughout the United States and Canada. He served as Chief IAM negotiator for all IAM/Boeing contracts until he joined the Executive Council in January 2012 as General Vice President of the Aerospace Territory. On July 1, 2013, Blondin was assigned to lead the Southern Territory, covering 14 states as well as the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with collective bargaining agreements covering nearly 100,000 workers.
Blondin served as the General Vice President of the Southern Territory from 2013 until September 2018.
Blondin assists the community as a board member and fundraiser for the Guide Dogs of America, the Salvation Army, and Victims Support Services, a non-profit advocacy group for victims of violent crimes.
Ricky Wallace, General Vice President, Southern Territory
Rickey Wallace, a 38-year member of the IAM, has served as General Vice President of the Southern Territory beginning October 1, 2018. He previously served as Resident General Vice President at Headquarters from 2016 to 2018.
Wallace initiated into Local Lodge 1296 in Clarksville, Tennessee in April 1980. In 1991 he was elected to serve as President of his Local Lodge. In 1995 Wallace was elected as Business Representative of former District Lodge 155, now known as District Lodge 711, and held that position until 2008 when he was appointed Assistant Directing Business Representative. In April 2009, he was elected to serve as the President and Directing Business Representative for District Lodge 711 and held that position through November 2015.
In 1996, Wallace was elected Area Vice President of the Tennessee State Council of Machinists and served in that capacity until being elected to serve as President in he was appointed to serve as President of the Southern States Conference of Machinists in 2009 and was elected to that post for two consecutive terms.
Wallace has also served on the Workforce Development Board of Middle Tennessee, an agency created by Federal Law to assist in addressing the employment needs of businesses, career development needs of workers, workforce development and youth education throughout a seven-county region. In 2000, Wallace was appointed to serve on the Executive Board of the Tennessee Labor-Management Center and was also elected as a Delegate to the 2000 Democratic National Convention, representing the 7th Congressional District of Tennessee.
In 2013 Wallace was elected by the membership to serve as an IAM Delegate to the AFL-CIO National Convention. In 2015 he was appointed to Grand Lodge Staff serving as Special Representative and Grand Lodge Representative. In January 2016, he joined the IAM Executive Council in the position of Resident-General Vice President.
Wallace currently serves as a Union Trustee on the IAM National Pension Fund and the IAM National 401(k) Plan. In these capacities, Wallace takes an active role in representing the interests of the IAM.
David Chartrand, General Vice President, Canada
David Chartrand was sworn in as the Canadian General Vice President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers on July 1, 2021. He is the first GVP from the province of Québec and speaks both English and French.
Chartrand has been involved in the labor movement for more than 30 years. He began as a member of IAM Local 712 in 1990 as a Sheet Metal worker and aircraft assemblyman at Bombardier Aerospace in Montréal, Québec
During his years of employment at Bombardier, Chartrand served as Union Steward, Bargaining Committee Chairperson, Strike Committee Chair, Shop Committee Chairperson and Local Lodge President. He also served as an Executive Board Member of IAM District 11.
In 2006, after having served as Trustee and Vice President of District 11, Chartrand was elected as President and Directing Business Representative.
Chartrand also served the Québec and Canadian IAM membership as Vice President of the Québec Federation of Labour, board member of the Montréal’s aerospace cluster Aero Montréal, board member of the Canadian Council for Aviation and Aerospace, President of IAM Cares, President of the Québec Machinists Council, and North American representative on the Airbus Global Forum.
Chartrand was appointed to the IAM Canadian Territory Staff as a Special Representative on January 4, 2014 and became the Québec Coordinator for the IAM in July of the same year.
Chartrand and his wife, Marie Claude, have two children, Samuel and Chloe.
Brian Bryant, General Vice President, Eastern Territory
Brian Bryant has been active in the labor movement for nearly 30 years, initiating into the IAM in 1989 when he joined Local Lodge S6 while employed at Bath Iron Works in Bath, ME. On October 1, 2018, Bryant was assigned to serve as Resident General Vice President at IAM Headquarters in Upper Marlboro, MD.
A Pipefitter by trade, Bryant became active in his Local Lodge serving on various committees, as well as being elected as a Shop Steward, Trustee, and President of Local Lodge S6. He also served on the Executive Board of the Maine AFL-CIO, and in 1998 was elected Directing Business Representative of District Lodge 4.
In 2004, Bryant was appointed by International President R. Thomas Buffenbarger as a Special Representative assigned to General Vice President Lynn D. Tucker, Jr. in the Eastern Territory. He was appointed Grand Lodge Representative in 2006 assigned to the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts as well as shipbuilding and Repair in the Eastern Territory.
General Vice President Lynn D. Tucker, Jr. reassigned Bryant in 2008 to the Eastern Territory office in Cincinnati, OH to handle all National Labor Relations Board activity for the territory. On July 1, 2009, he was appointed to the position of Chief of Staff of the Eastern Territory.
Bryant served in that capacity until being appointed to the IAMAW Executive Council as General Vice President assigned to the Eastern Territory. On August 1, 2016, Bryant began as General Vice President serving the General Secretary-Treasurer’s office at Headquarters in Upper Marlboro, MD.
Steve Galloway, General Vice President, Midwest Territory
Steve Galloway is the General Vice President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Midwest Territory, located in Joliet, IL. The IAM Midwest Territory represents active and retired members in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan.
Galloway began his membership in IAM Local Lodge 459, District 77 in 1987 as a brewer working at the Stroh Brewery Company in St. Paul, MN. During his eleven years of employment at Stroh’s, Galloway served as Union Steward, Bargaining Committeeperson, and as Bargaining Committee Chairperson. He also served as an Executive Board Member of IAM Local Lodge 459, and as District 77 President.
In 1998, Galloway was elected District 77 Business Representative. In 2007, he was elected to serve as District 77 Directing Business Representative.
Galloway also served the membership of District 77 as Chairman of the Machinists, Tool and Die Apprenticeship Committee, Trustee on the St. Paul Auto Dealers Trust Fund, Chairman of the District 77 Health and Welfare Trust Fund, Organizing Director, and as Vice President of the Minnesota State Council of Machinists.
Galloway was appointed to the IAM Midwest Territory Staff as a Special Representative on June 1, 2008. He became a Grand Lodge Representative for the IAM Midwest Territory in December 2009.
On December 1, 2016, Galloway was appointed Chief of Staff to IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Philip J. Gruber. Galloway succeeded Gruber as the General Vice President of the IAM Midwest Territory on January 1, 2019.
Galloway and his wife Stephanie have four children, Andrea, Joshua, Brianna, and Sean.
David Sullivan, General Vice President, Eastern Territory
On May 1, 2022, David Sullivan joined the IAM Executive Council as the General Vice President, Eastern Territory. Previously, in July 2021, Sullivan was appointed Chief of Staff to the Eastern Territory General Vice President. He joined the Grand Lodge Eastern Territory Staff in 2016 as a Special Representative, progressing to the position of Grand Lodge Representative.
A 33-year IAM member, he initially joined the Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America (IUMSWA) as a shipbuilder at Bath Iron Works in Bath, ME in 1986. After the IUMSWA merged with the IAM in 1988, Sullivan served as a Shop Steward, Local Lodge Officer, and on many committees at IAM Local S6 before joining the District 4 staff as a Business Representative representing Region 1 in New England.
He later become the Assistant Directing Business Representative of District 4 before becoming Directing Business Representative in April 2014.
Richard Johnsen, General Vice President, Air Transport Territory
Brother Johnsen began his IAM career in Local 1781 as a Mechanic Assistant for United Airlines in 1988 and was promoted to Mechanic in 1990. He served in many positions at the local and district level and was appointed as Assistant General Chairperson for District 141M in 2000, then as a Grand Lodge Special Representative in 2001.
Johnsen served as a Transportation Department Grand Lodge Representative and has been an IAM member for more than 33 years. He also served as the IAM Representatives Association (IAMRA) President from 2017-2021.
In February 2021, Johnsen was appointed Special Assistant to the International President. In June 2021, Johnsen was appointed Chief of Staff to the International President. On May 1, 2022, Richard Johnsen joined the IAM Executive Council as General Vice-President of the Air Transport Territory.
Johnsen serves on the boards of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD), United Airlines, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), and the Cooperating Railway Labor Organizations (CRLO).
