IAM International President Bryant, Sens. Bernie Sanders, Chris Van Hollen, Tina Smith and Ed Markey Joined Laid-Off Workers from Apple, Whirlpool and Spirit Airlines Who Shared Firsthand Accounts of Corporate Greed
WASHINGTON, June 22, 2026 — Brian Bryant, International President of the 600,000-member IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers), issued the following statement endorsing the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act, introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.):
“The IAM Union proudly endorses the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act, and we call on members of Congress to sign on as a sponsor.
“For too long, the billionaire class has gamed the system while IAM members and working families across this country pay the price. Today, 60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to afford housing, health care, and groceries, while 938 billionaires have grown $1.5 trillion richer. That is not an economy working for everyone. That is a failure of our national priorities.
“The Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act would establish a 5% annual wealth tax on the 938 billionaires in America, worth $8.2 trillion combined, and use that revenue where it belongs: in the hands of working families. In its first year, the bill would provide a $3,000 direct payment to every man, woman, and child in households earning $150,000 or less, $12,000 for a family of four. For an IAM member supporting a family on a union wage, that is real money that pays the mortgage, covers a month of groceries, or helps keep the lights on.
“Not one person with a net worth below $1 billion would pay a single penny more in taxes under this bill. The bill would ask Elon Musk, worth $833 billion and wealthier than the bottom 53% of American households combined, to pay $42 billion. It would ask Apple CEO Tim Cook, who leads a company that is closing the first unionized Apple retail store in the country, to contribute his fair share as well. Tim Cook and Apple have made billions on the backs of workers in this country and around the world. The least its leadership can do is pay what they owe.
“Our members do not ask for handouts. They ask for fairness. They clock in, they do the work, and they build the products and deliver the services that generate the wealth this nation runs on. All they are asking is that the billionaires who benefit most from that labor pay their fair share in return.
“The IAM Union stands with Sen. Sanders, Rep. Khanna, and every working family in this country, demanding an economy that works for all of us, not just the wealthiest few. We urge members of Congress to sign on as a sponsor of the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act now.”
The IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) is one of North America’s largest and most diverse industrial trade unions, representing approximately 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, shipbuilding, railroad, transit, healthcare, automotive, and other industries across the United States and Canada.
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