Solidarity, Family, and Service
This article was featured in the Summer 2025 IAM Journal and was written by IAM Communications Representative Elias Flamenco Rivera. In today’s fast-paced world, balancing a successful career, union commitments, and family life can be impossible. However, for three dedicated IAM members, this reality is a daily commitment that speaks to their work ethic, union pride,
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Teamsters Call on Nevada Assembly to Pass Bill Requiring Human Operators in Driverless Trucks
(CARSON CITY, Nev.) – Teamsters are calling on the Nevada Assembly to reject pressure from Big Tech lobbyists and pass Senate Bill 395. The legislation, which passed the state Senate last month and now awaits a vote in the Assembly, will require a human safety operator behind the wheel of commercial vehicles weighing over 26,000 […]
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IAM Local 701 Helps Feed Children Around The World With Annual Volunteer Event
On April 26, more than 150 volunteers from IAM Local 701 came together to support the community at Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) in Aurora, Ill., during their annual IAM HELPS event. Participants included Local 701 Business Representatives; staff; apprenticeship training center instructors and staff; Health, Welfare and Pension Department personnel; as well as union
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Gov. Ferguson Signs Teamsters-Back Bill Securing UI Benefits for Striking Workers
(OLYMPIA, Wash.) – Teamsters-backed legislation that will extend unemployment insurance (UI) to workers on strike has been signed into law by Governor Bob Ferguson. “This is a major victory. This law will ensure striking workers don’t have to choose between fighting for their rights and feeding their families,” said Rick Hicks, President of Teamsters Joint Council […]
Read More....REPORT: Project 2025 and DOGE Effects
REPORT: Project 2025 and DOGE Effects
This week, we delivered an AFL-CIO Department of People Who Work for a Living report to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, detailing in workers’ own voices how Elon Musk’s DOGE is gutting essential services, putting lives at risk and triggering mass firings that threaten local economies.
DOGE is Project 2025 on steroids. From delayed veterans’ care to missing Social Security checks, the consequences of DOGE’s illegal mass firings go far beyond Washington. Read the Report. After holding field hearings across the country, here’s just a few of the things we heard from working people: Since January, thousands of federal workers who we rely on for key services—such as processing Social Security checks, ensuring food gets inspected and providing veterans’ health care—have been illegally fired or pushed out.They’ve attacked workers’ rights to stand up to big corporations and organize and collectively bargain, shutting down the National Labor Relations Board and destroying its independence, and crushing the federal mediation agency.DOGE has attacked workers’ health and safety, including gutting the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, closing worker safety offices and gutting regulations that protect workers.DOGE has attacked health care, eliminating jobs at the VA, repealing programs to lower drug prices, directing Congress to gut Medicaid and ending health coverage for millions of people to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.They’ve dismantled the Department of Education, tearing down public education and attacking our universities.DOGE has undermined investment and jobs in the next generation of American energy innovation and manufacturing, and undermined workers’ rights across the world.With budget negotiations ongoing in Congress, this report puts a spotlight on what’s really at stake: the people who make government work and the communities that depend on them. Read it now. The people who work for a living want an agenda that works for them—not big corporations and billionaires. We are calling on lawmakers to fully restore the programs that make our country run. Make a call to say, “no cuts that hurt working families.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Wed, 05/21/2025 – 13:12
2025 APWU of Louisiana State Convention
Room rate: ($129.00 double, $149.00 king)/per night +15% taxes. Hotel reservation deadline: June 4, 2025. Call 800-222-8733 ask for “American Postal Workers Union” Group Rate. Registration fee: $75.00 per attendee by May 23, 2025; After 5/23: $85.00. Click here for registration form.
June 19, 2025 – 9:00AM to June 21, 2025 – 5:00PMDoubleTree by Hilton Hotel1521 W. Pinhook Rd.
Lafayette, LA 70503
LocalNoYes2025-05-21 00:00:002025 APWU of Louisiana State ConventionHotel
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
1521 W. Pinhook Rd.
Lafayette, LA 70506
Reservations: (800) 222-8733 ask for “American Postal Workers Union” for Group Rate
CUT OFF DATE FOR GROUP ROOM RATE double of $129.00 or King $149.00 PLUS 15 % TAX IS June 4, 2025
Guests will be required to provide a valid credit or debit card to guarantee each room. If you want to pay cash and do not want your credit card on the reservation it is a $250.00 cash deposit plus room and tax at check in. The $250.00 cash deposit will be mailed out from the hotel to you and should arrive in 14 days in the form of a check. Reservations must be cancelled within 48-72 hours prior to your scheduled arrival date to receive a refund. Hotel check-in time is 3:00 pm and check-out time is 11:00 am. Members can receive a late check-out time of 12:00 noon. The room rate is available for check in from June 19, 2025, and check-out on June 21, 2025. Parking is complimentary for hotel guests.
Registration
Click here for registration form.
Fee: $75.00 per attendee by May 23, 2025; After 5/23: $85.00Make Checks Payable to: Lafayette Area Local # 2803
Mail Registration form and check to:
Lafayette Area Local # 2803
Attn: Joshua Montgomery, President
P.O. Box 90345
Lafayette, Louisiana 70509
Email: da1ofgreatness@yahoo.com
Phone (337) 288-9521
IMPORTANT DEADLINES:
1) OFFICIAL CREDENTIAL FORMS IS MAY 23,2025 TO THE PRESIDENT.
2) RESOULUTIONS FOR CONSTITUTION AND/OR BY-LAW CHANGES IS MAY 23,2025 TO THE PRESIDENT.
3) CONVENTION REGISTATION IS MAY 23, 2025
4) HOTEL RESERVATIONS IS June 04, 2025
5) ADS FOR THE CONVENTION SOUVENIR BOOKLET IS MAY 23, 2025
6) ADDITIONAL BANQUET TICKETS IS MAY 26, 2025
7) A COPY OF YOUR COMPLETE DCO LISTS IS JUNE 19, 2025
8) CONVENTION CONVENES – JUNE 19, 2025
9) CONVENTION CONCLUDES – JUNE 21, 2025
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Tell Congress: No Cuts That Hurt Working Families, Kids and Retirees
Tell Congress: No Cuts That Hurt Working Families, Kids and Retirees
Right now, House leadership is pushing through a budget that would have the largest cuts in history to Medicaid and to SNAP food assistance, as well as more cuts to retirement benefits for federal workers.
Make a Call.Health care, food assistance, dignity in retirement—these programs are a cornerstone of a secure existence for working people. Here’s why:No Cuts to MedicaidMedicaid is the single largest source of health care coverage in the United States.It is the primary payer for 63% of nursing home residents.It pays for 42% of births in the United States each year and provides health care for nearly half of all children in our country.Medicaid funding cuts would cause hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and home health agencies to close or downsize, especially in rural and lower-income communities. One analysis shows that cuts could cause 477,000 health care jobs to be lost in 2026 alone.Medicaid cuts would cause millions of people to lose their health care, including kids and our most vulnerable Americans, and cuts would raise health care and insurance costs for everyone else. No Cuts to Food Assistance42 million people use SNAP food assistance per month, or almost 13% total of U.S. residents. Working families depend on SNAP to get by and to provide nutritious, healthy food for their children to grow and thrive.Cuts to food assistance jeopardize thousands of jobs in food processing, school cafeterias, retail and agriculture.Pushing the costs of food assistance to states with already strained budgets threatens many other services and jobs that our families and communities rely on. No Cuts to Workers’ Retirement Benefits or Union RightsLike all workers, federal employees deserve a fair and dignified retirement after a lifetime of hard work. But earlier versions of the budget deal have contained cuts to federal workers’ retirement benefits and cuts to their current take-home pay.Other provisions in versions of the budget deal have required new federal workers to choose between at-will status and lower employee pension contributions, or to be charged a fee to file a claim with the Merit Systems Protection Board to protect their rights.Federal workers who run the programs and services we all depend on—and who are already facing job losses and historic union-busting—should not have to pay for tax breaks for billionaires.No Weakening of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Protections for WorkersLawmakers snuck a provision into the House budget deal that blocks the enforcement of all existing or future state and local AI regulations for the next 10 years.State lawmakers across the country have come together to pass legislation that regulates dangerous and irresponsible artificial intelligence (AI)—creating guardrails that protect workers’ jobs, safety and civil liberties, and prevent discrimination or the theft of artists’ work. This provision would stop that good work.This provision is so broad it would even prevent states from enforcing safety regulations related to automated systems, like public transit systems.This provision is an irresponsible gift to Big Tech companies and employers to maximize their profits and control. Especially since Congress has not acted to protect workers, states must be allowed to pass regulations to stop the unsafe, unethical, antidemocratic and antiworker use of AI in the workplace. Gutting essential services like Medicaid, SNAP food assistance and federal worker benefits won’t help working families—especially to pay for more tax breaks for billionaires and giant corporations. And the domino effects of cutting these huge and vital programs would be severe and wide-reaching. We need you to speak out today. Tell Congress this budget would be a disaster for working families and for our nation. Call your representative at 231-400-0602 to tell them, “No cuts that hurt working families!”
Kenneth Quinnell
Wed, 05/21/2025 – 09:40
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Profile: Lenny Guerrero
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Profile: Lenny Guerrero
For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States. Today’s profile is Lenny Guerrero of the Bricklayers.
“My father was a supervisor for a masonry company, and he used to take me with him on weekends when I was growing up. I fell in love with the trade and became fascinated by the idea of building structures that stand the test of time. Masonry has shaped who I am today. Training is my way of giving back to the trade and community that have given so much to me,” Guerrero said.
Kenneth Quinnell
Wed, 05/21/2025 – 09:27
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: VFX Workers Ratify First Three Contracts with Major U.S. Studios
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: VFX Workers Ratify First Three Contracts with Major U.S. Studios
Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Visual effects (VFX) workers for Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures and movie franchise Avatar voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first contracts as Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) members.The agreements are a major step forward for the VFX industry, establishing important standard union protections such as overtime pay, a pension and health plan, enforceable rest periods and more. Marvel workers voted unanimously to join IATSE in 2023, and their counterparts at Disney secured a similar election victory one month later. Avatar VFX workers joined the union in January of last year.“I am so proud of my fellow union members for all their hard work through which we have achieved this contract,” said Patrick DeVaney, a postvis coordinator, in a press release. “While we are used to pouring our blood and sweat into our work, unionizing requires something more: our courage. It takes an incredible amount of courage to stand up to management who will always seek to devalue labor in the pursuit of profit margins and your own coworkers who have labored for so long as a part of a non-unionized workforce that they were convinced unionizing would be impossible.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Wed, 05/21/2025 – 09:21
IAM Union Calls for Immediate Release of Wrongfully Detained Member in Washington State
The IAM Union has confirmed that an IAM Union Local 695 (District 160) member and lawful U.S. permanent resident, Maximo Londonio, is being held in custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Londonio has been detained since May 15 after returning home from a trip with his wife and young daughter
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