Most get a fond send off when retirement rolls around to their career, but in Texas they do everything big, including honors for legendary members of IAM District 776.
The District had been working for months on a special tribute to International President Robert Martinez Jr., who retired in January 2024 after 43 years of service to the IAM and its members. Starting in 1980 as a member of Local 776A and an aircraft assembler, the U.S. Naval Air veteran rose to the highest position within the IAM, leading the organization for eight years and serving on the IAM Executive Council for 20 years of his storied career.
District 776 took the steps to turn the atrium of the district’s meeting hall into a gallery of memorabilia from Martinez’s career. The space is filled with photographs, mementos, and awards to achievements of the IAM’s 14th International President. As the first Latino to join the IAM Executive Council, Martinez set standards and achieved milestones that moved the IAM forward in the labor movement.
“This hall, this district, and this union has meant the world to me and my family,” said Martinez. “This union gave me a purpose when I was 20 years old. It gave me a shot at the American dream, to make a living and support my family. Together, we have improved the lives of countless IAM members.”
Martinez’s historic tenure steered the IAM through the COVID-19 crisis by championing airline and aerospace worker relief that saved hundreds of thousands of jobs. Martinez helped the IAM grow into new industries, including healthcare, and made the IAM the leading AFL-CIO affiliate in National Labor Relations Board union election victories from 2018 through 2022.
At Martinez’s direction, the IAM also created groundbreaking membership programs that assist members and their families, as well as expanded opportunities for underrepresented groups to advance in the IAM. Martinez commissioned a new department to provide IAM members and their families who are military veterans with VA claims assistance free of charge, as well as an addiction services program and a women’s leadership initiative known as the Leadership Excellence Assembly of Dedicated Sisters, or IAM LEADS.
The ceremony also honored District 776 President Directing Business Representative Paul Black and Business Representative Earnest Boone, both of have retired after 45 years of IAM membership.
International President Martinez extended a special note of gratitude to IAM Business Representative Joe Alviar and his wife, Linda, who were the primary architects of the atrium and the displays of the Martinez collection.
“Again I say thank you. It’s been a great honor,” said Martinez. “Our leadership, headed by our great International President Brian Bryant, has the IAM going in the right direction. I can’t wait to see where we’re going next, and I’m cheering all of you and our union on from retirement.”
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