WASHINGTON, June 27, 2025 – The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM Union), representing 600,000 active and retired members across North America, is calling on U.S. Senators Angus King and Susan Collins to reject devastating Medicaid cuts included in the current budget reconciliation package (H.R. 1).
IAM Union International President Brian Bryant issued letters to U.S. Senators King and Collins urging them to reject the proposal. According to state officials and recent reporting, it threatens to eliminate healthcare coverage for nearly 35,000 Mainers and risks shuttering at least four rural hospitals.
“These cuts will directly harm the communities where our members live and work,” wrote IAM Union International President Bryant. “Thousands of IAM shipbuilders at Bath Iron Works depend on a reliable local healthcare infrastructure. When hospitals and clinics close or cut services, even those with strong union-negotiated healthcare plans lose access to critical care.”
The reconciliation package includes new work requirements for Medicaid recipients and significant reductions in federal funding. Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services warns that the proposed changes would severely strain the state’s healthcare system, particularly in rural areas that rely heavily on Medicaid (known locally as MaineCare).
The IAM Union is urging both of Maine’s U.S. Senators to support working families, protect access to healthcare, and vote “No” on H.R. 1.
Read the letters to U.S. Senators King and Collins.
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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