The goal of the IAM Organizing Department is to bring the benefits of
union representation to working men and women. Since the 1996 Grand Lodge
Convention, the Organizing Department has built on its past achievements by
winning 84.3% of our campaigns. The District 725 Organizing
Department works in close cooperation with the Grand Lodge and Western
Territory Organizing Departments to help win justice and dignity for
California's working families.
IAM organizers have achieved this high level of success by using the
traditional tools available while finding new ones as well. Keeping up, with
ever changing technologies, the organizers use videos, computers, CD-ROMS,
mapping systems and a surveying program that gives the organizer excellent
data on wage and benefit packages at union and non-union plants in the
particular area where a campaign is being conducted. These technologies are
used to supplement the heart and soul of organizing--personal contact.
The organizers meet face-to-face with non-members in non-union shops, the
government sector and open shops. The information gathered through both
face-to-face meetings and the various computer technologies helps the
organizers develop issues which are then used in conjunction with the IAM's
most important tool--the "Blitz" campaign.
In June of 1997, International President R. Thomas Buffenbarger sent a
letter to all IAM Directing Business Representatives requesting that every
IAM Local establish an organizing committee. The District 725 Organizing
Department relies on the District Lodge and Local Lodge committees and they
are a vital ingredient in the IAM's continued organizing success.
Another facet of the IAM's total organizing effort is the exploration of
possible affiliations that bring other like-minded organizations under the
IAM banner. Those efforts have led to the Shipbuilders Union, Die Sinkers
International Union, Wichita Engineer Association, the Patternmakers Union,
the Gerber Legendary Blades Negotiating Committee (an independent union),
and the International Woodworkers of America into affiliations with the IAM.
The importance of organizing should not be lost on any member in
the Machinists Union. Our future contracts depend on more of our members in
each industry gaining power at work.
As each bargaining unit works towards an industry leading contract,
each contract improvement leads to an increase in the contract at the next
company, creating a constant cycle of improvement for working families.
Click the icon on the left to
see why people join unions (Link source: AFL-CIO Website)
Click here to check out
the IAM's Power@Work web page.
Watch videos about the tactics union busters use to
prevent you from organizing your workplace:
Union busting is a multi billion dollar industry in the United States today.
Employers almost always hire "consultants" during union organizing drives, and
these "consultants" are the driving force behind an employer's opposition to
their employee's organizing attempts. Knowledge is power, so we present these
videos to help you understand the opposition workers face in their struggle for
justice and dignity on the job.
Union Busting 101 - Episode 1 - Fear
Union Busting 101 - Episode 2 - Who Are They?
Union Busting 101 - Episode 3 - The Role of Supervisors
Union Busting 101 - Episode 4 - Fighting Back; Exposure
