IAM Unity and Growth Conference
Greetings Brothers and Sister,
Last week, from August 21st to 24th, our Local lodge leaders participated in the first-ever IAM Unity and Growth Conference in San Diego.
This conference was designed to train, educate, and inspire IAM officers, staff, activists, and other leaders to organize new members in all sectors while celebrating and strengthening the diversity of our union.
“Our diversity is our strength, and we must welcome working people from all backgrounds into our union,” said IAM Resident General Vice President Brian Bryant during his welcome address. “We are going to ride this momentum into a new era for the IAM, an era of prosperity, unity, and growth.”
The conference featured morning plenary sessions with various speakers and a panel moderated by Organizing Director Vinny Addeo. The panel discussed current organizing campaigns in the healthcare, federal employment, and air transport sectors. The panelists shared their experiences and achievements, with a special emphasis on Ohio healthcare workers, Delta Air Lines, and internal organizing in the federal government.
The afternoon breakout sessions offered guidance on new organizing methods and how communications, strategic research, legal issues, and diversity can help grow our union.
Breakout industry sectors include:
Aerospace and Service Contract Act
Automotive
Manufacturing and Shipbuilding
Wood, Pulp and Paper, and Natural Resources
Public Sector, Healthcare, and Non-Traditional Industries
Air Transport and Rail
Patricia, Brett, and Gerald were attending the aerospace and service contracts act. They got 1v1 Q&A with the National Labor Board and briefings of organizing plans as a group.
Sister Patricia was also able to get coaching and received curriculum to start up her women’s committee. Stay tuned to hear more about updates coming soon.
The first day also included video messages from President U.S. Joe Biden, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla and Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su.
The conference also had a diverse list of speakers, including:
IAM General Secretary-Treasurer Dora Cervantes
IAM Western Territory General Vice President Gary R. Allen
IAM Eastern Territory General Vice President David Sullivan
IAM Women’s & Human Rights Director Julie Frietchen
IAM Organizing Director Vinny Addeo
Former Member of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, DOL, Lynn Rhinehart
California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher
National Mediation Board Chair Deirdre Hamilton
National Labor Relations Board Associate General Counsel Jessica Rutter
IAM Canadian Grand Lodge Representative Scott Jackson
Federal Labor Relations Authority Member Susan Tsui Grudmann
The Purpose Institute Co-Founder Haley Rushing
Ohio State University Nurses Organization President Rick Lucas
IAM Organizing Special Representative Ali Rhodes
IAM Organizing Grand Lodge Representative Juan Eldridge
NFFE-IAM Business Representative/Organizer Jerry McCarty
IAM Air Transport Coordinator James Carlson
IAM District 142 Organizer Dee Colbert
Guide Dogs of America | Tender Loving Canines President Russ Gitltlen
Union Plus Union Service Representative Keith Anderko
The conference concluded with individual industrial sector meetings and a report for the whole conference.
