7-3-06

2006 MNPL Fundraiser held in Cedar Rapids, IA. -

7-3-06

2006 Midwest Hawgs for Dogs held in Dubuque, IA. - The IAM Midwest Territory held its 6th Annual Midwest "Hawgs for Dogs" Run in Dubuque, IA on Saturday, June 9 - more...

7-1-06

Important dates to remember - mark your calendars -  upcoming DL6 special annual events have been scheduled - more...

10-4-05
Bush Uses Katrina as Excuse to Remove Wage Protections - Davis–Bacon Act Suspended - With the federal government poised to spend more than $50 billion to rebuild areas destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, the AFL-CIO is calling on Congress to reverse President George W. Bush’s Sept. 8 executive order that would allow contractors to pay wages below - more...

9-27-05
Machinists at ammunition plant end strike and ratify new contract - The two hundred Machinists Union members working at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant near Burlington, IA ended their 9-day strike and ratified a new 4-year labor agreement recently. more...
 

8-2-05 

Local Lodge 1238 makes gains in new 3 years contract - The fifty seven IAM members at Adams Company in Dubuque, IA recently ratified a new three year labor agreement. Our members at Adams Co. work in machining and maintenance.  They produce custom gears and shafts. more...

7-12-05

MNPL Fund raiser held in Cedar Rapids - Dist. 6 and Local Lodge 831 held it's annual MNPL fund raiser , in Cedar Rapids, IA. more...

6-12-05

2005 Midwest Hawgs for Dogs is a huge success - The IAM Midwest Territory held its 5th Annual Midwest "Hawgs for Dogs" Run on Saturday, June 11, 2005. The ride began with - more...

3-1-05

Retired ADBR, Richard Olson honored at Iowa State Council of Machinists meeting - Assistant DBR Richard Olson retired at the end of February 2005, after more than 20 years of dedicated service to the IAM. more...

1-24-05

IAM Midwest Territory Communications Awards Announced - The 2004 IAM Midwest Territory Communications Awards were announced at December and January union meetings across the territory. General Vice President James E. Brown proudly awarded plaques to the following - more...

8-12-04

Iowa Machinist Featured on National News - Machinist Jerry Nowadzky, 49, of Montilcello, Iowa, is fast becoming a national icon representing American workers as he travels the country talking about the devastating effects outsourcing. more...

6-22-04

IAM Member Tells Senate About Job Losses - Sitting before a Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing, IAM District 6 President Jerry Nowadzky of Des Moines, Iowa, put a face to the many jobs that have been lost due to NAFTA and other trade agreements. more...

6-18-04

1st. Annual Guide Dogs of America Breakfast Fund Raiser Event - Dubuque IA., June 13th, 2004 - The 1st. Annual Guide Dogs of America Breakfast Fund Raiser event was held at the Dubuque Eagles Club. more...

5-11-04

Workers in Illinois Say 'Jobs Crisis' Far From Over - Washington, D.C., May 07, 2004 -The jobs crisis is still the number one issue for blue collar, middle class voters in Illinois, according to a new poll. more...

4-29-04

Fallen workers remembered - On April 28th in Waterloo IA. at the annual Black Hawk Union Council ceremony, 110 people in attendance were joined in remembrance by Iowa Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson, Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver, and more...

4-22-04

General Vice President James E. Brown recently went on a tour of the Toro facility in Windom, MN.

IAM Local 1956 has 500 members at Toro.  Our members produce lawn mowers and snow blowers. more...

4-14-04

Machinists Union Welcomes Pension Victory

In an overdue victory for recession ravaged airline workers, the Senate passed legislation today that protects the pension plans of more than 100,000 transportation workers covered by defined benefit pension plans. more...

3-30-04

Iowa Machinist Joins Nationwide Jobs Tour

IAM District 6 President Jerry Nowadzky is among 51 American workers traveling by bus across eight states to put a human face on the nation’s soaring unemployment numbers. more...

3-16-2004 

Machinists Union Seeks Sanctions Over Labor Conditions in China

Washington, D.C., March 16, 2004 - The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and the AFL-CIO are calling for trade sanctions against China over that country’s brutal suppression of workers’ rights and says such actions constitute unfair trade practices under current law. more...

3-11-2004 

Bush Administration Backs Moving More U.S. Jobs Overseas

IAM Journal Portrays Hard Life 
of Working Women in China

The Spring 2005 issue of the IAM Journal features a trio of alluring models sweeping down a fashion runway somewhere in China. In the pages that follow, the IAM magazine looks behind the glamorous image at the rampant exploitation that is part of everyday life for 337 million women working in China.

Behind China's economic miracle is a stark reality of oppressive working conditions for millions of Chinese women and men. China is exploiting this vast pool of cheap labor in its bid to become the world's leading economic power. Cover Story IP Commentary Journal Contents

The cover story examines the grim working conditions for women who represent 48.5 percent of the total Chinese population and 45 percent of the nation’s workforce. Forced to live away from their families in company dormitories, many women regularly toil fourteen hours a day, six days a week, earning less than sixty dollars a month.

“Billions of exported products – toys to textiles, computers to cars, air conditioners to airplanes – depend on 337 million working women whose lives are far different than the China Dolls on this magazine’s cover,” said IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger.

The impact of this exploitation does not stop at China’s borders. According to the Economic Policy Institute, imports from China displaced 1.6 million U.S. jobs between 1989 and 2003. The growing exodus of high-tech jobs once thought to be reserved for highly industrialized nations now compounds the loss of traditional manufacturing jobs.

“Let’s understand that free trade with Communist China is not free,” said IAM President Buffenbarger in his introduction to the IAM Journal. “It comes at a very high price – a lower life expectancy for millions of Chinese workers and much lower lifetime earnings for millions of North Americans.”

Click on the image below to see a larger version that shows the massive unemployment problem facing the United States.  Statistics are by county and are color coded.

President Bush keeps saying the recession is over, but in counties across America, families struggle to find work. JOBS will be a driving force in the 2004 election. Cover Story IP Commentary Journal Contents Cover Note:  U.S. jobless rates by county. The hardest hit counties are in black and purple. The print version of this IAM Journal features a cover which encompasses the magazine's front and back page and displays the entire map of the U.S. with all of the counties. Click on the magazine cover at left to see the entire map. The map is approximately 360 kb, and depending on your internet connection, may take a while to appear. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)