Latest news with #InternationalAssociationofMachinists
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State leaders to advocate for employees as Pratt & Whitney strike enters fifth day
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — The strike at Pratt & Whitney has entered its fifth day. This comes after contract negotiations between the company and the machinists' union fell through. Some state leaders are expected at the picket line Friday to show their support. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) will be in Middleton, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) is expected in East Hartford. Pratt & Whitney employees strike over new contract in East Hartford He'll be holding a press conference from the strike line about the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, which aims to strengthen union organizing rights and protections for workers. Around 3,000 machinists and union members are on strike across the jet-engine maker's Middletown and East Hartford locations. The workers are made up of members of the International Association of Machinists and the Aerospace Workers Union. 'It's about retirement security. It's about wage security. It's about treating us with respect. The company makes a lot of money,' Howard Huestis, President of Local Lodge 1746, said. They say that the security they're asking for is about pensions and ensuring that the company does not move its operations out of Connecticut. 'If they manufacture the engine somewhere else that the Connecticut middle class that's leaving with it,' Walter Polchlopek with Electronic System Services said. Earlier this week, Pratt & Whitney released a statement reading in part: 'Our message to union leaders throughout this thoughtful process has been simple: higher pay, better retirement savings, more days off, and more flexibility. We have no immediate plans to resume negotiations.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Machinists union: Tariffs on Canadian metals a ‘gut punch' to workers
Leaders of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) issued a statement on Wednesday condemning President Donald Trump's announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada to the U.S. On Monday, Trump said he will impose a 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum entering the U.S. The move is expected to largely impact trade partners Mexico and Canada, which export billions of dollars in aluminum and steel annually to the International President Brian Bryant – residing in the U.S. – and Canadian General Vice President David Chartrand said in a joint statement emailed to FreightWaves that the tariffs would harm workers. 'A 25% tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum imports would be a gut punch to workers on both sides of the border,' they said. 'It will lead to job losses, higher consumer prices, and broken supply chains vital to industries like automotive, aerospace and defense.' 'These proposed tariffs will not protect or grow American jobs – it will destroy them. The U.S. and Canadian economies are linked at the hip. Slapping a 25% tariff on these critical materials from Canada would put our national security at risk.'IAM represents over 600,000 members from across North America. The union's leaders stated that many of those members rely on aerospace and defense jobs that require those parts and materials to flow freely between the U.S. and Canada. 'Instead of fighting with our closest ally, we should collaborate with Canada to take on real threats like China and Mexico,' they said. 'Unfair trade practices by China and Mexico have decimated the American aluminum industry, not Canada. We need cooperation, not conflict, to build a strong North American manufacturing sector. We urge President Trump to pull all stakeholders – government, business, and labor – together to forge a comprehensive strategy to protect and grow critical manufacturing in the United States and Canada.' The post Machinists union: Tariffs on Canadian metals a 'gut punch' to workers appeared first on FreightWaves.
