Machinists President Leads Call for ‘JOBS Now'

Pittsburgh, PA, September 15, 2009 – In one of the livelier moments of the AFL-CIO Convention in Pittsburgh, PA, the president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) led 3,000 delegates and guests in a booming call for “JOBS Now!”

The call to action was part of a speech by IAM President R. Thomas Buffenbarger and preceded a resolution to commit the AFL-CIO to a strategy of job creation that included additional apprentice opportunities, investment in skills training and a second, targeted stimulus package aimed at the manufacturing, construction and transportation sectors.

“Over 30,000 Machinists union members have been laid off in the last ten months. Many of our sister unions were hit even harder,” said Buffenbarger. “When we are asked, ‘What does labor want?’ Our answer should be: JOBS Now!”

The IAM is among the nation’s largest industrial trade unions, representing nearly 700,000 active and retired members under more than 5,000 contracts in aerospace, manufacturing, transportation, shipbuilding and defense-related industries. For more information, visit www.goiam.org.