Brian Bryant, International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM Union), has called on Congress to reach a bipartisan agreement to fund the federal government and prevent a shutdown. The IAM Union represents 600,000 members, including tens of thousands of federal employees and contract workers.
Bryant issued a statement emphasizing the impact a shutdown would have: “The IAM Union strongly urges Congress to fund the federal government and avoid a shutdown, which would affect tens of thousands of IAM federal employees and federal contract workers, as well as countless others across our nation.”
He stressed the need for cooperation between political parties. “The IAM strongly urges a bipartisan funding solution, which should be negotiated in good faith to reach a solution between both Democrats and Republicans to offer a temporary funding measure and avoid a shutdown.”
Bryant also criticized recent statements from the White House regarding potential mass firings during a shutdown. “The IAM also strongly condemns the White House’s threat to use a shutdown as a means to justify illegally firing scores of federal workers. Threats of such an action are unjust and cruel to civil servants, many of whom are Veterans who have already sacrificed and given so much to our great nation.”
He further stated: “Federal workers should not be treated as political pawns in such a fight. These civil servants are so crucial for our nation, from our food inspectors, to social security, air traffic controllers and TSA agents, and even to the military personnel we depend on every day to keep our nation moving forward.”
The IAM Union includes thousands of federal workers represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM), an affiliate that covers approximately 110,000 federal workers nationwide.
Bryant noted that government shutdowns can be especially damaging for private sector contract workers who often do not receive back pay after services resume. “Government shutdowns are even more destructive for our private sector federal contract worker membership, who work alongside federal employees and perform equally essential work for our nation and often do not get any backpay at all after a shutdown ends.”
