The IAM’s Winpisinger Center recently hosted an Automotive Conference with representatives from Territories from across the union. The two-day conference had about 25 participants and featured updates on different industries and employers. Craig Hughes, the IAM’s newly appointed IAM Automotive Coordinator, along with Western Territory Grand Lodge Representative Brandon Hemming and District 9 Business Representative Roy Collins give their thoughts and comments about the importance of the automotive industry for IAM members.
Canadians Matt Barnable (GLR) and John Humphrey (BR DL250) attended and were pleased by the ambitious conference.
“As a representative in this sector, I was very thankful to have attended the Automotive conference at W3,” said Matt Barnable. “The discussions held are imperative as we map our future in the automotive sector. The amount of work we are doing on Political Action is phenomenal, and events like this allow us to share that information. We head into our Unity and Growth Conference energized and well prepared to take action.”
John Humphrey was equally enthusiastic, “I was very grateful to attend the Auto conference as well. It was very interesting listening to all the other reps and us all share some great ideas on organizing. Matt pretty much covered all the key takeaways. The biggest one for me was the legislative updates and how the U.S. reps navigated through it. My hope is to bring that process up into Canada.”
There were legislative updates such as the retail rate legislation in Minnesota – essentially being compensated fairly for warranty work.
“The most important goal for IAM representatives servicing the automotive sector was to share information between conferences so we are better able to organize and service those workers. A lot of bargaining updates were had and presentations on various employers we represent,” concluded Barnable.
Photos of the conference can be found here.
IAM Automotive Conference Kicks Off New Era of Collaboration – IAMAW (goiam.org)
