from the IAM communications department

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Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will do little to help us achieve energy independence.


IAM members at TWA, conducted informational picketing last week at nine major airports to protest unfair treatment by American Airlines.


Read The Summer IAM Journal Online 
The IAM takes an in-depth look at the Unemployment Insurance system.

 
 

The IAM's 
Executive Council

International President 
R. Thomas Buffenbarger 

General Secretary Treasurer 
Donald E. Wharton 

GVP Western Territory
Lee Pearson 

GVP Canada 
Dave Ritchie 

GVP Midwest Territory 
Alex M. Bay 

GVP IAM Headquarters 
Robert V. Thayer

GVP Southern Territory 
George Hooper 

GVP Eastern Territory 
Warren L. Mart 

GVP Transportation
Robert Roach, Jr.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Breaking News for Wednesday, September 12, 2001

Vengeance


Yesterday morning, IAM members went to work cleaning planes, checking reservations, loading bags and making passengers comfortable. At Logan, Newark and Dulles airports, their pre-dawn routines went on as usual. 

The planes they prepared for flight had been built by IAM members. Their engines had been checked and re-checked by IAM mechanics. Their fuel tanks had been topped off by IAM fuelers.

IAM members were aboard at least one of the flights. And IAM members were working in the Pentagon.

So. This is personal.

It was our planes that were used as weapons of mass destruction. It was our members who were forced to endure the unimaginable nightmare. It was our members who were among the murdered.

And we will have our vengeance.

The terrorists and the nations who shield and support them miscalculated badly. They struck at the symbols of America’s economic and military power: the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon. 

They did not touch the reality of that might: the men and women across the United States and Canada whose souls were seared by these acts of war. 

Today, IAM members return to work. They will be prepping the planes that can just as easily carry troops to the farthest reaches of the earth. They will be building the F-15, F-16, F-18 and F-22’s that will impose a new reality on those who have dared attack us. 

For it is not simply justice we seek. It is vengeance, pure and complete.

R. Thomas Buffenbarger
International President


Members Urged To Donate Blood
“This crisis requires a response from every able-bodied American,” said IP Tom Buffenbarger as the death toll continues to rise following yesterday’s terrorist attacks. “IAM members and officers should immediately contact local hospitals to offer what assistance they can provide. There is a need for blood that is unlikely to subside soon.

“IAM members and representatives are among the victims of yesterday’s events. The full extent of injuries and loss of life will not be known for weeks,” said the Buffenbarger. “Our prayers and thoughts go immediately to the victims, their families and co-workers. We are asking all IAM members to provide what aid and comfort they can.”


Send a Message, Raise the Flag
Americans across the country watched in horror as flames burned in Washington and smoke rose where the World Trade Towers stood. Americans also watched with pride as firefighters atop the Pentagon and rescue workers in New York raised the American flag over the smoldering wreckage. “It is just as appropriate for IAM members to raise the same flag where they work and where they live,” said IP Tom Buffenbarger. “Every home should wear the colors. We’re in this together.”


IAM Federal Workers Affected
IAM members faced the full force of yesterday’s attack in our nation’s capital. Many Pentagon employees are represented by IAM Federal District 1. The use of an IAM-built Boeing 757 in the attack on the Pentagon sent shock waves through the entire federal workforce. 

Today, September 12, 2001, fires were still burning as IAM-represented employees returned to work at the Pentagon and government facilities across America. “Our federal employees will be full participants in the government’s response to yesterday’s attack,” said Frank Carelli, newly appointed director of the IAM Government Employees Department. “This IAM department is open for business today to provide assistance and support to those IAM members on the front lines.”

Security is expected to immediately increase at all federal facilities. “We welcome and encourage changes in that regard,” said Carelli. “Our national workplaces must be secure. We are determined that employees there will have every protection possible.” 



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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