Brian Bryant, International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), has called on Congress to take action to prevent a government shutdown. The IAM Union represents 600,000 members, including tens of thousands of federal employees and contract workers who could be affected by a lapse in government funding.
Bryant emphasized the need for bipartisan cooperation, stating: “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.”
He also criticized recent statements from the White House regarding the potential firing of federal workers 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,” said Bryant.
Bryant added that federal workers play essential roles in various sectors, including food inspection, social security, air traffic control, TSA operations, and military support. He argued that these employees should not be used as leverage in political disputes: “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 employees represented by its affiliate, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM), which covers about 110,000 federal workers across the United States.
Bryant also highlighted that government shutdowns can have severe impacts on private sector contract workers who often do not receive back pay once work resumes: “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.”
