The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) announced yesterday that the 2020 IAM Legislative Conference, scheduled to be held May 4-6, 2020 at the Hyatt Regency Washington Hotel, has been cancelled due to concerns about the novel Coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease that it causes. Any hotel and travel arrangements made for this conference should be cancelled.
The National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), an affiliate of the IAMAW, is cancelling all functions that typically happen the week of the IAM Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.
Typically during the IAM Legislative Conference, NFFE-IAM members from across the country descend on Capitol Hill, and spend the week advocating for federal employees and workers at their own specific agencies. Legislative Week is a great opportunity for NFFE-IAM members to meet with members of Congress and their staffs to talk about the great work federal workers do every day and to advocate for fair pay, protection of federal workers’ retirement, protection of federal workers’ jobs, and a myriad of other issues critically important to federal employees.
During Legislative Week in 2019, NFFE-IAM members advocated for a meaningful end-of-the-year pay adjustment, protection of federal employee pensions from $150 billion in cuts included in the President’s Fiscal Year 2020 Budget, saving the jobs of over 1,000 workers at Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers (CCCs) slated for a Reduction in Force (RIF), and establishing a paid parental leave benefit for federal workers. Because of the efforts of NFFE-IAM members on Capitol Hill during Legislative Week in 2019 (as well as advocacy that happened throughout the year), NFFE-IAM members (with the help of the IAM and our other allies in Labor) accomplished all of these things. Federal workers got the biggest raise they have seen in a decade (3.1% average nationwide increase), there were no cuts to federal workers’ retirement, the CCC workers’ jobs were saved, and 12-week paid parental leave benefit for federal employees was established.
“It is truly a shame we will not be able to have our Legislative Conference this year,” said NFFE National President Randy Erwin. “Not only do we get a tremendous amount accomplished for our members on Capitol Hill during that week, but it is also one the biggest gatherings the union holds each year. It will be a real shame to miss out on that this year. Nonetheless, I am glad to see the IAM make the tough decision to cancel the conference. The Coronavirus threat is real, and we simply cannot put members in danger. Cancelling the conference was the right call.”
See Letter from IAM International President Robert Martinez, Jr.