Jorgensen workers forge union with IAM

The following is crossposted from Machinists (IAM) District 751:

TUKWILA (Aug. 12, 2014) — Workers who forge essential components used on aircraft, drilling rigs and ships have voted to join Machinists Union District Lodge 751.

By a 3-to-2 margin, workers at Jorgensen Forge Corp. in Seattle voted to join the union on Aug. 7. The vote affects more than 100 hourly workers at the company’s plant on East Marginal Way in Tukwila.

The vote came despite what IAM 751 Organizer Loren Guzzone called a “very aggressive campaign against workers who were trying to exercise their federally protected collective bargaining rights.”

The results still must be certified by the National Labor Relations Board. Once that happens, the union will contact the company to request dates to start contract talks. In the meantime, it will continue surveying members to determine their priorities for their first union contract.

The JFC workers are specialists who forge everything from propeller shafts used in ships and submarines to parts used in the aerospace, maritime and drilling industries. Their products are created from stainless steel, aluminum, titanium and other metals.

“The workers at JFC have seen the benefits of collective bargaining, and they want that for themselves and their families,” said IAM 751 President Jon Holden. “I congratulate them, and welcome them to our union.”

Originally formed in 1935 to represent hourly workers at the Boeing Co., District Lodge 751 of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers now represents more than 32,000 working men and women at 50 employers across Washington, Oregon and California. To talk to an IAM 751 officer about how to join the Machinists Union, click here.