Brian Bryant, International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM Union), has called on Congress to act quickly to prevent a government shutdown. The union represents about 600,000 members, including thousands of federal employees and contract workers.
In a statement released on September 29, Bryant urged lawmakers from both parties to negotiate in good faith and reach an agreement that would provide temporary funding for the federal government. “The IAM Union strongly urges Congress to fund the federal government and avoid a shutdown, which would affect tens of thousands of IAM federal employees and federal contract workers, as well as countless others across our nation,” Bryant said.
He also criticized the White House for reportedly considering using a shutdown as grounds for mass terminations of federal workers. “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,” he stated.
Bryant emphasized that these workers play vital roles in maintaining essential services across the country. “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.”
He highlighted that IAM Union is a diverse organization representing thousands of federal employees through affiliates like the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM), which includes around 110,000 members nationwide.
Bryant also pointed out that private sector contract workers often face additional hardship during shutdowns because they may not receive back pay once operations resume. “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,” he added.
