Brian Bryant, International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), has called on Congress to prevent a government shutdown by reaching a bipartisan funding agreement. The union represents 600,000 members, including tens of thousands of federal employees and contract workers.
Bryant issued a statement emphasizing the need for cooperation between political parties: “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 reported threats from the White House regarding possible mass firings if a shutdown occurs. “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.”
Bryant stressed that federal employees play key roles in maintaining government services, stating: “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.”
IAM includes representation through affiliates such as the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM), which covers approximately 110,000 federal workers nationwide.
The union president highlighted that government shutdowns particularly impact private sector contract workers represented by IAM. According to Bryant: “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.”
