Shift Change: Building Union Power in the Midwest

IAM Union: This is your international president Brian Bryant. I'm doing a second version of our Shift Change, the IAM Unions Podcast. And we are here in St. Louis, Missouri, at the home of District 837, where we've just concluded an IAM Midwest Territory Staff Conference. And we've spent the last couple days here this weekend with our representatives, both full-time representatives at locals. districts and the Midwest Territory staff talking about different initiatives, training, organizing, legislative victories that we've had, and reviewing the best tools that we can put forward so that we can continue to provide the best representation for our members, whether that's in collective bargaining or grievance handling or organizing. the that was what this staff conference was was all about. and I'm joined by the Midwest Territory's General Vice President Sam Sissonelli. And then we're also joined by International Representative Ronnie Gonzalez. and we're gonna get into a lot of great things that are happened in the in the Midwest Territory. and they're important things that we wanted to make sure all of our members can hear about. so I thought I'd start off with the general vice president for the Midwest Territory, Sam Sissonelli. Sam, how long you've been a a general vice president? three years now. Three years. So let's start actually the beginning of your career. When did you when did you start in the IAM? I initiated in nineteen eighty eight. So I'm a thirty eight year proud IAM member. Thirty-eight years. How did you get your start? Started as a Cadillac and a GM C tech back in eighty eight and worked my way up while I was working as also a officer on the executive board, vice president. Excellent. So You know, tell the t tell our members a little bit. What what made you want to get involved in the union? While I was in the shop, I was always the outspoken thorn in management side that was always sticking up for somebody, had the contract and you know, if they picked on somebody in the shop. It's kind of my obligation to say, you know, you know he can't they can't do that to you and I don't wanna rock the boat and I would rock the boat on his behalf and the rep. at the time that service that location asked me to step up a little bit more to be the steward and and it's it was like a euphoric drug for me. It was like the more I I helped others, the better I felt. You got the bug. Yeah. I think you and and many others myself would would talk about that, that once you've been able to win a grievance for that member, it just gives you that that feeling of I want to do more in the union. What w what else did you do in your local? I served as a organizer. they hired me full time then in to 2000. then as as a business rep thereafter. after that the ADBR and then the DBR for the next eleven years. Eleven years. Yeah. And then you joined the you joined the executive council in twenty four? Twenty three. Twenty three. January twenty three. You know, really from the get go, we've always kind of talked about From the Executive Council during our council meetings. We've talked about different ways that we can communicate with our members and such. And and I know you've always been a proponent on podcasts. You've you've you've bragged about the podcasts that happen in your territory from the different locals and districts. you know, what makes you such a believer in the podcast? Well, I think everybody on staff has heard Countless times our members saying, you know, I pay you the union dues. What do I get for the dues? Right. You can't be in the shop every week to disclose what happened. plus you also want a can a membership connection constantly, right? So they always are are mindful of what's going on in the union. so whether it's day-to-day happenings through the local, informing them of the membership meetings, Letting them know where their dues dollars go. So if you negotiate an industry leading contract, you want to brag about that, right? if you w win a arbitration and you get somebody their job back with back pay, you want to you wanna talk about that and and and dispel the, you know, what do I get for my union dues concept too. So during organizing campaigns, you know, if you're an organizer, you know exactly the the captive audience meetings that the company has. they they have their ear throughout the day. Why can't we have their ear? We could do a podcast and we could debunk all of their their baloney the hysteria by letting them know, you know, a lot of our members, they wear air air pods, they listen to different things, especially during an organizing campaign, talk about the calm, calm, calm things down to let them know what they're telling you is not actually factual, right? So we want to factually communicate with our members. also during strikes. it's a uncertain time. There's a lot of uneasiness going on. And you wanna you want to let them know, keep them informed of, you know, whether you were back at the table, what happened at the bargaining table. I I I really I mean, I I endured two long term strikes back in twenty seventeen and twenty twenty one. I wish I had this opportunity. to have a podcast. I didn't have a media point in twenty seventeen and it was all the media came to me. how we communicated was Facebook and our website. Our website crashed probably ten times or during the course of that of that strike because that was our only means of communicating outside of Facebook. But Facebook you can't control the message because you have even non-members getting on and creating hysteria and throwing, you know, landmines out there so you have to debunk that, right? So an effective podcast would have been ideal, right? during that time to calm the uncertainty, to let people know Cobra's set to come in, you know, their benefits, you know, e ease the ease the already tumultuous environment. Yeah. And but and what would you say, what would you tell your representatives, your local district that that don't currently have a podcast, Such a I know from the international standpoint, any assistance that anybody would ever need to set one up to to learn the process of what it takes to do one, how to do one, whether you do it live or whether you do it taped and and such. I know we we can provide those resources, but I'm I'm guessing, you know, you're gonna you can do that through the territory as well. I've been beating that drum since day one. In fact I even offered our international reps assistance to help. last year I had a module, an educational module on it, even giving everybody in this room the the the the list of of materials to get. And if anybody needs assistance creating that podcast, we'll dispatch an international rep out there to to show them how to do it. Yeah, let's let's give a shout out though to your international rep, Kevin Murch. He's got he's got one of the best labor podcasts out there with the solidarity effect and I know we're very proud of the work he's doing, getting that message out. The message for working people that resonates with everyone. And thank thank Kevin for doing that and thank him for stepping up and and you know, I would just vouch for what you just said. He can be a he can be a tremendous resource for anybody that wants to start one up and urge everyone to take advantage of it. You know, let's move on. So one of the one of the the big items that you've been discussing this weekend. at this staff conference i is organizing organizing and growth. and I know the Midwest Territory has been you know, playing a a major role for the IAM and in organizing new members. and when I say organizing new members just not just our traditional industries that we always organize in, but even new new industries that we're expanding into. didn't know if you wanted to if you could talk a little bit about some of the The key organizing drives that the Midwest territories had going. Sure. one of the most recent victories was legislation that was just passed for the Uber Lyft drivers, a hundred thousand drivers. that is one of the industries that is outside of the box of the normal traditional groups that we normally go after, right? but let me let me Go back to some of the others that are unique. we're looking when we had Tempest AI that we organized. Chris Tucker actually organized that group from day one. Interesting group. they actually vetted other unions and and interviewed other unions along with us. And they made the determination that they wanted the IAM to represent them, right? So after three or four interviews that Chris had. They made the concerted choice amongst themselves, the internal union already, as far as I'm concerned, that they they they wanted the IAM to represent us. So that's a unique group. And in fact, the success of that contract, there's other locations in one in California and one in North Carolina that are going through organizing drives now as a result of what we did here. few other unique industries are vet techs. We got the Milwaukee Art Museum. We have X-ray Techs. There's teachers in Milwaukee. there's a nonprofit group out of Nebraska that allows disabled people that are trying to find homes. So the all these unique industries, it all boils down to representation, right? I don't care what you do. People want a voice in the workplace, they want to be represented, they want stability in their life. And and how do you get stability? It's in a contract, right? So it doesn't matter, you know, we got graphic art designers that are you know, so whatever the architects on the East Coast, so these are just there's so many industries out there and there's so many unique pockets of of work worker groups. You know, we're working with the local union that has hospitals in the Chicagoland area. There's 40 hospitals that we're working with, the biotech group, very similar to what Tempest AI does, but 40 hospitals that we're working with. those individuals. So again, doesn't matter what craft of work you do, it all boils down to stability, a voice in the workplace and protection. Yeah, and you know, one of the things that's I find very positive and intriguing on the Tempest AI is I think that group really fits the mold of we you know we hear the numbers that unions are at all f all time fav high favorability. And and it's really high with young people. and it's my understanding that that group is a significantly young young workforce. I believe the average age is is well below thirty years old. That's correct. and that's key because that's a that's a that's the next dem that's the next generation of workers that we need to bring into the labor movement. And I know it's not just new industries, I know your your entire territory is still concentrating on our core industries. I know your home Your home local continues to to go after automotive, in other industries. many of your districts they're going after manufacturing and as as well. Because those workers are still there. Those industries are still there. As as much as certain administrations would would like to see that work gone away, it's not happening. it's here in the U US and By God, if it's here in the US, we're gonna organize it because those workers, just like you said, they built they deserve they deserve to have a union and to belong to a union. let's transition though. You talked about the the rideshare victory that we had and we got international rep Ronnie Gonzalez with us. Just, you know, real quick, Ronnie, d if you can tell the folks that maybe listening, s same as Sam, how did you get your start in the IM and how'd you progress through the union? Yeah, thanks for having me. I started out as a Cadillac mechanic also. I was 25 years. I worked at a couple of different dealerships and got involved with the union through a really nasty strike in 2017. Our steward, I was assistant steward, and the steward got fired upon returning to work. And it was just a really long, hard fight. And through that, I ended up leaving the dealership and went to a forklift company. Then I came on board. At seven one as a business rep for a couple of years and I've been at the international now for about a year and a half. About a year and a half. It's been a busy year and a half. Very busy. I don't know either one of you, Sam or Ronnie, let's go back and and and talk about the ride share because that was a that was a tremendous victory for for the drivers here in Illinois. you you've you you did this soon after they did it in Massachusetts. Some might say you guys are actually further ahead than Massachusetts. still a lot of work that needs to be done, but let's talk about it. you know, how'd this get started? So it started early on. I was still a DBR at seven one and and the then General Vice President Galloway said, Are you interested in representing drivers Uber Lyft? I said, I'll I'll take anything. Give me whatever. So I started working on the the campaign with the East Coast was IDG at the time, and started working with them We had some roadblocks with the state AFL and the national AFL because of the independent contractor concept. the building trades were against the single unit employees. So we had some rubs. tried to work it through. I'm on the executive board with the Chicago Federal Federation of Labor, tried to work it through, you know, trying, trying, trying, but they were afraid to go out of out of out of step with the national. Or the state AFL, because the national AFL was against it. So we had some hurdles to overcome, which we just kept hitting roadblocks. Then I came on as a special assistant, and that was my full time assignment from the then then G VP to continue to work with IDG, again hitting the roadblocks. And then it was until Massachusetts started gaining traction. That's when we started gaining traction. So I couldn't run the territory and attend every meeting. So I needed somebody and to Ronnie. and then the meetings just kept coming and coming. I c again I couldn't do the territory responsibility with the entire my responsibility. So it kind of shifted to Ronnie. And that's when Ronnie picked up ninety eight percent of the work thereafter and and masterfully went through the state to get the legislation passed. I'll get Give that to you to talk about. Yeah, we were when I got assigned to it, we were still in Chicago working on a city ordinance trying to improve standards through all rides that would happen in the city. We leveraged the company to a point that we thought we were gonna get the votes and they thought they were gonna get them, but they didn't wanna risk it. So we ended up going down to the state and pushing pursuing legislation just like Massachusetts. We entered an agreement with SEIU Local One. And through that partnership, which is what exactly we did the blueprint from Massachusetts, we met with the East Coast people on a very regular basis. Every Friday, Mike Farterbedian was there, providing guidance and telling me about all the road blocks that he hit. and so we ended up going down to the state and launched a campaign, legislative campaign. We tied in with other unions. Brian Shanahan has strong legislative relationships and help foster that information and connect us with the proper legislators. We found sponsors for the bill. And one of the tactics that I thought was really important was the fact that we brought drivers down every Wednesday that the legislators were in session. And we would have a dozen or so drivers there talking directly to the legislators, telling them what they were actually experiencing, the wage problems, the activations and having the drivers actually tell their story straight to the legislator. I think that was the most crucial part of that campaign was them actually hearing the stories from the drivers. From there, it was very we got all the way till May thirty first and it was very stressful day because it went in the ditch and out and back in several times. they actually pulled our bill and said it wasn't moving. Our lobbyists helped that out and late late in the night we passed the legislation. and it included a per trip fee that would fund the work organization. So very historic and you know, I think it's gonna change the industry here for the drivers of Illinois. Yeah, and the and the governor obvious and the governor signed it. So it's in in law, so now we're now we're progressing to the next step. explain what At what point are we now into where we're going into the organizing phase of of signing these drivers up and such? Right. So after the governor signed it, no cards collected prior to the law being effective would be certified. So we had to wait until we had the governor's signature. Once that happened, we launched a full organizing campaign. we've got between SEIU and local one. Or between SCIU and the IM, we have over forty organizers, different levels, coordinators, leads and brigade members out there hitting the airport lots, hitting the venues and trying to achieve the thirty percent of eligible drivers in the state is what's required to become the certified representative. So organizing full speed ahead right now. Absolutely. Yeah, so our website is AppDriversUnion Illinois dot org. you could send there. We are coming out with QR codes. Well, we have QR codes, but we're gonna have stickers, keychain lanyards, stuff like that. we're gonna distribute them all over the state and make sure our reps, anytime somebody gets in a car, have that conversation about the fact that they have the ability to now join a union and actually have a voice in a workplace where when Uber first came in They were splitting it eighty, twenty and the drivers were getting the large portion and it's flipped and it's upside down right now and their wages are just terrible. I've heard so many stories of drivers saying that they have to work sixty, seventy hours to do what they used to do in forty, and that's just not right. So pointing them to our website, having the conversations, whether you're a passenger or, you know, we've talked to many people, I'm not a driver, but I have a cousin, I have a brother, whatever. There are a lot of people participate in this rideshare economy and we've seen all types of pro professions. Like I met a police officer who had a hip injury and he can't stand anymore. So he does rideshare because he can sit all day long in the comfort of his car, come on and off the app and work the hours that he's comfortable with. So there are a lot of different people in that rideshare economy. No, we're full speed ahead right now. there's a lot of excitement. The drivers are enthusiastically signing A cards. this morning when I checked the numbers we had broke forty five hundred and it's only been a little over a week and a half. Well, that's excellent. So we think we gotta get to twenty thousand, a little over that to be the certified, but we're gonna go for as many as we can get 'cause there's a lot of drivers out there that need this change. We'll get Hey, I just wanna tell you, you know, I'm proud of you, the entire IM's pr Proud of you. what you've been accomplished here and what they accomplished in Massachusetts. They're two of the biggest organizing victories for for organized labor in decades. and and you guys are the face of it. so thank you on behalf of of the IM for everything that you're doing, and gonna continue to do. Cause the most important thing is is that we can bring a voice to these drivers. Anybody that's listening, if you ever have the opportunity to to jump in an Uber. If you if you talk with the driver, you hear generally you hear a common theme with them. you know, and one of the most important is is the is the difference between what they get for the fare and what Uber's getting for the fare. And you know, it's drastically lower than what the Uber's getting. And somehow that's gotta be go back to the driver's advantage. so I know they appreciate everything you're doing. we're gonna bring a victory to these drivers and it's gonna be because of be gonna be because of the Midwest territory. So be very proud of that. Thank you very much, Ronnie. Thank you. It was a team effort. A lot of people put in a lot of hard work and late hours. It is, absolutely. Like you mentioned, Brian Shanahan. he does a tremendous job for the IM in not only in Illinois, but all across state houses in at the in Washington DC. you know Our members don't think we should be involved in politics. but here's a classic example of why we need to be involved in politics, because if we weren't involved in politics, these drivers would never have the chance to belong to a union. So that's why it's absolutely critical. So thank you very much, Ronnie. Thank you for joining us today. Thank you. Thank you. Sam, you know, one of the other there's been a lot of things that you've discussed this weekend. And one of them is key to to you know, to the executive council. you had some discussions around apprenticeships and and training. and I know you've you played a key role in in seven one developing their training facility. didn't know if you want to talk about a little about that because it's it and we should talk about it because it's important. it's it's gonna take the IAM to all new levels when we can expand training and and apprenticeships. Throughout the IM, all across the country, giving our members access and but also given the opportunity for folks that may want to join the IM the the chance to to go through an apprenticeship or go through training. talk a little bit about it if you if you don't mind. I've always been a f fan, proponent of training, whether it's upskill in the current workforce or training. I mean, as a mechanic, one of the biggest things that we would always our members would always complain about is the lack of training that the employer would provide. even learning the trade, when I started I went to school cost at the time in eighty seven was forty grand. Right now it's upwards of a hundred grand to go to the to the training. And if if a union could provide it for a thousand, two thousand dollars just to for uniforms and books, you I I believe you gain a lifelong member that is absolutely loyal to the union for giving him or her the opportunity to learn a trade, to put food on the table, raise a family. so it just it creates a pathway for a career. again, I've always been a a proponent been on every bargaining committee since nineteen ninety four. It took twenty years before We could finally change things at my local to start with a contribution that started actually with the members, because the members themselves thought this was important enough to get in. and then we had to shame the employers into it, right? 'Cause right now there's a shortage and now they realize there's a shortage of technicians. And it's that's by virtue of us telling you for the last twenty five years, invest in your worker. you y you can have a trained individual. You know, so now they're coming to us for that for that skilled technician. Yeah. I mean you know, from mere local, a lot of it was not it wasn't totally, but a lot of it was centered around auto mechanics and auto mechanics and auto tr that ki type of training. You know, what other opportunities would you see in the Midwest for their for you know, to expand so that we have training facilities, you know, whether it's mill rights, machinists or or such. Where So since coming on the executive council, obviously I've been talking, preaching training, training, training and different opportunities. I see opportunities all over the territory, right? You know, in automotive pockets, why couldn't we? And I had this conversation two vice presidents ago and I said every territory should have a training center where we can move move some of our members in and do just exactly what I taught. Teach a career, upskill. and and brought this to you as far as training. you have different industries where utilizing the current training centers that are out there to start growing, right? We could take our training center and we could start bringing in manufacturing. You could start bringing in rail, you could start bringing in aerospace, right in the right here where we're at right now. It's a prime example that covers all of those industries, right? So in talking with that. You're a firm believer in it yourself and you proposed and the executive council decided it's time. It's it's it's our time to make a difference. it we felt so important. We brought on a general vice president that handles strictly training and apprenticeships, right? That's how important this is for us to grow our union and and and bring members into this organization, train and give them that opportunity. Yeah. And for the listeners, you know, at future episodes of this. We will have General Vice President John Holden on 'cause he's heading up our our apprenticeship and training. And you know, he played an integral role in in establishing the Machinist Institute, which is is right up there, ranked up there. It's probably one of the finest, not only in the in the IM, but at the entire the entire labor movement for training aerospace workers in in the on the West Coast in Seattle and in Oregon. And absolutely, we want to expand that all across the country. there's a need and there's opportunity. We should be taking advantage of it. And we'll and we'll talk about that in in future episodes of this podcast. but you s I know you see it in in your territory. you know, you mentioned that the the employers have finally realized that they got a skill b skills based shortage and and they're looking for avenues to get how do we train the next generation of workers. and you've really I've even touched on all the different industries in in the Midwest territory. I think there's a lot a lot of opportunity. I'm glad you discussed it this week with your staff here. and and we just gotta get out there and do the work and and get started. look, there's opportunities out there where we can go after not only state grants, federal grants through the Department of Labor and different agencies with the federal government. The resources are there. We just need to take advantage of So thanks for touching on that. you know, Sam, one of the other things we always we always talk about, the most important thing I I've always believed is, you know, we we n we do need to organize in this union, but we also need to continue to to represent our current members. and I'm very proud of the work that you do in the Midwest Territory, all your locals, districts and your reps here of making sure our members receive the best representation they can get from our union. but there's a lot that goes into that. You know, I explain a little bit maybe from this week, this weekend of this staff conference, what your goal was and what you what you did to to arm our arm our staff, arm our our representatives with the with the latest tools, waitest the latest knowledge, so that they can go out there and and represent our members to the best of their ability. So a lot of the subject matters that we discussed were by virtue of I don't want to say mistakes, but just issues that we've had in the territory and how could we improve, right? Our members pay dues, they want the best representation, we're gonna give them the best representation. They deserve it, right? So all of the subject matters that we discussed will better enhance their current training to provide that service again that our members deserve. Yeah. mean it's everything from benefits, it's everything from current situations that we're dealing with. AI is a big one. you know, all of our employers are are looking for that. What's the next technology that I can get a hold of that unfortunately all they're looking some of not all of but all they're looking for is where can I make the quickest buck and possibly eliminate people. I'm we wanna expand on anything that we've done this week that to Arm our reps with the best information available so that they can tackle it. Yeah, you touched on the AI aspect. I mean it's so new. How do we defend it? How do we better prepare so that we're better positioned to not displace our current workforce or to adapt with the times? you know, w we had by virtue of the PPPWU merging with the IEM, we have and I'll I'll I'll piggyback off of that, an opportunity with a TMRP, the members retirement pension plan, that I believe is going to it it it's going to provide a pension a benefit for those that don't. We have some employers that just refuse to get into a pension plan who lost a pension plan in previous bargaining sessions. this is a supplement to Social Security, your savings, you know, fourth leg. fifth leg to the stool, however you want to look at it. but it's also going to generate interest in the right to work states by increasing our membership and and giving the those members a pension plan. I also look look into with Uber Lyft, right? You have and you've touched on a few of the different folks that that drive that are independent, you know. That's all their income. You could do that for thirty years. And how how are you gonna provide, how are you gonna have a pension? This is gives them an opportunity to have a pension, right? which is is gonna really it's a game changer. It's a game changer for this union. you know, much like the the you know, the the training, you know, you go back to the training with these Uber Lyft drivers. You have some immigrants that come to this country that that's their only source of income. And if they're they're they're s they're having a hard time providing, turn them onto one of our training centers and and and upskill or learn a skill. So now you can actually thrive and survive in a union shop, learn a skill and really provide for your family. There's so many different opportunities. you know, we had a segment on the national plan as well as the upcoming VEP variable annuity plan. So these these are just some of the tools that w I'd like to arm our current staff to let them know put that in their arsenal again to better represent our members. Yeah, and absolutely just another tool to so that our members recognize the value that their their union brings to And you know, I'm thankful thankful the the the merger of of the PPPWU into the IAM brought in sixteen thousand new members to the IAM. but it just didn't bring members. It brought two things. It brought a great relationship that we're gonna be able to work together and build the strength of of both organizations. but it also brought the ability with their pension plan coming into the IM gives the the ability for our members to participate in that. And very thankful for that. And it's I think it's gonna be a game changer for our members. So I'm looking forward, looking forward to the work that you're gonna do on that, getting that out throughout your territory. And we'll progress all throughout the other territories. you know, just as we wrap up, any last words you wanna t wanna say to the members that might be listening? I'd just like to thank the entire membership, the entire staff for your hard work every day, your dedication to our members, continue to stay involved in our union. cheer union, stay engaged. obviously when we stay united, there's nothing we can't accomplish. I'd y Brian, I'd like to thank you for attending the conference. I know that our staff has made several con comments throughout the conference that they they've never seen an international president attend staff conference before and it means a lot to But they thank the council members that showed up. it's just a testament of your dedication towards the members, towards the staff, and we truly appreciate it. I appreciate being offered to attend the podcast and having the ability to sit on a comfortable chair for a few hours. so if you want to ra wrap you know continue on for the next two hours I'm just so on yeah no th thank you Sam but most importantly I want to thank again I want to thank your staff in the Midwest Territory, everybody from the locals to the districts to your your international staff at the Midwest Territory. you know, thank you for welcoming in this weekend. I think it's been a great staff staff meeting, a lot of great information shared. 'cause one of the things that we've always talked about and I'm very proud of for my representatives, it's not a one way it's not a one way action. It's we're t we're sharing information with each other back and forth and that's how we that's how we progress, that's how we grow, and that's how how we better represent our members. So I I want to thank both of you. Ronnie, I to thank you for joining us. Wanna thank you for all the hard work that you've put into the to the Uber Lyft campaign, all the work, whether it was in Springfield at the Capitol or everything from in the city. this didn't happen. This only reason this happened is because of dedication that you had on this. So we very thankful for you. And anything we're gonna be able to do to assist you, in making sure that we're successful in reaching an agreement for these drivers, 'cause that's the most important part is reaching the agreement. We're gonna be there for you. The IM will will be there till the we see this t to the to the end. When those members have a contract that they can be proud of and go out there and celebrate. So I wanna thank everyone for listening. you know, and before we wrap up, I just wanna maybe ask Sam, you know, how's it gonna be feel to drive to Indiana to go watch the Chicago B. I actually considered becoming a Patriots fan, if they do that. Sign him up. Sign him up. I I know it won't be Green Bay. Sorry. Sorry, Andrew. but yeah, no, I'm I'm not looking forward to that if that happens. I don't think it's gonna happen. I think the McCaskies are too money driven. They're looking for the concessionary money. All right. And the only other question I I've got 'cause I did not know this, I knew it about you. Didn't know it about Ronnie. Is is it you can only be a representative out of seven one if you came out of a Cadillac shop? That's it. Correct. No. All right. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you. Again, thank you for tuning in for Shift Change and look forward to future broadcasts of this podcast. I'm Sam Cincinnati, General Vice President. Thanks for tuning in to Shift Change.