IAM pickets SRI at Joint Base Lewis-McChord

The following press release was distributed Monday by the IAM:

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD (Tacoma, April 9) — The International Association of Machinists (IAM) are conducting informational picketing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The pickets will be up Monday and Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., at the Rainier (Lincoln Street) Gate, and intermittently at the McChord gate at Woodbrooke.

The IAM has been in negotiations with Strategic Resources, Inc. (SRI) for several months, and have filed multiple Unfair Labor Practice charges that allege improper or illegal conduct by the company.  The National Labor Relations Board is currently reviewing the charges.

“We are disappointed in having to set up this picket at the base, but the company has refused to negotiate in good faith,” said Kevin Cummings, IAM Representative heading the negotiations for the union.  “There have been many violations of the National Labor Relations Act.  The company has repeatedly shown up at the bargaining table unprepared to negotiate, failed to coherently respond to legally submitted information requests, refused to meet at agreed times, refused to discuss unsafe working conditions, and have demeaned and insulted the workers who provide their profits.  If not for the blatant disregard for the law, and for their workers, these negotiations would have concluded many months ago.”

The IAM remains committed to negotiating a fair contract that properly addresses the contributions of SRI workers, and continues the high-quality service they provide to our uniformed warriors.

The IAM represents thousands of workers who perform service on military bases across the U.S., it also has more than 700,000 members in North America, and was founded in 1888.