Chelsea Mason joins IAM 751 as Legislative & Political Director

The following is form IAM District 751:

SEATTLE (March 20, 2019) — Effective March 11, IAM District 751 has hired Chelsea Mason (Orvella) to serve as Legislative and Political Director. The position became open after Larry Brown was elected to serve as President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

Chelsea has an extensive background in the legislative, political and labor fields that spans more than two decades. Over the years in different assignments, she has worked closely with District 751 on a variety of issues including workforce training, tax incentive accountability, and reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank.

“Chelsea has years of experience serving as an advocate for workers, along with nearly a decade of serving in a Washington congressional office. She grew up in a union family and is passionate about fighting for worker issues,” said District 751 President Jon Holden. “Larry Brown left huge shoes to fill at 751, but we are confident Chelsea brings the knowledge, passion and drive to be effective for our members at the local, state and federal level.”

Chelsea began her career working in Congressman Adam Smith’s office, including serving as labor liaison and senior field representative. From there, she spent three years working for the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO helping union members who were laid-off and facing plant closures to access benefits from the Workforce Investment Act and Trade Adjustment Assistance.

For the past seven years, Chelsea has served as Legislative Director for SPEEA/IFPTE 2001 (Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, which represents engineers and technicians at The Boeing Co.) – a position that had her working closely with District 751.

In addition, Chelsea has focused on workforce development and training in recent years, serving on various state boards to improve training for aerospace and technology related careers. She is the labor representative for the AFL-CIO on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Workforce Information Advisory Council. Recently, she was appointed to serve as the labor rep for the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, a position Larry Brown held for many years.

For the past year, Chelsea has co-chaired the Workforce Development Work Group for the Choose Washington New Middle Market Airplane (NMA) Council to promote designing and building the next plane in our state. In that role, she helped compile a comprehensive and collaborative strategy to support the needs of Washington’s workers and aerospace employers for the future. Just as important, the report showcased the unique training programs throughout our state from K-12 through 4-year universities – showing why our workforce infrastructure is second to none.

Chelsea continually strives to help workers through public policy and legislation.

Chelsea’s devotion to the labor movement and desire to help workers began at an early age – growing up in a strong union household with her father serving as president of the local Longshoremen’s Union.

She graduated from George Washington University with a Bachelor’s Degree in English and is currently finishing up her Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Management.