The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM Union), representing 600,000 members, has urged Congress to pass the Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act (S. 2963 / H.R. 5657). The proposed legislation would provide back pay to federal contract workers who have lost wages during the ongoing government shutdown.
The legislation was introduced by U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), along with other lawmakers including Sens. Tim Kaine, Mark Warner, Chris Van Hollen, Angela Alsobrooks, Rep. Donald Norcross, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick.
In a letter to members of the House and Senate, IAM Union International President Brian Bryant stated: “Through no fault of their own, many of these families faced the reality of missing payments on their mortgages, student loans, school tuition, car loans, health care premiums, daycare, interest fees, and so many other expenses. Today, they are looking down the barrel of a similar fate. Contract workers and their families should not suffer the consequences of a shutdown they had no hand in creating. Dedicated federal contract workers maintain the aircraft, vehicles and systems that keep our military mission-ready and our nation secure. Many live paycheck to paycheck and are among the first to feel the devastating impact of a government shutdown.”
The IAM Union also criticized what it described as an unlawful threat from the Trump administration to withhold back pay from federal workers affected by the shutdown.
The union has called for both chambers of Congress to end the shutdown quickly and pass the Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act to protect working families from financial hardship.
