Security
Defense contractors that do not have a union contract lack the job security they deserve. By joining the IAM, contractors have the power to negotiate to keep their positions when there is contract turnover. This means you will not have to re-apply for your job under a new contractor or worry about your job security during the bidding process.
Pay
Defense contractors who are IAM members are better compensated than those who are not. IAM members have the legal right to negotiate for better pay, benefits, and working conditions than required by the AWD. Additionally, these terms and conditions of work have to be honored when a contract turns over.
Voice
IAM members working under a service contract have a say in decisions affecting their work, instead of being at the mercy of government, or the company holding their contract. IAM members are able to stand together to negotiate issues affecting their health, safety, and other areas that affect them on the job.
What is the Service Contract Act?
If you are working for a defense contractor, then you are probably working under the Service Contract Act. The Service Contract Act, formally known as the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act of 1965, applies to every contract entered into by the U.S. government, whose principal purpose is to furnish services in excess of $2,500. The Act requires that contractors and subcontractors observe minimum wage, safety and health standards. For non-union workers, the U.S. Department of Labor determines minimum wages by doing periodic wage surveys in the locality in which the Service Contract employees work. Then, they issue a document called, “Wage Determination”. For Union workers who engage in collective bargaining, the wages and benefits negotiated replace and serve as the minimum prevailing wage for that particular service contract. For non-union workers, the same wage determination lists minimum fringe benefits. The Department or Labor has established two rates, a low rate and a high rate. The low rate is rising and the high rate is fixed. For Union workers, fringe benefits negotiated shall become the minimum fringe benefit for that particular service contract.
Defense Contractors and the IAM
Nearly 30,000 defense contractors working under the Service Contract Act are IAM members, including those working on contracts administered by Boeing, Lockheed Martin, L3, Dyncorp, Flight Safety Services and many others. Defense contractors across the country including on Letterkenny Army Depot, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, and Tobyhanna Army Depot have joined the IAM to gain job security, a fair return on their work, and a voice in workplace decisions.
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