The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM Union), which represents 600,000 members across the aerospace, defense, and service contract sectors, is urging Congress to pass the Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act (S. 2963 / H.R. 5657). The proposed legislation would guarantee that federal contract workers receive back pay for wages lost during the ongoing government shutdown.
The bill was introduced by U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), along with Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.). It aims to address the financial hardships faced by thousands of federal contract workers who are furloughed or miss paychecks when the government shuts down.
IAM Union International President Brian Bryant addressed lawmakers in a letter: “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,” Bryant wrote. “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.”
Alongside advocating for swift passage of this legislation, IAM Union criticized what it described as an unlawful threat from the Trump administration regarding withholding back pay from federal workers affected by the shutdown.
The union reiterated its support for all federal and contract workers and called on both chambers of Congress to act quickly to end the shutdown and ensure that working families do not bear its consequences: “The IAM stands in solidarity with all federal and contract workers and calls on lawmakers in both chambers to move swiftly to end the shutdown and pass the bipartisan Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act, ensuring that working families are not left behind.”
