About the Committee on the Future
IAM members from North America recently joined together at the William Winpisinger Education and Technology Center (W3) in Hollywood, MD. Their mission was to build on the resolution passed during the 40th IAM Grand Lodge Convention in 2022.
Resolution 1 created the IAM Committee on the Future (COTF). The COTF committee was established to listen to IAM members and propose new ideas to help grow our union and develop the next generation of IAM leaders and activists.
Last month, the IAM COTF Committee members went through a week of preparing for the official rollout to the entire membership.
The committee members, who equally represent the Local, District, Territorial, and Grand Lodge levels of our union, will travel to locals and districts in every corner of North America to hear from the membership and document their suggestions and concerns.
The committee also heard from several IAM Grand Lodge departments and received a personal thank you from IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr.
“I appreciate the members on this committee for dedicating their time and knowledge to help grow our union,” said Martinez. “Our union has always relied on ideas from our membership, officers, staff, and others to think of new ways to grow. I am extremely proud of the next generation of IAM leaders and activists who will help create a secure future for generations of IAM members.”
Resolution 1 calls for COTF to carry out the following:
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- Hold meetings in at least two cities in each geographic territory.
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- Review our use and allocation of resources at all three levels of the union to determine if they are distributed in a manner to meet our intended goals.
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- Provide recommendations on prioritizing leadership development that reflects the composition of the membership.
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- Review the Business Representative and Grand Lodge Representative structure and evaluate the effectiveness of representing IAM members.
The Committee on the Future shall meet with the IAM Executive Council early in 2024 and report to the 41st IAM Grand Lodge Convention with a full report of their findings and any recommendations for change.
“I am pleased with the ideas coming from the committee members,” said IAM Headquarters General Vice President Brian Bryant. “Everyone represents their territory well, so I am proud to see the efforts to move our great union forward. I encourage members to participate and give their honest feedback during these COTF listening sessions. I hope we emerge a stronger organization after this process.”