International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

Despite the secrecy, the order spread beyond Georgia, thanks in part to "boomers", men who traveled the railway lines for work.

According to French, the flywheel represented the ongoing power of the union once it started, and the caliper signified an extended invitation to all persons of civilized countries.

In 1892, IAM signed a contract with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, establishing the first organized shop at a railroad in the United States.

[5] Talbot wanted the union to be a fraternity of white men born in the United States who possessed good moral character.

[6] World War I and wartime production drove membership in the Machinists to 300,000 in 1918, making it the country's largest union.

Initially published weekly by The Machinist, the IAM newspaper, the journal's production was eventually reduced to twice a year, then voted out of existence in 1956.

The second section of the Taft Hartley Act was controversial because it allowed states to pass right-to-work laws, which enabled them to regulate the number of union shops.

The machinists preserved longstanding seniority rules that the company wanted to abolish and achieved a 10 percent per hour raise.

In 1955, under the leadership of President Al Hayes IAM became more of an industrial union; it began to shift from railroad work to metal fabrication.

35,400 IAMAW members in 231 cities grounded the airlines for 43 days finally winning 5 percent raises in three successive years.

As a result of the influx of members from the airlines and the new American space program, the delegates voted to change the name to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers at the 1964 convention.

[15] Also, in 1982 boycott was initiated by the IAM against Brown & Sharpe, a machine, precision, measuring and cutting tool manufacturer, headquartered in Rhode Island.

The boycott was called after the firm refused to bargain in good faith (withdrawing previously negotiated clauses in the contract), and forced the union into a strike, during which police sprayed pepper gas on some 800 picketers at the company's North Kingston plant in early 1982.

Three weeks later, a machinist narrowly escaped serious injury when a shot fired into the picket line hit his belt buckle.

The National Labor Relations Board later charged Brown & Sharpe with regressive bargaining, and of entering into negotiations with the express purpose of not reaching an agreement with the union.

[17] On September 7, 2008, the union began a 57-day strike against Boeing over issues with outsourcing, job security, pay and benefits.

IAM contracts also cover some non-members, known as agency fee payers, which since 2005 have grown to number comparatively just over 1 percent of the size of the union's membership.

[26] In 1980, the union sued the Federal Election Commission for issues surrounding political action committee contributions.

International Association of Machinists Local 831 Hall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa