IAMAW Executive Board to undergo several changes effective January 1, 2024.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23, 2023 – After nearly eight years leading the union, two decades on the Executive Council and more than 43 years of membership, IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. has announced that he will retire, effective Jan. 1, 2024. IAM Resident General Vice President Brian Bryant will succeed Martinez as the IAM’s next international president.
Martinez’s historic tenure as the IAM’s 14th International President includes forging through some of the most challenging moments in the history of the IAM and the labor movement. He is the first Latino international president of a major American labor union in the history of the American labor movement, the first Latino elected to the IAM Executive Council, and the first international president of color in the history of the IAM. READ MORE

IAM Southern Territory General Vice President Rickey Wallace, who has served in the position since October 2018, will retire on Nov. 1, 2023.
“Rickey has been a dedicated and effective leader for the IAM,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “He has grown the membership in the Southern Territory, including the recent organizing campaigns over the last few months totaling nearly 600 new Service Contract Act members. Rickey has stepped up wherever the membership needed his leadership. I am grateful for his friendship, and our union appreciates his dedication and lifetime of commitment. I wish him all the best in retirement.”
Wallace is a dedicated 46-year IAM member who has held a variety of positions in the IAM, including President of Local 1296, Business Representative of District 711, President of the Tennessee State Council of Machinists, President of the Southern States Conference of Machinists, and Delegate to the AFL-CIO National Convention.
In 2015 he was appointed to Grand Lodge Staff as Special Representative and Grand Lodge Representative. In January 2016, he joined the IAM Executive Council as Resident General Vice President and became IAM Southern Territory General Vice President in 2018. READ MORE

IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Steve Galloway has announced his retirement, effective Jan. 1, 2024.
Galloway began his membership in IAM Local 459 (District 77) in 1986 as a brewer at the Stroh Brewery Company in St. Paul, Minn. During his 11 years at Stroh’s, Galloway served as Union Steward, Bargaining Committeeperson, and Bargaining Committee Chairperson. He also served as an Executive Board Member of IAM Local 459 and as District 77 President.
In 1998, Galloway was elected District 77 Business Representative. In 2007, he was elected as District 77 Directing Business Representative.
Galloway also served the membership of District 77 as Chairman of the Machinists, Tool and Die Apprenticeship Committee, Trustee on the St. Paul Auto Dealers Trust Fund, Chairman of the District 77 Health and Welfare Trust Fund, Organizing Director, and Vice President of the Minnesota State Council of Machinists. READ MORE

Longtime aerospace negotiator and leader Jody Bennett will become IAM Resident General Vice President, effective Jan. 1, 2024.
Bennett, a 33-year IAM member, initiated into IAM Local 2771 (District 776) in 1989 as an aircraft mechanic at DynCorps, in Wichita Falls, Texas. He quickly became involved in the union once he and his coworkers organized with the IAM, becoming a Steward, Negotiating Committee Member, Conductor Sentinel, and Chief Steward.
Bennett became a District 776 Business Representative in 2004 and Assistant Directing Business Representative in 2006. In 2012, he joined the Grand Lodge as an Aerospace Department Special Representative before becoming Aerospace Coordinator in 2013. In 2017, Bennett became the Aerospace Department Chief of Staff. READ MORE