Former Bath Iron Works pipefitter installed as new leader of international union

Bryan Bryant is sworn in as the new president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Courtesy of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

A former Bath Iron Works pipefitter has been installed as president of one of the largest labor unions in North America.

Brian Bryant was sworn in Friday as the new leader of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents about 600,000 active and retired workers in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam. It’s the parent union of Machinists Union Local S6, which represents about 4,250 of BIW’s 6,500 workers.

“As a third-generation union member who began this journey building ships in Bath, Maine, this is truly a moment I will never forget,” Bryant said during a ceremony at the union’s headquarters in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. “Thank you for this opportunity to continue your fight. We will not let you down.”

Bryant is the union’s 15th president. He replaced Robert Martinez Jr., who retired.

“Brian Bryant knows what it means to lead,” Martinez said. “He has a vision for the future to engage and inspire our membership.”

Bryant joined Local S6 in 1989 and was elected shop steward, trustee and eventually president. He was elected a directing business representative of the Machinists Union in 1998 and went on to hold a variety of positions, most recently general vice president.

Bryant credited his father, who worked as a union print operator for 44 years at a Maine paper mill.

“He showed me the value of a union contract and gave me his work ethic,” he said.

The Machinists Union was founded in 1888 when a group of machinists earning 20-25 cents an hour for a 10-hour day met in a locomotive pit in Atlanta, Georgia, and voted to unionize. Today, the union represents workers at companies like Boeing, Harley-Davidson and Southwest Airlines.

“Time after time, in our 135-year history, it has been our membership who has answered the call to transform our union. And today, we find ourselves at another inflection point,” Bryant said. “We will advance our unionizing efforts to bring those who want and need a union contract into the (Machinists Union). We are growing in our core industries, and we are expanding in new ones like health care, nonprofits and more.

“We are going to examine how we brand our union and how we can reach an even greater number of current and prospective members.”

He said the union has recently instituted new programs to assist veterans, those struggling with drug addiction and the next generation of women executives.

“We know this is just the tip of the spear. We know the world is changing,” he said. “(As) the right to vote and the sanctity of our elections are trampled on, our union democracy is threatened, too.

“Our task is great; the journey will not be easy and there will be challenges along the way just like there have always been. But we have each other, and we have a shared purpose.”

He said the union’s finances are the “best they’ve been in decades.”

“We have negotiated industry-leading contracts and taken on employers who stand in our way,” he said.

Local S6 last year approved a new contract with BIW owner General Dynamics that includes pay raises and more retirement contributions from the company.

The Machinists Union represented Brunswick Staples workers in their failed bid to unionize earlier this month. The union is representing one former Staples employee who claimed he was fired for leading the unionization effort.

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