The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), representing 600,000 members, has urged Congress to pass the Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act. The bipartisan bill, identified as S. 2963 and H.R. 5657, would guarantee back pay for federal contract workers who have lost wages due to the ongoing government shutdown.
The legislation was introduced following the shutdown by a group of lawmakers including U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, Sens. Tim Kaine, Mark Warner, Chris Van Hollen, Angela Alsobrooks, Rep. Donald Norcross, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick. Their aim is to secure financial relief for thousands of contract workers affected by furloughs and missed paychecks during the shutdown.
In a letter addressed to members of the House and Senate, IAM International President Brian Bryant stated: “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. 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 passage of the bill, the IAM also criticized what it described as an unlawful threat by the Trump administration to withhold back pay from federal workers affected by the shutdown.
The union has called on both chambers of Congress to act quickly to end the shutdown and pass the Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act, emphasizing the need to protect working families from financial harm.
