X-From_: MichaelKoenig at XpressPress.com Thu Apr 26 15:51:12 2001 X-Sender: news at XpressPress.com (Unverified) Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2001 15:45:11 -0400 To: dhenwood at panix.com From: "Xpress Press(tm) News Service" <MichaelKoenig at XpressPress.com> Subject: Machinists Union Supports National Missile Defense Mime-Version: 1.0
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Machinists Union Supports National Missile Defense
Washington, DC -- April 26, 2001 -- /Xpress Press/ -- In the next 15 years, rogue states with chemical, nuclear or biological weapons will also have missiles capable of reaching American cities. Prudence dictates that we pursue a national missile defense system that works, said IAM International President R. Thomas Buffenbarger.
Machinists union members build many of the weapon systems that defend us today, continued Buffenbarger. We want to be sure that Americans living in the cities most at risk Anchorage, Honolulu, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles -- can rest easy in the future.
Complex defense systems like NMD cannot be developed on a political timetable, warned Buffenbarger. It takes time to get the engineering right, time to get the system integration right. That's why the IAM supports a robust, realistic testing program.
Buffenbarger's comments were part of Bombs Bursting in Air, an in-depth look at the national missile defense (NMD) program in the Spring 2001 edition of the IAM Journal. This cover story outlines why it makes sense to build the system and the role IAM members play in its design, building and testing programs.
The IAM is the second largest industrial union in North America, representing more than 730,000 active and retired members in the U.S. and Canada. Heavily concentrated in the aerospace, manufacturing, shipbuilding and airline industries, the IAM maintains one or more agreements with almost every major employer in North America. More information about the IAM is available at http://www.iamaw.org/.
Interview Contact: Matt Bates 301-967-4520 mbates at iamaw.org International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers http://www.iamaw.org/
Link to this story online: http://www.xpresspress.com/news/iamaw_042601.html