Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Machinists Launch Training to End Workplace Violence and Harassment

Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

A group of Machinists (IAM) staff and officers recently attended a “Be More Than a Bystander” training at the IAM’s William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center in Maryland. These members are the first labor group in the country to receive training from the Ending Violence Association of British Columbia, which teaches participants how to recognize workplace harassment and violence, particularly against women and the LGBTQ+ community.

The objective of the program is to help men understand the impact of gendered violence in the workplace and the role they can have in speaking up.

“It was an honor for me to observe the first Be More Than a Bystander Program,” said IAM Women’s and Human Rights Director Julie Frietchen. “I found it informative and think that we will be able to use this material to make our union even more inclusive and stronger than ever.”