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From commercial travel to space exploration, the IAM represents workers across the North American aerospace industry. Roughly 150,000 members build and service commercial and military airplanes, aircraft engines, missiles and rockets, and more.206 These workers are experiencing unexpected and serious climate-related problems.
Like IAM members in air transportation, aerospace workers are feeling the effects of high temperatures. Hotter summers trigger sudden changes to workplace conditions, and many factories are not climate controlled. States like Texas and Arizona, home to thousands of IAM aerospace workers, are hit especially hard. Outdoor heat combines with machine-generated heat, building to potentially-dangerous levels throughout the day. Even workers in indoor facilities often find existing climate control systems overtaxed or ineffective.
Wildfires and pollutants also increasingly degrade air quality on worksites, highlighting the importance of quality ventilation.207 IAM aerospace members are often in close proximity to hazardous materials. In 2020, an investigation at the Boeing Everett plant found that management negligence left hundreds of workers exposed to deadly carcinogens at levels far above OSHA’s “permissible exposure limits.”208 The same conditions that threaten vital infrastructure also increase the risk of chemical leaks and other hazardous incidents. Industry safety standards must account for the immediate effects of climate change and the projected impact of introducing new fuels and production methods.
Climate change is also threatening existing production lines. Storms, wildfires and flooding increasingly damage critical infrastructure and halt production lines.209 In December, 2023, the Pacific Northwest saw deadly flooding that forced school shutdowns, road closures, and work stoppages throughout the region.210 A decarbonization strategy is critical to the sector’s viability, and change in the industry can create new work opportunities for IAM members. “It’s not even a debate when you start to talk about the jobs that will be created to solve the climate [crisis]” says IAM District 751 President Jon Holden.211
206 International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, “Aerospace.”
207 Chang et al., “Chapter 27: Northwest”; Kunkel et al., “State Climate Summaries for the United States 2022.””
208 Riley, “Boeing Workers Long-Exposed to Carcinogen Far above Legal Limits.”
209 Chang et al., “Chapter 27: Northwest.”
210 Clarridge, “Seattle Area Mops up after Record-Breaking Deluge.”
New sustainability practices will shape the future of the aerospace sector. Sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) and engineering practices aimed at aerodynamic efficiency, aircraft mass reduction, and propulsion system improvements are on the way.212 In Europe, for example, trade unions are pushing policymakers to attach labor protections to incentives for SAF production.213 The Inflation Reduction Act authorizes a robust tax credit for producers of sustainable aviation fuels.214 Furthermore, President Biden took executive action, including mobilizing billions in ongoing funding, to catalyze sustainable aviation fuel production.
Companies such as Boeing, Airbus, and virtually all commercial airlines are now committing to electrification and using SAFs to decarbonize operations.215 The IAM can use its membership power and industrial expertise to influence how companies introduce new innovations.
Aerospace workers also have skills that could be applied to manufacturing and other work in emerging industries in the clean energy economy. “Offshore wind is one we have high hopes for,” says Holden. Building out an offshore wind supply chain, for example in the Pacific Northwest, could create new roles for IAM machinists, who can build turbines, ship parts, and maintain machines on production lines.216