Members of IAM Local 4 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River serve the military through good union jobs

The IAM represents the largest number of Service Contract Act employees in the U.S. government of any union. Many of these workers are former military personnel who are making excellent use of their military skills to build civilian careers.

The members of IAM Local 4 in Hollywood, Maryland, are a prime example of those IAM union members with strong unionized workplaces.

“This is actually my first time being part of a union,” said Keiree Martinez, a Local 4 member and Naval Aviation veteran who now works as a civilian for V2X, Inc. at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. “Learning how everything works is a transition from military to civilian life in a union.”

Hollywood, Maryland, is about 2,700 miles from Hollywood, California, but if Top Gun is your favorite military movie, modern-day Maverick and Goose would rely on the members of Local 4 to test their fighter jets long before they ever engage in dogfights. In the opening chapter of the recent Top Gun movie, our hero tried to save the jobs of Project Dark Star workers from inevitable budget cuts. Those kinds of jobs at V2X on NAS Patuxent River are represented by the IAM, and business representative Mark Duval is responsible for the 800 or so workers who keep U.S. Navy pilots flying safely at the base.

“Under the government’s Service Contract Act, unions in certain places can actually set the pay scale for that region, like here in St. Mary’s County, Maryland,” Duval said. “Our members make up the majority of the workers who work on aircraft in that region, so sometimes the pay scale is the result of the good contracts we negotiate for our members. And then we can negotiate benefits and additional paid vacation and also have a say in working conditions.”

Having a say in working conditions can be important. The ability to work in shorts in the unair-conditioned airplane hangars in the summer seems to be a big hit with these union members.

Aircraft mechanic Simon Zolea has been here for about a year, but as a former soldier, he still has the attention to detail and work ethic that requires him to be precise and methodical in his work. There is no rush, because rushing can lead to mistakes.

“One small mistake can cost a lot of man-hours,” Zolea said. “One of the ways the union helps us is by giving us some relief if we’re ever pressured by the company.”

“They advocate for us and work out collective bargaining agreements. They give us better benefits and try to get us more pay at the end of the contract,” says aircraft mechanic Beau Reinhard, who works with helicopters in the HX-21 Blackjack Squadron, which tests and flies UH-1s and MH-53s for the Navy.

“I am very proud of the members of our Local 4 who work every day to defend our country. The IAM has great talent across the nationwide workforce and its union representatives are more knowledgeable about the Service Contract Act than most,” said David Sullivan, general vice president of IAM Eastern Territory. “SCA employees do much better as union members than if they go it alone and hope to understand the complex world of U.S. government contracts.”

Located about 75 miles from Washington DC, the Navy Air Station has planes taking off and landing 24 hours a day, seven days a week. During most of those hours, a proud IAM member goes about his work and continues his service to this nation.

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