Uniting for a Purpose

Since it’s founding on April 30, 1893, District 15 has been a groundbreaking force in the labor movement in America. At the turn of the last century, District 15 was a key player in establishing many of the working conditions that we take for granted today. Now, as we head into a new century, your District is facing new challenges in the American workplace. As many companies attempt to downsize, export and outsource jobs at the expense of the American worker, District 15 is fighting to protect what we have gained over the past century while opening new opportunities in industries that have yet to enjoy the benefits of union power. We hope that this brief history of the early years of the District will make you proud of the legacy that you have created as a member of District 15 of the IAMAW. The Machinists Union was founded when Thomas Wilson Talbot organized a small group of southern railroad machinists in 1888. By the early 1890’s, several local lodges had been chartered in the New York metropolitan area and District 15 was created when eight lodges from New York and New Jersey united to further empower their members. At this time, the average machinist in New York City earned between $1.80 and $2.50 a day for a 6 day, 72 hour week. Sanitary and safety conditions in the shops were abominable and vacation, holidays and sick pay were unheard of. Thus, the progress we have made at this point is not something that just happened naturally: indeed, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and District 15 played a key role in achieving it.