IAM Union Launches Workers VS. Billionaires Campaign At Rally In Southern Maryland

HOLLYWOOD, Md. — IAM Union members, labor leaders and workers from across the country gathered Tuesday at the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center to launch a national campaign focused on economic inequality and worker advocacy.

The rally marked the kickoff of the IAM Union’s “Workers vs. Billionaires” campaign, a coordinated series of events planned nationwide in the coming months.

IAM Union International President Brian Bryant framed the campaign as a response to rising costs and growing wealth disparities affecting working families.

“Groceries cost too much. Rent has gone up,” Bryant said during the rally. “Our members are working overtime to break even, while corporations hand out bonuses to corporate CEOs that most working people would never earn in their lifetime.”

Bryant said the campaign will expand beyond Maryland, with national actions planned across industries and regions.

The event, held at the IAM Union’s training and education center in St. Mary’s County, brought together state labor leaders and union members from across North America, including workers participating in leadership and human rights training programs at the facility.

The IAM Union represents approximately 600,000 active and retired members across aerospace, defense, transportation and manufacturing industries, including members at Patuxent River Naval Air Station and Charlotte Hall Veterans Home.

The rally also coincided with the IAM Union’s 138th anniversary, linking the campaign to the union’s founding on May 5, 1888, when a group of railroad workers organized in Atlanta for better pay and working conditions.

Organizers said the “Workers vs Billionaires” awareness effort is intended to elevate worker voices at a national level.

Apple Store Closure In Towson Draws Sharp Criticism

A major focus of the rally centered on the announced closure of the Apple store in Towson, Md., the first unionized Apple store in the United States, which union leaders and speakers tied to broader concerns about worker rights.

Samuel Epps, secretary-treasurer of the Maryland State and D.C. AFL-CIO, called the closure retaliation.

“Let me be clear about what this is. This is retaliation. This is intimidation, and we will not stand for it,” Epps said. 

Epps pointed to Apple’s financial performance in contrast to the decision.

“Apple made $94 billion in profit last year and they can’t afford to let workers have a voice,” Epps said.

Towson Apple Store Organizer Reflects On Store Closure And Labor Fight

Kevin Gallagher, a former Apple Towson employee and now an organizer with IAM Union District 4, described the store’s closure as both a personal and broader labor movement loss. Having worked at the store for nine years and helped lead its unionization effort, Gallagher said the decision to close the location feels less like a business move and more like a response to worker organizing.

“It’s devastating,” Gallagher said. “We poured in years of our lives for this battle, and it feels like an existential threat, because if we can’t win here, it could be the end of organizing at Apple.”

Gallagher emphasized the emotional toll on employees who built strong relationships during the organizing campaign, as well as the practical impact on Baltimore residents who rely on the store for service and support.

“There is a huge number of people who live in the city who will be cut off from an Apple Store altogether,” Gallagher said. “You cannot take public transportation to the other stores.”

According to 2023 data from the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance, about 27 percent of households in Baltimore City had no vehicles available.

Gallagher said the situation represents a critical moment for labor organizing in the tech sector.

“It is clear that Apple did not close the Apple Towson Town Center store because of money,” Gallagher said. “Companies care more about control than they care about money when they fight unions.”

While acknowledging the setback, Gallagher pointed to gains workers achieved through unionization, including protections and severance, and said the broader labor movement will continue to push forward.

“It’s not left versus right — labor rights are civil rights, labor rights are human rights,” Gallagher said.

The Apple store in Towson, Md. is expected to permanently close to the public June 20 and will close to the workers at the store on June 24.

Workers, Wages And Economic Pressure

During the rally, speakers emphasized the role of workers in sustaining the economy while facing increasing financial strain.

Donna Edwards, president of the Maryland State and D.C. AFL-CIO, said workers are responsible for building the nation’s economy.

“Everything that works in this country works because we do,” Edwards said. 

Edwards contrasted worker struggles with growing wealth concentration.

“Millions of workers are struggling to pay for housing versus groceries,” Edwards said. “On the other hand, we have just a handful of billionaires controlling the wealth.”

National Campaign With Local Impact

Organizers said the campaign will focus on organizing efforts, contract negotiations and worker mobilization across industries, including aerospace, manufacturing and transportation, but also health care workers, museums and other non-traditional industries represented by the IAM Union.

Bryant tied the campaign to workers nationally, but also those in Southern Maryland and said, “this campaign is for the Local 4 members of Pax River who fight every day to ensure that their jobs will be there next month.”

Daniel “Ski” Grzemkowski, a business representative for IAM Union District 4 and U.S. Navy veteran, said the issues raised at the rally are directly tied to workforce conditions in Southern Maryland, particularly for workers connected to federal contracts and the defense industry.

Grzemkowski, who represents workers across a region stretching from Maine to Virginia, said IAM Union Local 4 in Lexington Park, Md. plays a significant role in shaping wages and labor conditions in St. Mary’s County. He noted that union activity in the region has helped drive up wage standards for government contract work, while workers and employers continue to navigate a high-cost local economy tied to Naval Air Station Patuxent River.

“Because of Local 4 and the unions in this area, we drive the wage determination for every worker that does a government contract,” Grzemkowski said. “Pax River is a pretty stable base because of NAVAIR, but I also represent a lot of federal workers, and the federal worker cutbacks are severe.”

Grzemkowski said the local base and defense-related workforce is relatively stable due to the presence of NAVAIR, but he pointed to broader concerns around federal workforce reductions, cost of living pressures and the need to attract younger workers into the trades.

“Lately we see a lot more younger people and others trying to get into unions,” Grzemkowski said. “The cost of rent over the last 20 years has tripled, and St. Mary’s County just went over the top when they put NAVAIR in here — we didn’t have enough homes.”

Grzemkowski also emphasized the importance of training and workforce development, highlighting the proximity of the IAM Union’s William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center (W3) as a unique advantage for local workers.

“You couldn’t ask for better training in St. Mary’s County, because we have the W3 here,” Grzemkowski said. “Everybody else has to fly in, we can drive here.”

W3 Center Director Highlights Workforce Training, Economic Pressures In Southern Maryland

Julie Frietchen, director of the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center, said the national campaign themes discussed at the rally reflect challenges facing workers both locally and across industries.

Frietchen emphasized the W3 Center’s role in training and developing union members, noting an increase in younger workers participating in leadership and workforce development programs. She said the IAM Union continues to expand outreach through dedicated initiatives focused on young workers and women in the trades.

“Our training classes have a lot more younger people coming through all the time,” Frietchen said. “We have a women and young workers department that’s dedicated to doing more for educating our young workers,” 

Locally, Frietchen pointed to the union’s presence in Southern Maryland, including members working at Naval Air Station Patuxent River and caregivers at the Charlotte Hall Veterans Home. She also mentioned how the growing gap between wages and cost of living — particularly rising everyday expenses and economic pressure — are being felt across industries and regions.

“People are struggling to afford the basics of just living. It’s more expensive to drive to work, it’s more expensive to buy groceries, and it’s more expensive to turn on your lights at home,” Frietchen said. “It’s the pressure of how much more expensive it is to live versus what we’re bringing home from our employers — we’re in a deficit.”

IAM Union International President Outlines Worker-Focused Agenda

Bryant said in an interview that the campaign is focused on addressing what he described as a structural imbalance between workers and corporations through policy changes and increased worker engagement.

“We’ve got to straighten out the tax situation in this country and start taxing corporations and billionaires appropriately,” Bryant said, “Put back in regulations that protect workers.”

Bryant pointed to tax reform, stronger labor protections and increased funding for federal labor agencies as key priorities, arguing that current policies disproportionately favor corporations and billionaires. He said the campaign is also aimed at mobilizing union members to become more engaged in the political process, particularly in evaluating candidates based on their support for worker issues.

“Fund the different agencies, whether it’s the NLRB, the NMB, and OSHA, so that they’re working for working people and not working for corporations,” Bryant said. “We want to get our members engaged and make sure that they’re voting for people that are going to protect their best interests.”

The agencies Bryant referenced — the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), National Mediation Board (NMB) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) — oversee union elections, labor disputes in industries such as airlines and railroads, and broader workplace safety standards.

Bryant emphasized that wage stagnation, recruitment difficulties and an aging labor pool are workforce challenges being felt across industries and require both employer investment and policy changes to address.

“We’re behind on wages, we’re behind on benefits, and these companies need to step it up,” Bryant said.

Bryant said the campaign is ultimately focused on improving conditions for workers across industries.

“They’ve got to up their wages, they’ve got to up their benefits, and they’ve got to improve their working conditions,” Bryant said.

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