1 min read

Season 5, Episode 259

Lack of welders and machinists has created a shortage of shipbuilders

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Guest Name:


Tom Buffenbarger

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AWF Union Podcast 

Machinists Union 

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Tom Buffenbarger, former International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss his recent meeting with U.S. Navy leaders in Texas about the need for more machinists and welders.

Buffenbarger was recently invited to meet with representatives from the Navy in Texas to discuss the urgent demand for machinists and welders. According to Buffenbarger, the U.S. Navy requires 100,000 machinists and welders to meet its current needs. This shortage stems from a lack of manufacturing capabilities that would allow the country to ramp up production of defense materials in case of a national emergency.

The Navy's realization of this manpower shortage has led to a renewed focus on rebuilding the nation's shipbuilding capabilities. However, Buffenbarger emphasized that this is not a quick fix. The training needed to get new machinists ready to take on a job of this magnitude is methodical and will take several years, he explained.

One of the biggest hurdles in addressing this shortage is recruiting people to work with their hands. Buffenbarger noted that schools and industries have not been encouraging young people to consider careers in machining and welding, leading to a large skills gap. He said that one way to improve the gap is to invest in trade skills education and improve the outreach to students in school.

To hear more about the Navy's urgent need for skilled workers, listen to the full episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast.


America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

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