The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) recently elected Boilermakers President Newton B. Jones as chair of its Materials Sector.
The appointment occurred at the organization’s World Conference for materials. The ICEM is compromised of more than 460 unions representing some 20 million workers in 132 countries.
According to Jones, in this age of globalization, international labor confederations like the ICEM will play increasingly important roles. “The best way for unions to effectively stand up to multinational corporations is for unions themselves to become multinational,” he said. “We do that through the ICEM and other international confederations.”