International President Robert Martinez of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is the newest member of the MTD Executive Board. He replaces IAM General Vice President Lynn Tucker who retired last month.
Martinez was sworn in as the union’s 14th international president in January. The Navy veteran began his career with the Machinists in 1980 as a member of Local 776A in Fort Worth, TX, as an aircraft assembler at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth division.
After serving in various positions in his local lodge, Martinez was appointed a staff member for the union’s Safety and Health Department in 1995. Four years later, then International President Thomas Buffenbarger assigned Martinez to serve as the southern territory (which covered 14 states) education representative
By 2003, he was a member of the IAM Executive Council as the general vice president assigned to the southern territory. Ten years later, he became the headquarters general vice president with responsibility over the union’s education and training center and its government employees and aerospace sectors.