ABOUT THE WINPISINGER CENTER
The William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center embodies the IAM’s commitment to membership training. The Center’s curriculum is comprehensive and concise and includes programs on lodge administration, organizing, collective bargaining, communications, and arbitration. Participants learn how to navigate the changing workplace, advocate for their fellow members, and stand up to unfair bosses and company practices. They return to their Districts and Locals prepared to lead.
The Winpisinger Center is named for former International President William W. Winpisinger, affectionately called Wimpy, who conceived of a facility where members could come together, share ideas, and learn from instructors and each other. His vision of worker education was considered radical at the time.
The IAM is the only union in North America with a facility dedicated to the education of its membership. After forty years, the Winpisinger Center continues to adhere to the original tenets of President Winpisinger’s vision. Since its opening in 1981, almost 90,000 participants have attended its programs. Because of our commitment to membership training, the IAM is prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st-century head-on and win.
Today, the Winpisinger Center continues its pragmatic approach to education, grounded in the experiences of the membership and field representatives but never losing sight of innovation in curriculum, delivery, and programming. Wimpy would be proud of his namesake institution and the hard work of every participant who has walked through its doors eager to build strength in the labor movement. We can’t wait to see what the next forty years bring.
Brian Bryant
International President
Dora Cervantes
General Secretary-Treasurer
William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center
24494 Placid Harbor Way
Hollywood, Maryland 20636
Phone: 301-373-3300
Fax: 301-373-2860
Bryan Bryant,
Brian Bryant has been active in the labor movement for more than 30 years, initiating into the IAM in 1989 when he joined Local Lodge S6 at Bath Iron Works in Bath, ME. He became the IAM’s 15th International President on Jan. 1, 2024.
Before taking office as International President, Bryant served separate stints on the IAM Executive Council as Resident General Vice President, Eastern Territory General Vice President and General Vice President in the General Secretary-Treasurer’s Office.
A pipefitter by trade, Bryant became active in his Local Lodge serving on various committees, as well as being elected as a Shop Steward, Trustee, and President of Local Lodge S6. He also served on the Executive Board of the Maine AFL-CIO, and in 1998 was elected Directing Business Representative of District Lodge 4.
In 2004, Bryant was appointed as a Special Representative in the Eastern Territory. He was appointed Grand Lodge Representative in 2006 assigned to the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts as well as shipbuilding and repair in the Eastern Territory.
In 2008, Bryant was reassigned to the Eastern Territory office in Cincinnati to handle all National Labor Relations Board activity for the territory. On July 1, 2009, he was appointed to the position of Chief of Staff of the Eastern Territory.
Bryant served in that capacity until being appointed to the IAM Executive Council as General Vice President assigned to the Eastern Territory. On August 1, 2016, Bryant began as General Vice President serving in the General Secretary-Treasurer’s office at Headquarters in Upper Marlboro, Md.
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Dora Cervantes,
Dora Cervantes became the IAM’s 12th General Secretary-Treasurer on August 1, 2015. She is the first woman to direct the IAM’s finances as General Secretary-Treasurer.
Cervantes first joined the IAM Executive Council on July 1, 2013, as the first Hispanic woman to serve as a General Vice President. Cervantes has served as the Assistant Secretary to the General Secretary-Treasurer since 2012. As General Vice President, Cervantes worked in partnership with the General Secretary-Treasurer to administer the IAM’s financial operations.
Cervantes initiated into IAM Local 2198 in Houston, Texas, in 1989 as a Reservations Agent for Southwest Airlines. She served in many capacities for her Local Lodge, including Organizer, Shop Steward, Recording Secretary, and Vice President.
In 1999, Cervantes was chosen to serve as an Apprentice Organizer for Airline District 142 and became a General Chairperson for that District the following year. By appointment from International President Tom Buffenbarger, she served on the IAM’s 2002 Blue Ribbon Commission.
In 2005, Cervantes was appointed to the Grand Lodge staff in the Transportation Department as a Special Representative and was later promoted to Grand Lodge Representative. It was in July of 2012 when Cervantes was selected by General Secretary-Treasurer Robert Roach, Jr. to serve as Assistant Secretary to the GST.
Cervantes currently serves as a National Board Member on the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), is an active member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), is member of United Against Human Trafficking, and also serves as a Trustee for both, the National IAM Benefit Trust Fund and the IAM National 401(k) Plan.
Fluent in English and Spanish, Cervantes helps teach the Spanish Leadership series at the William W. Winpisinger Education Center. She holds a Masters in Work and Labor Policy, and Women’s and Gender Studies from SUNY Empire State College and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Labor Studies from the National Labor College.