Strength in Our Core Values from our Rapid Response

Sticking with Our Core Values:
Investing in American Infrastructure

Infrastructure Educational Series – Issue 1

Our union launched a campaign, We Supply America, because we know our nation needs aggressive investment in infrastructure to help revitalize our economy and communities. This became even more clear when the American Society of Civil Engineers released their most recent report card, giving our nation an overall grade of C-.

Rebuilding not only our physical infrastructure – like crumbling roads, bridges, ports and waterways – but also, the social infrastructure of our schools, communications networks and public health services – will both make us safer and put people back to work. Done right, this will also create long-term economic resiliency as we use the materials we make, invest in our domestic supply chains, build on American ingenuity, and provide a secure economic base for generations to come.


What is the Steelworker Connection? Hundreds of thousands of our members stand to benefit from infrastructure investment. Here are just a few examples of how we play a key role in supply chains and depend on reliable infrastructure to make and do the things that move our country:

  • Our Primary Metals Sector – Noranda Alumina, in Gramercy, LA, is the last remaining alumina refinery in the U.S., and is home to our members of USW Local 5702. Each Spring, this facility is impacted by the high-water stages of the lower Mississippi that restricts the import of key raw materials needed for their operation in addition to impacting shipping to customers up the river. Much needed investments in our nation’s waterways will allow this critical operation to remain intact long-term, reduce dependence on China for supplies, and allow them to support our national defense.
  • Our Oil Sector - More than 1,600 USW members at PBF Energy refine fuels to make modern life possible. Their gasoline gets Americans to the doctor’s office, schools, and grocery stores, while their diesel and jet fuel powers trucks, trains, and airplanes, delivering goods to consumers’ doorsteps. The asphalt they produce paves our roadways, whilepetrochemical feedstocks become countless products in daily life, including medicine, , fiberglass, , clothing, building materials, and thousands of other applications.
  • Our Paper Sector – The 112 members of USW Local 1069 at Sappi Westbrook Mill in Westbrook, ME, manufacture specialty papers that service the global market in a variety of goods. Their supply chains rely on infrastructure to source raw materials and service customers. Their business is directly tied to safe, efficient, and well-maintained highways, bridges, railroads, ports, waterways, and airports to move their products.

Although these are just a few examples, as we continue to dig into the work our members do, we are finding that USW members in every corner of our union stand ready to supply the goods and services needed to build up our nation. From the steel, glass, cement, rubber and other building blocks of our infrastructure along with those who make the packaging for them, to those who keep our schools, hospitals, telecommunication networks and other essential services running.