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FROM USW@WORK: The Future of Steel at EVRAZ Pueblo From Rail Lines to Steel Pipe to Rebar, USW Members at Colorado Mill Support Nation’s Infrastructure Needs Chuck Perko is a fourth-generation steelworker who still wears his grandfather’s USW dues-payer’s pin. The president of Local 3267, he works at a mill in Pueblo, Colo., that has existed for more than 150 years. The mill has employed thousands over those decades, providing an economic boom for the entire region. While Perko and his 1,000 USW colleagues in two local unions at EVRAZ Pueblo are rightly proud of that history, the future of their workplace is just as compelling as its past. Construction for a state-of-the-art $900 million long rail mill is ongoing, and the facility is scheduled to begin operations early next year. The mill will have the capacity to produce quarter-mile-long sections of rail that can be used in high-speed train projects. “We will be one of two mills in the country that can produce it,” Perko said. “We definitely stand to benefit from the rail business.” Infrastructure Law That business got a significant boost from the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which included $66 billion in new funding for passenger and freight rail over 10 years. That, coupled with hundreds of billions more earmarked for roads, bridges, waterlines, and other projects, means USW members in Pueblo can look forward to a future of good-paying, community supporting jobs, the kind that the mill has provided for generations. “What this mill does for Pueblo is just amazing,” said Ashton King, who works at the factory with both of his parents. “It’s great being a part of that history, and still being able to make these rails today.” Steelworkers’ Pride While the new rail mill represents the future for members of Local 3267 (clerical and technical) and Local 2102 (production and maintenance), other parts of the mill – where members recycle and manufacture reinforcing bar, known as rebar, steel rod, and seamless pipe – also stand to benefit from the infrastructure law. “It feels good to be a part of something that I know is going to make a difference,” said Theo Garcia, a Local 2102 member and utility man whose family has worked at the mill for three generations. Like Garcia, Rodney Himelrick has worked at the mill for about seven years. And, like his union siblings, he takes tremendous pride in the products they produce at EVRAZ Pueblo. “We’re making a good, strong product that is going to last a long time,” Himelrick said. “It’s going to help America for a long time.” Focus on Sustainability In addition to supplying essential components for the nation’s growing infrastructure needs, EVRAZ Pueblo is one of the world’s most sustainable steel mills. The mill boasts the largest on-site solar field for a U.S. mill, with 750,000 panels providing 95 percent of the plant’s electricity needs. As one of the largest vertically integrated steelmakers in North America, EVRAZ also operates 17 recycling facilities throughout the continent, supplying scrap metal for their electric arc furnaces. The new rail mill – which EVRAZ Pueblo’s senior director of operations Dmitry Belov calls the steel mill of the future – will bring with it the promise of hundreds of jobs and a prosperous future for the company, its workers and the community. Core USW Values That was exactly the idea when, in 2021, USW members mounted a campaign for, and President Joe Biden delivered, a massive $1.2 trillion infrastructure package. The plan was to provide much-needed upgrades to the nation’s roads, bridges, airports, shipping and rail systems, communications, water and utility networks, and other vital programs, while putting more Americans to work in good-paying union jobs that support families and build strong communities. Moody’s Analytics predicts that, by 2025, the new law will create nearly 900,000 jobs, many of them in industries where USW members work. The law also includes strong Buy American provisions to ensure U.S. workers reap the benefits of their tax dollars, an important step as China continues to undercut the North American steel market with cheap, subsidized and often illegally traded products. The infrastructure program – promised but never delivered by his predecessor – was one of several key legislative wins Biden achieved that match up perfectly with the USW’s core values. Those values are reflected in members like Jeff Varner, who has worked at EVRAZ Pueblo off and on since 2013. Varner, now in his second stint at the mill, looks forward to a secure retirement thanks to his service at the plant and his membership in the USW. “I knew that this was an opportunity to support my family,” said Varner, who spends his shifts operating and monitoring activity in the furnace. “How many people in the world get to do what I do every day?” The opportunity to work at a historic and cutting-edge steel mill, while earning strong USW-negotiated wages and benefits, makes jobs at the Pueblo site among the best in Colorado, said Local 2102 President Eric Ludwig. Mary VanGorder, who has worked at the mill for nearly three years, said that between pay and benefits, she received a “life-changing” $32,000-a-year raise from her previous job when she arrived at the mill. “There aren’t many places in Pueblo that can offer what this place has to offer,” said seven-year member Daniel Duran. Besides the solid financial benefits, their USW membership gives workers in Pueblo a voice in efforts to improve health and safety at the plant, a priority that they share with mill management. USW member Rich Darris, who serves on the labor-management safety and health committee, described the group’s efforts as a “symbiotic relationship.” “We work hand-in-hand with the company,” he said. “With the union behind you, there is more of a safety net.” Continuing that collaboration as the future of steel unfolds in the Rocky Mountains, and at similar facilities across the union, means a solid foundation for U.S. manufacturing for years to come, said District 12 Director Gaylan Prescott, whose region includes thousands of members in Colorado and 10 other Western states. “Thanks to the infrastructure law and other federal efforts, we are growing our manufacturing capacity, strengthening our supply chains,” Prescott said, “and USW members are leading the way.” That resurgence is as evident in Pueblo – known as the “steel city” of the West – as it is anywhere in the country. “It is ingrained in this town,” Darris said. “It’s a matter of pride.” Click here to view and download the summer 2024 issue of USW@Work. — Aug 16
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Paige Cisco Prioritizes Health and Safety at Local 689 in Ohio For Paige Cisco of Local 689, fighting for workers’ health and safety is what motivates her every day. Cisco first began working at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Ohio six years ago in order to be closer to her family. Both her parents worked at the plant, and her father was facing cancer for the second time. One thing she knew she wanted to do with her time in the union, especially since the nuclear field can be a dangerous one, was become a health and safety representative. “I don’t want anyone getting sick again like my dad,” she said. “I don’t want anyone else to struggle the way my family has struggled.” Cisco said that many outsiders, and even some atomic workers, believe the only risk of the job is radiation. Chemical exposure is also a concern as workers at the plant tear down old facilities and enrich uranium. “I care about everyone out there, and this new generation coming in has no historical knowledge about the industry and its dangers,” said Cisco. The full-time health and safety representative educates her fellow members every chance she gets, as well as serving as a worker-trainer through the USW Tony Mazzocchi Center. Her team is currently implementing hazard mapping to train everyone across the massive atomic site. Cisco believes this education is vital as the local’s membership continues to grow. “We’re organizing constantly,” she said. “People want to join the union and work here.” Cisco was first motivated to get more involved in the union, particularly the USW Women of Steel Leadership Development Course, from the encouragement of two women in her local. “Watching those two and how they handle things made me want to get involved,” she said. “I want to keep the gate open so more women step up when the older generation leaves. I want to be a mentor the way others were mentors for me.” What Cisco loves most about the leadership program is its focus on comradery and self-care. “What we learn goes beyond the union,” she said. “It’s really about building us up as people and making us the best version of ourselves.” — Aug 16
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Rapid Response: Feedback Report: Great Work, Massachusetts Steelworkers! Click here to download this Feedback Report as a PDF. The legislative session has ended in the Massachusetts statehouse, and we are thrilled to report that we were successful in two key USW issue areas.Protecting Our Job Security and Health and SafetyLast month, you sent over 1,100 letters to your legislators asking that they put Massachusetts’ safety first by stripping out two amendments from an energy bill that would impact both the work our gas workers do and the safety of the communities they serve.Because of your engagement, those amendments did not make it into the bill for final passage. We know this issue will resurface in the next legislative session, so we must be ready to have a responsible plan in place to ensure we are protecting our members as well as the environment. We know both can be accomplished through commonsense and responsible measures.USW members have long led the fight within the labor movement to help both America and the world meet important climate goals, while also creating and maintaining good, family-supporting jobs in our union. However, not all legislation shares these goals, and we have to be sure we have a seat at the table for those discussions. Honoring Our VeteransFor the last four years, the USW has been championing legislation across the country that requires a standardized workplace posting that includes basic information about benefits to which Veterans are entitled and a way to learn more about programs designed to help them. Our veterans often return to civilian life after serving our nation without guidance on how to receive the benefits their service entitles them. This legislation brings us one step closer to making sure their sacrifice is properly honored.We are so happy to share our language was included in the HERO Act (H.4976). This was done through the hard work of our Veterans of Steel siblings and USW members who support them through our lobbying efforts. We will continue to push for the same legislation in every state across the country. These efforts help to ease the transition back into civilian life and ensure that families and communities are supported after giving selflessly for our country This good work never gets done without you. Thank you! — Aug 16
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Rapid Response Feedback Report: Great Work, Illinois Steelworkers! Click here to download this Feedback Report as a PDF. The legislative session has ended in the Illinois statehouse, and we are thrilled to report that, with your help, we were successful in ushering through two bills we lobbied on at the District’s Illinois Lobby Day back in April. Ensuring Fairness in Our Right to OrganizeWhen Illinois voters passed the Workers’ Rights Amendment in 2022, they made it clear that workers’ rights come first. When we get momentum, we take opportunity in it. That’s why we made our next priority the Illinois Worker Freedom of Speech Act, SB 3649. The legislation tackles the growing problem of employer-run “captive audience” meetings where an employer shares their political or religious views with employees who are forced to attend. Meetings often include anti-union rhetoric in an attempt to derail organizing drives. Because of your hard work, SB 3649 has been signed into law in Illinois. This is a massive win for workers and the labor movement! Honoring Our VeteransFor the last four years, the USW has been championing legislation across the country which would require a standardized workplace posting that includes basic information about benefits to which Veterans are entitled and a way to learn more about programs designed to help them. Our veterans often return to civilian life after serving our nation without guidance on how to receive the benefits their service entitles them. This legislation brings us one step closer to making sure their sacrifice is properly honored. We are so happy to share our bill, HB 4757, has now been signed into law! This was accomplished through the hard work of our Veterans of Steel siblings and USW members who support them through our lobbying efforts, and we will continue to push for the same legislation in every state across the country. These efforts help to ease the transition back into civilian life and ensure that families and communities are supported after giving selflessly for our country. This good work never gets done without you, and having your voices front in center in front of legislators has critical impact. Thank you! — Aug 16
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FROM USW@WORK: Rapid Response Activists Deliver Message of Good Jobs and Fair Trade to Capitol Hill Jessie Newson Jr. of Local 7686 led 700 of his fellow USW members on a march and rally in Washington, D.C., this spring as they called on Congress to restore the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, a crucial support system for displaced workers. Newson learned in 2016 how vital TAA benefits can be when he, along with hundreds of his fellow members, endured the idling of the Missouri aluminum smelter where they worked, a casualty of unfair imports. “TAA provided a lifeline for us,” he said. “It helped out union members in a very dark time.” With their workplace now idled again, Local 7686 members are facing similar struggles, this time without any help from TAA, a support system that has been in place since 1962 but which Congress failed to reauthorize for the past two years. Rapid Response Issue For decades, TAA provided a wide array of benefits to workers harmed by illegal trade. Restoring the once-robust program was one of the issues that brought Newson and other members from across the United States to Capitol Hill in May for the 2024 Rapid Response, Legislative and Policy Conference. The event began with two days of speeches, panel discussions, workshops and training sessions designed to prepare members for the focal point of the conference – the third and final day, when members visited their senators and members of Congress to advance the union’s core values. “All the issues that we talk about here, they are all directly tied to legislation or government actions that impact us at the bargaining table,” International President David McCall told the delegation. “You are part of the most effective grassroots program in the labor movement.” Pro-Worker Priorities In addition to seeking the renewal of TAA, members urged lawmakers to support additional funding for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), safe staffing requirements for nursing homes and other important pro-worker legislation. International Vice President Roxanne Brown, who oversees the union’s legislative and policy work, rattled off a list of victories that USW activists played a key role in delivering in recent years. Those wins – which Brown dubbed “epic shit” in her rousing keynote address – include new laws to invest billions in infrastructure, create jobs, rebuild supply chains, reduce health care costs, and save the pensions of more than a million workers, including 120,000 USW members. “These victories have been life-changing,” said Brown. “This will have a massive long-term impact, largely because of all of you in Rapid Response.” Manufacturing Policy Thanks to the strength of the USW’s nationwide grassroots network and how it amplifies workers’ voices, Brown said, the union was able to work with the White House and Congress to achieve a national manufacturing policy for the first time in decades. “This is the industrial revolution of our time, and our job is to make sure that it happens with American workers and American industries,” she said. “Our job is to seize this moment.” That was the goal on members’ minds as they headed to the Capitol, engaging in more than 175 face-to-face meetings with lawmakers and staffers, while providing information on the union’s core issues to the office of every legislator in Washington. Veteran of Lobbying Such lobbying is nothing new for Lloyd Allen, paperworker and member of Local 983 in Augusta, Ga., who said he has traveled to Washington more times than he can count to talk to legislators about the union, as well as on behalf of the Pulp and Paperworkers’ Resource Council. Allen said having face-to-face interactions with representatives is essential to making sure they understand the diverse issues workers face. “It’s important for them to know we’re here,” Allen said. “We have to find a middle ground.” Whether they were from states considered red, blue or purple, finding that middle ground was a big part of members’ connections with legislators. “We’re speaking for everybody,” Newson said. Julie Sweet of Local 912 in Toledo, Ohio, attending her first national Rapid Response conference, led a delegation of members from northwest Ohio to the office of their longtime representative, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, where they discussed trade, occupational safety and health, staffing shortages, and other issues. Sweet said it was eye-opening to witness USW members wielding their collective power. “The passion that everybody has is amazing,” she said. “I really feel like I made a difference, and that’s a great feeling.” While the conference focused on federal issues, Brown was quick to point out that the Rapid Response network is active at the state and local levels as well. Members put a stop to union-busting right-to-work (for less) laws across numerous states, and led the way on issues such as veterans’ rights, unemployment, minimum wages and voting access. Safe Staffing Chad Shepersky of Local 9349 in Minnesota, a certified nursing assistant, said that the fight to achieve safe staffing in health care and nursing facilities would benefit workers and patients, as well as the families of both. Shepersky said chronic understaffing leads to a “chaotic” environment where workers can’t possibly deliver the care that patients truly deserve. “You have to work faster and spend less time with people,” he said. While unionized health care workers can at least try to bargain for better staffing, they’re often faced with a choice between wages and staffing. “There’s only so much money to go around,” he said. District 11 Director Cathy Drummond, who oversees bargaining for the union’s 50,000 health care workers, said improving enforcement of labor laws would help health care providers, and workers in all sectors, achieve justice. “We’re seeing a pattern of employers acting more aggressively,” Drummond said, calling on Congress to fully fund and staff the NLRB so workers’ concerns can be addressed quickly. After a successful day of lobbying, McCall encouraged attendees to return home, talk to other members and encourage them to get involved. “Those conversations have more power than any other form of communication,” he said. --- Click here to read the Summer 2024 issue of USW@Work. — Aug 9
United Steelworkers Press Releases Feed
- FROM USW@WORK: The Future of Steel at EVRAZ Pueblo
- Paige Cisco Prioritizes Health and Safety at Local 689 in Ohio
- Rapid Response: Feedback Report: Great Work, Massachusetts Steelworkers!
- Rapid Response Feedback Report: Great Work, Illinois Steelworkers!
- FROM USW@WORK: Rapid Response Activists Deliver Message of Good Jobs and Fair Trade to Capitol Hill