United Steelworkers Press Releases Feed

  • Mindful Bargaining: Unions Can Play Major Role in Addressing Mental Health
    The following article was featured in the Fall 2024 issue of USW@Work. Union contracts can be a powerful tool in addressing mental health among members and their families, and USW bargaining committees must push for progress on that issue just as they would any other health care language. That was the central message of a daylong educational program for rank-and-file USW leaders this summer at the union’s education center at Linden Hall in Pennsylvania. Health and Safety For Mayson Fulk of Local 2699-09 in London, Ontario, efforts to improve workers’ mental health are a natural part of the work that USW local leaders do on behalf of all of their members. “We are a health and safety union,” Fulk said, “and that includes our mental health and safety.” Aside from simply providing affordable and accessible mental health care, unions can fight for language on numerous topics that can address members’ mental health needs, including limiting excessive overtime, providing adequate vacation time and paid sick leave, and ensuring safer workplaces free from danger. Dangers in the workplace, Fulk noted, can include both physical hazards and psychological hazards such as bullying and harassment. The threat of both can lead to mental health challenges, but bargaining for affordable health care coverage that takes mental health needs into account is the first step to addressing the issue, Fulk said. “We can tell our members and our employees all we want that mental health matters, but if we aren’t bargaining for access to mental health care that our members can afford, it does no good,” said Fulk, who serves as unit chair as well as local president, co-chair of the District 6 Human Rights Committee, District 6 Trans Liaison and as a member of the international’s 2SLGBTQIA+ Advisory Committee. Common Problem During the Linden Hall program, which was packed with several dozen USW members from across North America, facilitator Waleed Sami, a professor of psychology at the City College of New York, asked participants to raise their hands if they had dealt with a mental health-related issue in their workplace. Every member’s hand went up. “Many of the elements that contribute to better mental health are things that a union can improve,” said Sami, who wrote his 115-page doctoral dissertation on the relationship between union membership and mental health. “Income inequality and poverty exert a profound health and mental health cost on the citizens of the United States,” Sami wrote. But the strong wages and benefits that union membership provides can help to combat those factors, not just for workers but entire communities. Besides good pay, unions, in general, provide workers with increased job security, greater work-life balance, more opportunity for advancement, more flexible scheduling and safer environments than non-union workplaces. All of those factors can be improved through contract bargaining, Sami said. Voice on the Job In addition, unions provide workers with an avenue to address concerns about their working conditions in a way that non-union workers don’t have, which also can lead to improved mental health, said Tom Woodgate of Local 2-585 in Mount Pleasant, Mich. “The contract gives our members a concrete way of managing their lives, working conditions, wages, benefits. Negotiating a contract can be stressful, but not having any contract is more stressful,” Woodgate said. “Having the union gives us the strength to stand up.” In addition to providing a voice for workers, union contracts offer a degree of certainty about the future, Woodgate said, which gives workers feelings of comfort and safety. “There are rules, and the mechanisms of the contract give people stability, and a clear process on how things work,” he said. “This gives people a sense of agency in their workplace, that even in small ways, or not-so-small ways, they can make informed decisions about their lives and livelihoods.” Paid Time Off Specific contract provisions also can contribute to the mental well-being of workers, said Sederick Wilson, vice president of Local 9558 at Howmet Aerospace in Hampton, Va. One of those provisions is adequate bereavement leave so that workers have time to process their grief after the loss of a close loved one, Wilson said. “You really don’t know the impact until you go through it,” he said. Another helpful provision is paid family leave that allows workers flexibility when they are sick or caring for a sick or terminally ill family member. The COVID-19 pandemic brought into stark relief the need for such policies across all workplaces. Still, union contracts are the best way to ensure those benefits, Woodgate said. Employee Assistance Providing workers who are dealing with post-traumatic stress, depression or substance abuse, or who are facing violent domestic situations or other threats, with the support, time off and flexibility they need to change their lives can be among the most important provisions in a union contract, Woodgate said. Many USW locals bargain contract language for employee-assistance programs (EAPs) that offer benefits such as counseling, legal aid, education and training opportunities, child care, financial assistance, housing placement and other help to workers struggling with a host of issues that can negatively affect their mental health. “These types of issues can require a lot of patience and guidance,” Wilson said. In recent years, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has recognized issues of mental health and stress as workplace hazards and begun to provide resources and tools for workers and managers to address those problems. For more information, members can visit osha.gov. Raising the Bar The idea of addressing issues of domestic violence and other forms of abuse through the union’s collective bargaining process led to the creation of the recently updated “Action Guide for Raising the Bar on Women’s Health and Safety,” a handbook to give union leaders tools, including model contract language, to better address members’ needs through bargaining and union activism. In addition to violence and abuse, the guide provides members with help in addressing other issues, including harassment, gender identity, ergonomics, work-life balance, restrooms and change rooms, uniforms, personal protective equipment, and reproductive health. Members can find the guide at: usw.to/raisingthebar. “The job of any union is to recognize the needs of workers and their families and do everything we can to help them meet those needs,” International President David McCall said. “Ensuring the health, safety and security of workers and families is something we should be fighting for every day, in our workplaces and in our communities.” Besides the benefits that their contract language or an EAP may offer, Sami said, unions provide workers with other, less tangible benefits that positively affect mental health, including feelings of friendship and community that may be less prevalent in non-union workplaces. Sense of Belonging Holding union-led events such as picnics, holiday parties, charity drives and other social gatherings, Sami said, can give members a feeling of purpose and a sense of belonging that they may not get elsewhere. “Being a part of our union can give you something to get involved in, a chance to help others around you and in your community, a network of folks across North America that genuinely care about your well-being,” Fulk said. All of those factors can contribute positively not only to workers’ mental health, but that of their families, Woodgate said. “Just having a union,” he said, “gives you hope that things will improve.” — Oct 18
  • 3M Council Strategizes Around Potential Pension Freeze, Health and Safety Improvements
    Members of the USW 3M Council, who met in Niagara Falls, N.Y., on Oct. 8-9, continued strategizing around 3M’s announcement last January that it would freeze U.S. pension plans for nonunion employees at the end of 2028. USW Collective Bargaining, Research and Benefits Director Chad Apaliski expects 3M will try to make changes to members’ pensions, shifting to a 401K structure instead. “Luckily, we have time,” Apaliski told the council, urging them to start planning ways to organize as a united front against the potential push. “This pension issue is unique in that it involves every one of our shops in one way or another.” USW International Secretary-Treasurer John Shinn, who oversees bargaining in the chemical sector, urged the locals within the council to utilize USW resources to educate, communicate and build solidarity amongst their membership around the pension issue. “We need to walk out of here understanding that we need to be united, and we need to engage our members,” said Shinn. “There is never a better time to utilize our strategies and resources at HQ in Pittsburgh to be proactive.” Health and Safety Issues Key Secretary-Treasurer Shinn began the conversation on health and safety by presenting statistics from the USW’s Health, Safety and Environment Department, noting that seven fatalities and 82 injuries have occurred to USW members in the chemical sector over the last 10 years. Of the injuries reported to the USW, more than half were due to exposure to toxic chemicals. Shinn said some sites in the chemical sector lack any substantial health and safety language. “Management says they want to talk about safety, but when it comes down to spending money, they won’t do it,” said Jay Zyduck, a council representative from USW Local 2-0666 in Wausau, Wisc. Members of the council cited accidents like fires, loss of fingers and chemical splashes that could have been prevented with better health and safety training and stricter safety practices. “The company is always going to blame the worker when an accident happens, and we need to hold them accountable,” said Heath Ver Bockel, USW staff in District 7 who services the 3M workers in Wausau. Representatives from the various 3M locals shared ways their unions have improved practices around chemical safety at their sites. Each local union represented in the council had regular health and safety meetings that met quarterly or even monthly. A major point of discussion was how members at the sites have advocated for “stop work authority” so workers are empowered to stop work when conditions are unsafe. “Your industry is dangerous,” said Shinn. “Stop work authority is important to not only us, but to the community.” Shinn to Step Down Shinn informed the council he’d be stepping down as secretary-treasurer at the end of this year, but will continue to work into next year as a special assistant to the president until he wraps up ongoing projects – including chairing the chemical sector – and helps train the next generation of the union’s leadership. “I’m impressed with the council and what we’ve been able to accomplish,” said Shinn. “I take a lot of pride in the work we’ve been doing.” The 3M Council plans to meet again under new leadership in Spring 2025. Stay tuned for announcements regarding a date and location. — Oct 17
  • Hundreds of Members Plot Future with New Bargaining Policy
    The following article was published in the Fall 2024 issue of USW@Work. As president of Local 1327, Jennifer Beard represents the production workers at Domtar’s paper facility in Ashdown, Ark. This August, she got her first opportunity to join her USW siblings from across the industry at the union’s paper bargaining policy conference, where they set a new agenda for their industry and prepared to meet those goals with a schedule packed with training sessions and discussions on the future of their craft. “We have to continue to produce quality products in a sustainable way,” Beard said. “And we must continue to be innovative by finding ways to produce products or ways to use our products that will set us up for a positive future.” Those items were on the agenda for Beard and her colleagues at the four-day conference, which included 500 members from across North America. The union’s 10th paper bargaining conference, with the theme “The Power of Paper: We Matter,” brought together a diverse group of workers from one of the union’s largest sectors. For Beard, the conference offered a chance to network with union leaders from across the USW who, despite working in other states or for other companies, shared many of the same issues on the shop floor. “The conference is a way for us to share commonalities and learn from one another,” she said. Aside from kitchen table issues like wages, benefits and retirement security, the conference included presentations and panel discussions on legislative issues, the sector’s efforts on “Raising the Bar for Women’s Health and Safety,” the importance of adding domestic violence leave language to union contracts, and updates from the union’s global allies in the paper industry. In his role as USW international vice president, Luis Mendoza oversees bargaining for about 80,000 members across 550 paper locals and 30 bargaining councils. Fighting for safer and healthier workplaces for each of those members is the most essential aspect of union leadership, he said. “There’s nothing more important than making sure workers get home safely at the end of their day,” Mendoza said. “Fighting for safer workplaces is our most important mission as union leaders.” In addition to Mendoza, the conference included remarks from International President David McCall, International Vice Presidents Emil Ramirez, Kevin Mapp and Roxanne Brown, and Directors Larry Burchfield of District 13, Donnie Blatt of District 1, Cathy Drummond of District 11 and Daniel Flippo of District 9. Randall Child, president of 9-738 at the International Paper mill in Riegelwood, N.C., was attending his fourth paper conference as a union leader. Child, who represents about 380 members at his mill, said it was important for all members to support the union’s national paper bargaining policy and its 10-point safety action plan for making and converting paper. That plan updated the safety priorities for the sector, such as green-on-green training and mental health awareness, and added more focus items, including developing a program for safe work conversations based on critical hazards and underlying factors. “All of those things are critical to making the paper industry safer,” said Child. “This has historically been a very dangerous industry to work in.” Also critical, Child said, is making sure local leaders employ the USW’s “Raising the Bar” document, an action guide with sample contract language aimed at helping workers experiencing intimate partner abuse, as well as other issues including harassment, gender identity, ergonomics, work-life balance, restrooms and change rooms, uniforms, personal protective equipment and reproductive health. Beard agreed that focusing on those issues would improve the environment for all paper workers. “Working in a male-dominated industry, awareness around women’s health and safety is something we all could use,” said Beard. Having a safety and health program in every shop, with buy-in from both rank-and-file members and plant managers, is critical, Child said. That doesn’t happen without USW leaders who advocate on behalf of their members. “That’s the only way you’re going to be safer is to get the workers engaged and bring it down to the workers’ level,” he said. “It doesn’t happen overnight, but things like the conference, where you get to hear from the entire membership, are essential.” Participants also took part in multiple workshops on relevant topics including health and safety, mental health in the workplace, organizing, collective bargaining, Women of Steel, and the USW’s legislative efforts. The union’s legislative work on the federal, state and local levels can be a key factor in building a strong, sustainable future for the industry, Beard said. “We must be active and pressure our legislators to work with us,” she said, “to advocate and produce reasonable solutions when making policy and regular decisions concerning the paper industry.” In one of the key pieces of business at the conference, delegates voted to adopt the 2024-2026 Paper Bargaining Policy as recommended by the elected policy committee. The new policy amends the previous document that members put in place at their 2021 conference, including updates on retirement security language, successorship language and benefit administration, and improvements in vacation at all levels of seniority. “I hope that all of the conference attendees go back to their locals energized to take what they have learned in the plenary sessions and workshops,” Mendoza said. “I hope that through networking and discussions with other local leaders, they can continue the work they do for their members fighting for the economic security, safety and benefits for all workers in the paper sector.” — Oct 15
  • USW Welcomes 23 New Pediatric Specialty Care Workers in Danville, Pa.
    For Danielle Aunkst, a Registered Nurse at Pediatric Specialty Care Medical Day at Danville, the decision to organize was motivated by a desire to continue to show up at her best for the population of vulnerable children in her care. Aunkst and her colleagues work as RNs, LPNs, childcare workers, and more at a pediatric care center in Danville, Pa. The children in their care have chronic lung disease, genetic disorders, seizure disorders, feeding intolerance, and other medical conditions.After months of organizing and a grueling campaign with an employer that forced workers into two separate union elections, Aunkst and her colleagues unanimously voted to join the USW in August. The tight-knit group of 23 was motivated by their desire to build a better future for the center's health care workers, children, and families. “This is what it comes down to: if we can’t have our own health and safety concerns taken care of, how can we take care of these kids?” asked Aunkst. “We’re trying to care for medically fragile children, and we don’t have paid sick days or affordable health insurance.”Aunkst and her colleagues are most excited that unionizing grants them the voice on the job they’ve desperately needed. They also look forward to bargaining over paid time off policies, affordable health insurance, and various employer-sponsored benefits as they prepare to negotiate their first union contract. “We’re a very close-knit facility, and the employer couldn’t break us down,” said Aunkst. “We care about these kids. They are our main focus, and they can’t take that away from us.” — Oct 15
  • USW Health, Safety and Environment Activists Renew Commitment to the Cause
    The following article was featured in the Fall 2024 issue of USW@Work. Before Christopher Burks and his 325 co-workers at Kumho Tire in Macon, Ga., ratified their first contract in August 2023, they had little recourse to address their concerns about health and safety on the job. Now, after a six-year fight against long odds to join the USW, the members of Local 9008 are working under their first union contract, with health and safety language covering training, a workplace safety committee, incident investigations and other important provisions to prevent recurrence. “It was such a long battle. It was a hard fight,” Burks said. “In our first contract, we didn’t get everything we wanted, but we are better than we were before we started, and we are going to continue to grow.” Not long after that first contract took effect at Kumho, in April 2024, 57-year-old worker Steven Brookins was killed in a tragic workplace incident. If not for the USW contract there, members might not have been able to fully participate in the investigation and aftermath of that incident. Founding Principle It is that work – fighting for workers’ safety and health – that is the bedrock principle of union membership, International President David McCall said in August in his address to almost 1,700 members and guests at the USW Health, Safety and Environment Conference in Pittsburgh. “Health and safety is the foundation of the labor movement,” McCall said, emphasizing the importance of steadfast solidarity when it comes to safety. “No matter what the issues are, it’s about workers. It takes every one of us to make things better.” McCall spoke on the conference’s opening day, just after hosting meetings with acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su, along with Burks and other new USW members from Kumho Tire and Blue Bird bus company in Fort Valley, Ga. Su congratulated the workers on their victories and made the case that having a union to fight for worker protections is the most basic aspect of a good job. “No job should be a death sentence,” Su said. “Every worker should know that they’re going to come home healthy and safe at the end of their work shift.” Protecting Workers Organizing more workers into the union, as USW members have done at Kumho, Blue Bird, the University of Pittsburgh and elsewhere in recent years, is the best way to protect workers, she said. “It happened because you organized, and it happened because you acted in solidarity,” Su said of the recent surge in union activism. “It also happened because leadership matters. Together, we are ushering in a new era of a pro-worker, pro-union America.” Ted Campiso, Rapid Response and safety representative for Local 13-447 in Westwego, La., said that making sure workers are safer on the job is not just a union issue – it also is a political one. “We have to have the right legislation,” Campiso said. “Elections have consequences, and bad things can happen very quickly.” In his address, McCall noted a number of the positive consequences of the Biden-Harris administration’s election in 2020, including new rules limiting worker exposure to silica dust, ensuring safe staffing in nursing facilities, and expanding the rights of workers to participate in incident investigations. Workers across the country made all of those gains thanks to the activism of USW members, McCall said. “We’ve weathered a lot of rough times, but we now have leaders who listen to what our issues are and are sincere about helping us with those problems,” he said. “It’s good to have so many friends who have our backs.” Heat Standard Another victory for worker safety could be on the way in the form of a standard protecting workers from the effects of extreme heat, said James Frederick, a former USW health and safety representative now serving as deputy assistant secretary of labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Frederick spoke to members at the conference about the progress his agency has made since January 2021. The heat standard, which the Biden administration proposed this summer and which is currently in the review process, would cover 36 million workers in both indoor and outdoor workplaces, he said. Joining Frederick in addressing the conference was Steve Owens, chair of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) along with other health and safety regulators. Refinery Tragedy Owens and Frederick led a discussion of the importance of thorough incident investigations, focusing on the tragic loss of two USW members and brothers, Ben and Max Morrissey of Local 1-346, in September 2022 at the BP-Husky oil refinery in Oregon, Ohio. The CSB investigation of that tragedy found a series of failures on the part of refinery management and led the agency to issue seven recommendations to refinery operators, and others, to prevent future tragedies by addressing the safety gaps that led to the fire. “Nearly everything that could go wrong did go wrong during this incident,” Owens said. “The tragic loss of life resulting from this fire underscores the importance of putting in place the tools that employees need to perform tasks safely.” Making sure workers have those tools requires support from the USW, employers, and securing those commitments is one of the most important jobs of a union-management health and safety committee, said USW Health, Safety and Environment Director Steve Sallman. “We are here to do everything we can to prevent this from happening again,” he said. Training and Education For USW members, the work of preventing such fatal and life-altering incidents on the job takes on many forms, including investigating, training workers, inspecting work sites, identifying and eliminating potential hazards, and communicating with members and management about issues of concern. To help members do that work, the weeklong conference provided 303 workshops covering topics such as incident investigation, fatigue, active shooter, whistleblower protections, ergonomics, workplace stress, chemical safety, fall protection, industrial hygiene, cancer in the workplace, reducing toxic exposures, safe patient handling for health care workers, and the first-ever industry/sector breakout meetings. Elaine Stewart, a personal support worker at Cogir and member of Local 8300, said the conference gave her a chance to learn how her fellow health care workers are addressing their on-the-job issues. “I leave knowing other people are going through the same issues of short staffing and workplace violence that we are,” she said. “I know that we can help each other and work together to solve these issues.” Help for Members Campiso said the health, safety and environment conference is one of the most important events for USW members to attend, because it arms local union leaders with the tools and the knowledge they need to make their workplaces safer. “Our union has so many resources, and members need to know about them,” he said. Those resources include assistance with incident investigations, training and education through the USW’s grant-funded Tony Mazzocchi Center, and help in the aftermath of tragic events through the union’s Emergency Response Team (ERT). The ERT provides members and families with immediate aid, counseling, help in investigating root causes of accidents, as well as assistance with legal, financial and other needs. ERT Director Duronda Pope, formerly a member of Local 8031 in Denver, said that even though the work of ERT coordinators can be extremely difficult and stressful, it also can be the most rewarding work union members do. The ERT currently has 62 team members across the United States and Canada. “We advocate for people during the worst time in their lives,” Pope said. “Looking after each other is key, because we are our brother’s and sister’s keeper.” The conference’s second day began with a solemn reminder of why that work is so critical. The conference hall fell silent as video screens displayed the traditional memorial scroll with the names of workers who had their lives taken from them at USW-represented workplaces since the union’s last health, safety and environment conference in April 2023. That memorial, McCall said, is the most important part of the event. “It really is a stark reminder that our work is never done,” McCall said. “We don’t know how many lives we’ve saved. There’s no way to measure it, but it’s work that can never stop, and we can never quit.” — Oct 11