United Steelworkers Press Releases Feed

  • Steelworkers Join Labor-Friendly Lawmakers and Government Allies to Highlight Pro-Worker Policies
    Steelworkers will stand with those who share our core values, including collective bargaining, affordable health care, infrastructure, workplace health and safety, fair trade, and retirement security.  Recently, USW members joined allies to showcase progress on several of these core values. Health Care and Workplace Accommodations for Pregnant Workers  District 10 Women of Steel Coordinator and Sub-district 1 Director Kelly Weaver in late August joined U.S. Senator Bob Casey (Pa.) and representatives from Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania and the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh to highlight the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which recently went into effect.  The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers to make reasonable accommodations that will make it possible for pregnant workers to stay on the job, much as they would under the Americans with Disabilities Act.  “We had to fill this gap — you might even call it a loophole — that employers could exploit by forcing that pregnant worker to choose between their job and a healthy pregnancy,” said Casey. “No more.”  Explaining the law’s direct impact on workers, Weaver said, “having the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act become law is such a great benefit to pregnant workers everywhere. Instead of forcing pregnant workers out of work and onto an unpaid FMLA leave, now we can require employers to make minor accommodations such as having a chair to sit on, having an additional bathroom break, or having light duty. Pregnant workers will still be able to earn their full wages, take care of their families financially, and continue to have their benefits during this time, reducing the stress in an already stressful situation for some.” Infrastructure, Investments in Union Jobs On August 30, 2023, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited USW District 7 at the Gary, Ind., office. USW members from each major steel local in Northwest Indiana and District 7 staff had an informal meet-and-greet to discuss the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s (BIL) impact on the domestic steel industry.  Our union was instrumental in the passage of the law, especially the inclusion of strong Buy America requirements for federal projects. Buy America laws are a clear statement by our government that U.S. workers should get the first chance to make the iron, steel, manufactured products, and other construction materials purchased with tax dollars.  Specifically, Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor produces the plate used in bridges. USW members at Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor melted and poured all the steel needed for the I95 bridge repair in Philadelphia within three days.  Fair Trade and Organizing  Key allies from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in recent weeks joined USW members in Pittsburgh to highlight the importance of fair trade and discuss strategies for organizing more workers into our growing labor movement.  Leaders from USW District 10 and our union’s Women of Steel (WOS) program hosted several USTR representatives for a tour of U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thompson facility in Braddock, Pa., followed by a discussion at USW Headquarters that touched a variety of topics including trade, collective bargaining, and strategies to protect women and members of the LGBTQI+ community from workplace discrimination, and more. Additionally, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su met with our officers at the USW’s Headquarters on Labor Day and then held a roundtable discussion with workers who were involved in organizing campaigns in the region as well as staff from various unions.  Those in attendance shared stories about challenges they’ve faced when organizing and how private corporations, universities, and non-profits alike employ anti-union tactics. Su assumed the office of Acting Labor Secretary in March, 2023 after President Joe Biden nominated her. She served as the California Labor Secretary from 2019 to 2021, and California Labor Commissioner from 2011 to 2018, overseeing the state’s Division of Labor Standards and Enforcement.  Her relationship with the USW dates back to our effort to help car wash workers organize in California in the early 2000s. — Sep 25
  • Government Shutdown: What Does That Mean for You and Me?
    Click Here to download a printable version of this action call. Every year, Congress must pass and the President must sign funding legislation for the next fiscal year (FY), which consists of twelve appropriations bills. These bills allow federal departments and agencies to withdraw money from the U.S. Treasury for certain activities and services. Unfortunately, Congress has not yet enacted any of the twelve for FY 2024. Each fiscal year begins on October 1. This means the clock is ticking and lawmakers have until midnight on September 30 to pass legislation or the government will shut down.  What is a Government Shutdown?  In a shutdown, federal agencies must discontinue all non-essential discretionary functions until new funding legislation is passed and signed into law. Shutdowns have far-reaching and detrimental consequences for American workers. A government shutdown is not a cost savings measure, in fact, it’s the very opposite.  What is Impacted Should a Shutdown Occur?  • Our Economy: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the 2018-2019 shutdown reduced Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by a total of $11 billion, including $3 billion that will never be recovered. A 2019 Senate report found that the three government shutdowns in 2013, 2018, and 2019 cost taxpayers nearly $4 billion. • Social Security and Medicare: Social Security checks are sent out, but benefit verification and card issuance would cease. Medicare coverage would continue; however, staff overseeing the program will work without pay. • Transportation: Air travel is strained as air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents are limited and work without pay. There will be longer wait lines and increased flight cancellations. • Veteran Services: All medical facilities and clinics through the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) will remain fully operational. However, VA call centers and hotlines cease to function, and the Veterans Benefits Administration public contact services are not available. • Our Military: Military personnel on active duty, including reserve component personnel on federal active duty, will continue to report for duty and carry out assigned duties without pay. • Public Health: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, commonly referred to as the CDC, has to greatly curtail its activities to conduct flu season surveillance and monitoring, support state and local health departments, and update disease treatment and prevention recommendations. • Trade Enforcement: All Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties (AD/CVD) cases and administrative trade reviews cease – leaving bad actors, such as China, to import illegal dumped and subsidized goods. • Worker Safety: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will continue to monitor and respond to workplace emergencies, but any previously planned or random inspection will likely not occur.  The federal investments made by appropriations legislation are the lifeline of our states, counties, cities and towns that ensure the availability of vital services for workers, retirees, our families, and our communities. Averting a government shutdown will prevent significant repercussions on our nation’s economy and the welfare of every individual. United Steelworkers urge a swift bipartisan agreement before the September 30, 2023 deadline.  Stay tuned to Rapid Response in the coming days to see how you can help keep our priorities intact!  — Sep 20
  • The Power of Our Union
    Vern Beck of Local 12775 was at the Indiana State House for a rally in support of teachers when he learned that lawmakers were debating a bill that would help members of his local.  When he took a detour to listen to legislators, Beck found an official with Northern Indiana Public Service Co., which employs Local 12775 members. He convinced company executives to pay for USW Rapid Response activists to travel to the capitol, where they convinced two lawmakers to change their stances on the bill, which passed out of committee by one vote. “That is the power of our union,” International Vice President David McCall told the 700 USW member activists who traveled to Washington, D.C., in June for the Rapid Response, Legislative and Policy Conference. “This work is critical to keeping our facilities operating and our members on the job.” It was the union’s largest gathering of Rapid Response activists and coordinators in a decade. Rapid Response is the USW’s nonpartisan education, communication, and action program. Through the union’s grassroots, nationwide network of activists, it provides members a powerful voice in government decisions in Washington, D.C., in state houses, and in cities and towns across the country. For nearly 30 years, activists in the program have made calls, written letters and visited with officials to lobby for pro-worker initiatives. “Rapid Response,” program Director Amber Miller said, “is a direct reflection of the union’s core values.” Four-Year Hiatus While the 2023 Rapid Response conference was the first in-person meeting for the activists since October 2019, McCall and other USW leaders reminded members that, even though Covid prevented them from gathering, their important work never stopped. In fact, the first day of the event was largely a celebration of several years of USW-led wins. Beck’s effort on behalf of Local 12775 was just one of scores of victories union activists achieved since their last in-person meeting. Since then, members successfully fought to preserve retirement security, secure more affordable health care, protect workers’ rights, ensure fair trade, and enact a host of other policies, while pushing back against attacks on workers that would result in plant closures or jobs shipped overseas. Secretary-Treasurer John Shinn rattled off a long list of those victories, which included passage of the Butch-Lewis bill that secured the pensions of more than a million workers and retirees, including more than 100,000 USW members. Other victories included passage of crucial COVID relief bills, the Biden administration’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure and jobs plan, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS Act, which provided support for U.S. production of semiconductors and other technology vital to domestic supply chains. “These things didn’t happen by accident,” Shinn told the crowd. “They happened because of the hard work of people in this room, and the hard work of the members of this union.” Local, State Victories The USW’s wins on a national scale helped to support the USW’s core values - including creating good jobs, safeguarding workers’ rights, improving health care, and preserving retirement security for  American families. Members also fought at the state and local level to ensure safe staffing in hospitals, support military veterans, pass “Buy America” laws, preserve organizing rights, and other important efforts. International Vice President Roxanne Brown congratulated USW members in Michigan for their push earlier this year in overturning a so-called “right to work” law meant to crush unions by starving them of funds. In other states, including Montana, members successfully blocked passage of the same type of union-busting laws. “We have a lot of wins,” Brown said. “But we have a lot more fights ahead of us.” Those fights include pushing for passage of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would remove barriers to union organizing and increase penalties against union-busting employers, as well as the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act, which would modernize the nation’s trade laws and provide new tools for workers to fight illegal imports. Both pieces of legislation have bipartisan support and were centerpieces of USW members’ conversations with their representatives on Capitol Hill, which took place on the third and final day of the conference. Buril Smith of Local 9231 in New Carlisle, Ind., said he has attended about 20 Rapid Response conferences and he’s still awed each time by the history on display in Washington, D.C. “But you have to remember, this is our house,” Smith said. “This is our city, this is our town.” On a rainy morning as they prepared to head to the Capitol to remind their lawmakers of that fact, USW members received a series of rallying cries from AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer and former USW leader Fred Redmond, along with a dozen labor-friendly members of Congress, about the importance of their lobbying mission. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman said that he owes his career to the Steelworkers, who provided him with his first endorsement. “I’ve carried it with me as a badge of honor ever since,” said the Pennsylvania Democrat, whose home sits across the street from U.S. Steel’sEdgar Thomson Works. “You have a friend with an unflinching devotion to your union.” Capitol Office Visits Dustin Hardisty, of Local 712 in Lewiston, Idaho, works as a bleach operator for Clearwater Paper. He was making his first visit to Capitol Hill as a Rapid Response activist, knowing that he might not always find a friendly ear from his lawmakers. “I’m hoping they will keep an open mind, especially about trade,” Hardisty said as he made his way to lawmakers’ offices. The 11-year USW member was the only activist to make the trip from Idaho, but said he quickly connected with other members from around the country. “It’s awesome,” Hardisty said of watching 700 Steelworkers march to Capitol Hill to fight for workers rights. “It makes you feel less alone.” Fair Trade Fight The issue of trade dominated the second day of the conference, with speakers and panel discussions that emphasized the importance of the USW’s vigilance on unfair imports, both for workers and for the communities in which they live. U.S. House members Frank Mrvan, a Democrat from Indiana, and Bill Johnson, a Republican from Ohio, led a discussion on the subject, and agreed that passing the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 bill was a priority for them and others in the 100-member Congressional Steel Caucus. “China has disadvantaged American workers,” Johnson said. “That is apparent no more so than in the steel industry.” Craig McKey of Local 1899 in Granite City, Ill., said hundreds of members at his U.S. Steel facility have seen the effects of unfair trade first hand over the past two decades. He said that current U.S. trade laws – which require petitioners to prove injury to workers before the government can impose remedies – are badly in need of an update. “The hardship is already there before they can take any action,” McKey said. In-Person Advantage The fact that the conference took place in person for the first time in four years provided an opportunity for Chris Frydenger of Local 7-838 in Illinois and Jill Stough of Local 7248 in Ohio. It was the first time the pair met face to face, despite the fact that their employers’ and their locals’ fortunes are deeply intertwined. Frydenger and his co-workers at Mueller Co. make fire hydrants and other water-distribution products. Their facility utilizes raw materials provided by Stough’s employer, Wieland Chase. In turn, Mueller ships scrap metal back to Weiland Chase, where it is melted down and re-used. “Our orders drive their orders,” Frydenger said. “They’re not successful without us, and we’re not successful without them.” Over the years, pressures from unfair imports have threatened jobs at both locations, but Rapid Response activism on that issue, as well as the push for infrastructure investments and “Made in America” policies, has helped ensure that workers at both sites have bright futures. “That has helped us tremendously,” Stough said of the USW’s work. “Through the years, we have struggled due to dumping.” Positive Public Opinion In the days before they headed to the U.S. Capitol, members took part in training sessions, workshops and discussions aimed at sharpening their lobbying skills and arming them with information to support their work. Shinn made sure members knew that support for unions among American workers is at an all-time high, and that they should use that information when arguing for the PRO Act. Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a partnership between the USW and employers, which advocates for “Buy America” policies and manufacturing jobs, told members that they were heading to Capitol Hill with public opinion squarely on their side. Scott shared statistics from a recent poll that showed that nearly 80 percent of American voters support “Buy America” laws, and nearly 90 percent support cracking down on unfair trade. “They work for you,” Paul reminded members about their representatives in Congress. “You put them there. You are the strength of America.” Pro-Union Policies Jeff Vance, of Local 1155L at Bridgestone Tire in Tennessee, said that the strength of the nation’s pro-worker policies goes hand in hand with his and other USW members’ success in bargaining and organizing. “I strongly believe in representing my local and trying to get the best for my local,” Vance said. “I know that has to be done through legislation.” — Sep 19
  • Union ‘Yes’ at Blue Bird: Workers at Georgia Bus Maker Achieve Major Organizing Victory
    Workers at Georgia bus manufacturer Blue Bird Corp. voted in huge numbers this spring to join the USW, a major organizing victory that gained national attention for its remarkable success in the notoriously anti-union South. It was the largest union organizing win at a manufacturing plant in the region in 15 years. “We’re proud that Blue Bird workers chose to join our union,” said International President Tom Conway. “We’re ready to help them bargain a fair contract that accounts for their contributions to the company’s success.” Preparations were underway for bargaining that first contract as USW@Work went to press, following the election of the unit’s bargaining committee in mid-June. Strong Turnout A month earlier, more than 1,100 of the plant’s hourly workers participated in the election at Blue Bird, with nearly two-thirds voting in favor of joining the USW. For Blue Bird workers like Patrick Watkins, the union election, held over two days in May, was an opportunity for himself and his colleagues to gain a voice on the job and to use the power of solidarity to address urgent concerns including workplace safety and health, scheduling, work-life balance, and fair wages and benefits. “We work hard, and we deserve fair pay, safe working conditions and to be treated with respect on the job,” said Watkins, who served on the volunteer organizing committee. “It was clear that our only path forward was to take our future into our own hands – and that’s what we did when we voted to organize.” Blue Bird, one of the largest bus manufacturers in the United States, employs nearly 1,500 hourly workers at the factory that sits about 100 miles south of Atlanta in Fort Valley, Ga., outside Macon. The USW’s decisive victory was further evidence that U.S. workers are hungry for unions. A recent Gallup Poll showed approval of unions among U.S. workers at 71 percent, a 57-year high. Federal Funding Until recently, however, that support was not as evident in the Deep South, where so-called right-to-work laws and other anti-union statutes are widespread, and employers take full advantage of that environment, making the idea of unionization a particularly difficult and even scary prospect for many workers. In April, the USW filed unfair labor practice charges alleging that Blue Bird management broke federal labor law when it engaged in surveillance and interrogation of workers, as well as in threatening to close the plant or freeze pay and benefits to drag out the bargaining process if workers voted to unionize. Still, the company’s anti-union rhetoric may have been somewhat muted by the fact that the company, which produces low-emission and electric vehicles, is slated to receive an infusion of federal funding through the Biden administration’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure law, the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act to boost domestic production of semiconductors, and the Inflation Reduction Act, which included $370 billion for clean energy initiatives. The legislation included provisions intended to make sure that the laws would result in good-paying jobs for American workers, and that employers who received federal support would not use the funds to block workers’ efforts to unionize. “Blue Bird stands to be a significant beneficiary of the much-needed investment in our nation’s infrastructure,” said District 9 Director Daniel Flippo, whose district includes tens of thousands of USW members in Georgia and six other Southern states, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands. “Blue Bird owes it to taxpayers to respect workers’ rights.” Voices of Support President Joe Biden and other leaders also made a point of voicing support for the Blue Bird workers. Georgia’s two U.S. senators, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, wrote a letter calling on the company to respect its workers’ right to vote without interference. U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, from Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District, and voting rights activist and former Georgia State Rep. Stacey Abrams, also reinforced workers’ right to pursue unionization without interference. “I have been a longtime supporter of the USW and its efforts to improve labor conditions and living standards for workers in Georgia and across the nation,” Bishop wrote in a letter to workers. “For decades, unions have served as an important voice for workers in their fight for fair wages, fair benefits, and safe working conditions via collective bargaining.” In a statement following the election, Biden said the Blue Bird result was just one example of what workers can achieve through his administration’s investments in the future and its support for labor rights. “The middle class built America, and unions built the middle class,” Biden said. “The workers at Blue Bird, and at companies just like it all over the country, are proving the future can and will be built in America. And union workers will be a big part of that future.” Organizing on the Rise Driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and historic job-creating investments from Washington, workers have ramped up union organizing and pro-labor actions across the country in recent years. “This is just a bellwether for the future, particularly in the South, where working people have been ignored,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “We are now in a place where we have the investments coming in and a strategy for lifting up wages and protections for a good high-road future.” With only 4.4 percent of its labor force belonging to unions, Georgia is among the states with the lowest density of union workers. Still, in recent years, the Peach State has been the scene of increased labor organizing. In addition to Blue Bird, the NLRB in 2021 certified an election for about 350 workers at Kumho Tire in nearby Macon, who voted to join the USW. The union also has several other active organizing campaigns in Georgia, South Carolina, and other states throughout the area. Blue Bird worker Craig Corbin, a member of the volunteer organizing committee, said that he consistently heard discouraging comments during the campaign from people telling him that organizing a union in the South was a nearly impossible task. “I even heard I’m going to lose my job,” he said. “But you do it in Fort Valley, you could do it anywhere in the South.” Millions of workers in the South and across the country deserve the wages, benefits and security that unions offer, Flippo said, and, when given true freedom to choose, will vote for them. “Workers at places like Blue Bird in many ways embody the future,” he said. “They’re the ones who are making the investments in our infrastructure a reality, the ones who are building safer, cleaner communities for generations to come.” — Sep 11
  • Labor Day 2023: It's Better in a Union!
    Standing together with co-workers in a union makes a tangible difference you can feel every day. Here are just a few benefits:
    • Workers in labor unions make 18% more in wages than our nonunion counterparts.
    • We are more likely to have health care benefits. More than nine out of 10 union members have access to employer-provided health insurance, compared to 68% of nonunion workers, according to the Department of Labor.
    • We work in safer workplaces. One study found job sites that were unionized have lost-time claims at a 31% lower rate than non-unionized sites.
    • We have more job security—even and especially in moments of economic crisis. Countries where most workers are in a union are among the happiest and healthiest on Earth.
    Watch the videos below to hear how life is better with the USW!  Dartez JacobsUSW Local 9004, USFL Athena GerberUSW Local 9562, United Library Workers Myron BynumUSW Local 9445 Devin GrayUSW Local 9004, USFL     — Sep 3