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Local 1557’s Renee Hough reflects on how the union helped her find freedom from abuse Renee Hough has been a member of USW Local 1557 at U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works in southwestern Pennsylvania for 27 years. She works as a utility technician, or loader; it’s a job that Hough loves and that came along at the right time, and saved her life. As Hough prepares to retire in less than two years, she finds herself looking back on her decision to leave an abusive marriage more than two decades ago. At the time, she knew she needed a good-paying job that would provide her the resources to leave and take her kids with her, and her job then as a cook at Denny’s wasn’t cutting it. Then she saw an advertisement announcing that U.S. Steel was hiring in Clairton. It seemed like it was written in the stars, as getting the job would make her a fourth-generation union member. “I needed better pay and security so I could remove myself from that situation,” Hough said. A LIFE-CHANGING PROCESS She got the job and began saving money. Seven months in, she was well on her way when her husband beat her so badly she had to spend a night in the hospital. Hough’s mother convinced her that this incident was a turning point she could not ignore. The next day, Renee moved in with her mother and began the process of divorcing her husband. “I wouldn’t have been able to leave if I didn’t have my job to fall back on,” Hough said. “I owe both the union and my mother so much for that.” What followed was a pain-staking year involving lots of counseling, court hearings, and other appointments. Hough believes unions can and should use their bargaining power to add language into contracts that allows time off for survivors of domestic violence for this reason. Some local unions in recent years have done exactly this, including Local 2699 in Ontario, Canada. The USW’s Raising the Bar on Women’s Health and Safety action guide can be a resource for other locals looking to do the same thing. Hough, who serves as chair of her local’s Women of Steel Committee, believes that this topic needs to be discussed more because of the shame and stigma that can go along with it, especially for men. She also wants other survivors to know they aren’t alone. “If my story helps just one person, then it’s worth it,” Hough said. When she isn’t working, Hough loves to bowl and spend time with her family, especially her three grandchildren. --- If you or a loved one are experiencing domestic violence in the United States, you can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE, or 7233. Additionally, teen survivors of domestic abuse can call Love Is Respect, a dedicated hotline for minors, at 1-866-331-9474. You can also reach out to USW District 1 Assistant to the Director Teresa Cassady, who has offered to be a safe and nonjudgmental ear for members experiencing abuse, at [email protected]. — Apr 11
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April Update from SOAR President Bill Pienta One of SOAR’s Three-Fold Purposes SOAR has identified its purpose as threefold. Per the SOAR constitution, one of the three reasons for our existence is "to engage in political and legislative action." The USW has given us a number of ways to do this. One of the ways SOAR members can be involved is by participating in an online membership survey currently accessible on the uswvoices.org website. Information on how to access this survey is available in the beginning of this newsletter. This survey asks you to identify priorities regarding important issues facing working and retired Americans today. As you know, the USW endorses candidates, not parties. Therefore, candidates must commit to supporting the core issues deemed important by our members. In April, the USW will begin holding town hall meetings to hear from our members so they can weigh in on the matters we consider most important to us. I encourage SOAR members to participate in these meetings when scheduled in your area. In May, the SOAR Executive Board will meet in Washington, D.C., and then participate in the USW Rapid Response, Legislative and Policy Conference. One of the tools SOAR representatives will be armed with when meeting with our elected representatives to discuss the issues our union has identified as a priority is their voting record compiled by the Alliance for Retired Americans, whose mission is "to protect and expand retirement security for all Americans." The Alliance publishes all U.S. senators’ and representatives’ annual and lifetime voting records on key retirement security issues. Learn more about the 2023 Congressional Voting Record on page 11 of this newsletter. SOAR Chapters will soon be asked to get involved in helping to elect candidates whose values best align with ours as a union and who support our position on issues determined to be important by our members. SOAR members can volunteer by attending rallies, making phone calls, helping to write postcards to our members, and writing letters to the editor to ensure our members understand who stands with us on our issues and who does not. The link for signing up to volunteer to write postcards is already active on the uswvoices.org website. Whether taking the survey, participating in a town hall meeting, or writing postcards, SOAR members have plenty of opportunities to engage in political and legislative action. -Bill Pienta, SOAR President — Apr 2
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April Update from SOAR Director Julie Stein Your Union, Your Voice Based on the cover of this newsletter, you've likely concluded that our union is embarking upon another round of the Your Union, Your Voice campaign. Our union first launched Your Union, Your Voice in 2020 to ensure USW members' and retirees' opinions were reflected at every level of our union's work. We circulated a union-wide membership survey and held dozens of town hall meetings, providing valuable opportunities for our district directors, other elected union leaders and staff to hear what was on our members' and retirees' minds. Because this feedback proved so vital in shaping our union’s work, we repeated this effort in 2022 (see the results on page 9 of this newsletter), and it continues to inform our efforts as we head into 2024. Beginning in April, USW districts will again hold town hall meetings in locations across the United States. All USW members, retirees, and families are welcome to attend and participate in these important discussions. Additionally, our union has launched another membership survey to gauge our members' and retirees' views on some of the biggest issues facing working and retired Americans today. You can access the survey here. Town hall meetings will be posted on this website, publicized through our social media channels, and shared by USW districts. Our common values, such as fair pay, safe workplaces, a secure retirement, and vibrant communities, connect us as union members. Please take the time to attend a town hall meeting, participate in this survey, and share this information widely throughout your SOAR chapters and fellow USW retirees and families. — Apr 2
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Chemical operators in Ohio vote unanimously to join the USW Sam Howard has been a chemical operator at Detrex Corporation in Ashtabula, Ohio, for nine years. He and his fellow 20 workers produce high-purity hydrochloric acid for the pharmaceutical, food and beverage, semiconductor, and other industries. As of late February, they are also now all members of the USW after a years-long campaign that reveals the power of persistence. Howard and several other workers first began exploring joining the USW in 2020. The group was forced to run a mail-in vote due to COVID restrictions and endured a heavy anti-union campaign by the employer. As a result, they lost their election by one vote. While the months passed, working conditions worsened. “Everyone quickly realized we had to try again,” Howard said. The workers had stayed in touch with their USW-appointed staff representative and organizer, and decided to hold another union election in February 2024. This time, the victory was unanimous. “We’re going to teach management how to treat us,” Howard said, noting that accountability is what he’s looking forward to the most with a collective bargaining agreement. “No more chaotic schedules and extreme vacation policies.” The new members are in the midst of bargaining committee elections and are enthusiastic about the opportunity to get involved with the union. — Mar 13
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Rapid Response Info Alert: We Want to Hear from You Click here to download a PDF of this Info Alert We Want to Hear from You Please Take our Survey The work we do in Rapid Response always has been and always will be centered around the issues that impact us at the bargaining table and in our workplaces. The legisation and policies we work to push back on or advocate for, center around our union's core issues; collective bargaining, safety and health, job security and trade, domestic economic issues, health care, and retirement security. We know these are our core issues because we know that one hundred percent of our members can agree on them. In 2020, we launched Your Union Your Voice to hear about the issues that matter most to you and share some of our union’s work to impact government decisions. The feedback we have received from these efforts have helped make sure your priorities are reflected in our union’s work. This year, we’re doing it again, and it starts with hearing directly from you. Please take a moment to take our online survey to tell us what issues matter the most to you HERE. We do our best advocating when we arm ourselves with your priorities. This helps us in our work to be better advocates for the issues that all our members agree can make an impact on their working lives. Please take a quick moment to fill out our survey. Thank you for all the work you do each day to make Rapid Response the best grassroots legislative program in the labor movement. — Feb 28