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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
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Rapid Response Feedback Report: We Couldn't be Prouder of Our Virginia Veterans Click here to download a PDF of this Feedback Report We Couldn’t be Prouder of Our Virginia Veterans Virginia becomes the fifth state to pass our Veterans Bill. Our nation is home to nearly 16 million veterans of the Armed Forces. Many have come home and entered the civilian workforce in a variety of occupations and industries. We’re extra proud of those who are USW members and retirees. That’s why in early 2023, Rapid Response partnered with our union’s Vets of Steel program to continue the good work that began in New York, working with state legislators across the country to author and introduce legislation that would require a standardized workplace posting. This posting includes basic information about veterans’ benefits and a way for veterans to learn more about the resources they are entitled to. These resources help to ease the transition back into civilian life and ensure that families and communities are supported after giving selflessly for our country. We are so excited to pass along that Virginia has unanimously passed the bill in both chambers and it is onto the Governor to be signed into law. It is extremely rare for a bill to pass without any opposition, so we know we are working in the right direction to give our veterans the resources they need. Thank you to each and every person that lobbied their legislator to make this happen. We did this together and will continue to work until this law has been passed in every state in the Nation. Well done, Virginia Steelworkers! Honoring these courageous individuals should happen not only while they are actively serving, but also when they return home. Within our union, the “Veterans of Steel” program honors military service and identifies ways to assist veterans and their families in Steelworker-represented workplaces. If you are a veteran, and would like to join Veterans of Steel, click HERE. Larry R. Ray, Director District 8 For additional questions about this issue or ways to get involved in Rapid Response, contact Chad Conley, USW District 8 Rapid Response Coordinator, at (606) 465-6862 or [email protected]. — Feb 28
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Rapid Response Action Call: West Virginia Unemployment benefits are Once Again Under Attack Click here to download this Action Call as a PDF West Virginia Unemployment Benefits are Once Again Under Attack The bill passed the House; Help us stop it in the Senate! For the last two years, our union and our allies have fought diligently to defeat a harmful piece of legislation that makes drastic changes to Unemployment Insurance and threatens the security of every worker in the state. Decades ago, workers fought for, and won, benefits which provide some financial stability during times of unemployment. In a state like West Virginia, that has had historically high unemployment numbers due to extenuating circumstances affecting the state’s main industries, cuts to unemployment compensation are especially harmful. In addition to the Cleveland Cliffs closure we mentioned last week, Appalachian Wood Products has announced it will close. That’s 1,800 jobs lost in less than a week!
“It is simply unimaginable that state lawmakers would consider legislation to reduce the amount of unemployment benefits workers could qualify for, especially considering the devastating news that 1,000 West Virginia workers at Cleveland-Cliffs in Weirton are losing their jobs on top of recent plant and mine closures elsewhere in West Virginia. Legislators should be seeking to help rather than hurt these workers and their families.” - District 8 Director, Larry Ray
Currently, West Virginia does not have a maximum duration of time that a person is eligible to receive unemployment benefits. Instead, it uses a maximum benefit amount to determine how much a worker can receive per year. These current pieces of legislation SB 840 (usw.to/4xf) and SB 841 (usw.to/4xg) would limit and restrict benefits, make 20 weeks the maximum duration of benefits and more to those eligible. West Virginia lawmakers need to do better by these workers. We have to act fast! A vote could come as soon as Wednesday. Click HERE (usw.to/3Li) to find your senator and place a call today. Tell your senator to oppose any legislative push to cut and/or index unemployment benefits. Tell them to reject SB 840 (usw.to/4xf) and SB 841.(usw.to/4xg) Larry R. Ray, Director District 8 For additional questions about this issue or ways to get involved in Rapid Response, contact Chad Conley, USW District 8 Rapid Response Coordinator, at (606)465-6862 or [email protected]. — Feb 28
United Steelworkers Press Releases Feed
- April Update from SOAR Director Julie Stein
- Chemical operators in Ohio vote unanimously to join the USW
- Rapid Response Info Alert: We Want to Hear from You
- Rapid Response Feedback Report: We Couldn't be Prouder of Our Virginia Veterans
- Rapid Response Action Call: West Virginia Unemployment benefits are Once Again Under Attack