Regular Order of Business

HELP US CELEBRATE USW 50TH ANNIVERSARY & EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION EVENT

HELP US CELEBRATE USW 50TH ANNIVERSARY & EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION EVENT

HELP US CELEBRATE USW 50TH ANNIVERSARY & EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION EVENT

Help us Celebrate  USW 50th Anniversary & Employee Appreciation Event <br>

Based out of Cleveland, Ohio, United Steelworkers Local 5000 (often just called Local 5') represents over three hundred members who are the unlicensed crew aboard nineteen Great Lakes freighters, employed by Central Marine Logistics, The Interlake Steamship Company, and Key Lakes Inc. (Great Lakes Fleet). We have one land-based unit with twenty members who service the steel industry employed by Sisco. 

The founding of USW Local 5000 - Great Lakes Seamen was an event produced by two seperate converging streams in the history of Great Lakes labor. The inability of such organizations as the National Maritime Union and the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association to successfully counterbalance the efforts of the United States Steel Corporation and the Lake Carrier's Association to continue operations of lake fleets with open shop labor practices was a characteristic of confrontations between labor and management throughout the first half of the twentieth century. In contrast, the United Steelworkers of America had enjoyed more success in organizing union representation for iron miners and steelworkers. 

With an ability to obtain leverage in disputes with US Steel and LCA that other organizations lacked, the United Steelworkers of America began its organizing campaign in 1951. Strikes could be coordinated for unlicensed crew members of lake fleets along with sympathy strikes by miners and steelworkers to shut down both US Steel and LCA fleet operations.

The United Steelworkers of America became the parent organization for the Great Lakes Seamen's Union and Local 5000 was founded during 1951 in Cleveland, Ohio. With this new and vigorous Local in the city where LCA maintained its headquarters, the Great Lakes Seamen began negotiating contracts with the threat of widespread industry-wide strikes to back their position. The Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation was the first LCA member to negotiate a contract with the new union. US Steel remained the major target for new contract agreements because of its dominant position among lake fleets and its control over LCA.

By 1956 the development of negotiated contracts with other LCA members and the steelworkers' strike of that summer brought US Steel to the bargaining table. In September 1956 US Steel began negotiations with the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association. Contracts with other maritime unions including the Great Lakes Seamen followed. Eventually, major players in the Great Lakes Maritime industry such as Bethlehem Steel Corporation,...

Regular Order of Business

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Wednesday, July-03-19                                   

Release #3

Good day Brothers and Sisters,

We will be holding a STRIKE MANDATE Vote July 9th, 10th, and 11th 2019 from 8am till 8pm. Make sure that you come down to the union hall and get your vote in.  Some of our members are new to the process and some of our members may not be aware of what this process is, so we would like to take this opportunity to explain clearly what a strike mandate vote means.

 Strike Mandate Vote Explained:

A strike mandate vote is NOT a vote to go on strike. Rather, it is a vote to show the employer that you support your bargaining team and the proposals we’ve developed. It gives your bargaining team a mandate to call for a strike, at some point in the future if we need too. Again, a strike mandate vote is “NOT” a vote to go on strike. In fact, history shows that a high “YES” vote in a strike mandate vote tends to reduce the likelihood that a strike will be necessary as the employer will become more likely to work with our bargaining team and make the improvements to the contract you the Steelworkers have asked for. History also shows that a weak strike mandate vote can result in prolonged negotiations and large concessions to current contract provisions.

 Why do we need to hold a strike mandate at this time?

A clear “YES” vote is a major source of bargaining power. For this reason, your bargaining team is unanimous in asking our members to vote “YES” in the strike mandate vote. This will help us in the bargaining process as it will convince the employer to continue bargaining toward a new contract that addresses your concerns.  It tells the decision-makers on the employer’s bargaining team (and the people they must report to) that they must bargain with us fairly, and as equals in the negotiations process.   It makes certain that both parties come to the table with a mandate to bargain a contract, and as such it can speed up the process.

 How is a “strike mandate vote” distinct from a “strike vote”?

There is an important distinction between a “strike mandate vote” and a “strike vote” that is often not fully understood by union members. Indeed, they are often used somewhat interchangeably, sometime erroneously, which adds to the confusion.  A strike mandate vote is (again) the same legal vote (required by The Manitoba Labour Relations Act) as the strike (or ratification) vote, but it has a very different meaning and purpose. Through our strike mandate...