We are the United Steelworkers, North America’s largest industrial union. We’re 1.2 million members and retirees strong in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. We proudly represent men and women who work in nearly every industry there is.
Your bargaining committees met today via video-conference to review the current status of the Libbey bankruptcy. The meeting included both local and international union representatives from each of the USW represented locations as well as representatives from the IAM.
We received a report from our USW technician about the responses we have received from the company so far to our information requests. After filing for bankruptcy on June 1st Libbey proposed to modify our contracts to cut wages and benefits by a combined 22%, including an immediate 10% wage cut. While the company is facing difficult times, a 22% cut is a drastic and entirely unnecessary request, especially when other Libbey employees have taken much smaller cuts and on a temporary basis.
To better understand the basis for Libbey’s bargaining demands, we gave the company an extensive information request on June 4th that included detailed financial and operational records, detailed wage and benefit costs, and information on what other cost saving and restructuring actions the company was taking. Federal bankruptcy law requires the company to provide us with this information. While we have some of the information requested, the company has failed to provide significant pieces of the information requested. For example, we are yet to receive reliable data that shows the costs of both active and retiree health care. Obviously, because the company proposed significant changes to both, we expected the information to be readily available. We will follow up on our first request.
You may be interested to read information that Libbey recently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission about its current status. This document discusses some issues in the company’s bankruptcy process and reviews labor and pension issues.
As we concluded the meeting, we discussed the financial impact of COVID-19 on the company, and recognize that the pandemic played a major role as the bankruptcy’s primary cause. It appears that the market for our products is beginning to come back, and we believe that the company will recover and become profitable in the long term. We also discussed some ideas about several issues to be included in our proposals to ensure our economic security, employment security and retirement security. We talked about a framework for future bargaining and some of the opportunities we could include in bargaining that will benefit us as time goes on. Your support for your committees and our solidarity and determination are key to maintaining and achieving a fair and equitable contract. Stay strong and stay safe, we’ll keep you updated as we proceed.
What is all this stuff I keep hearing about? What is "collective bargaining"? What is a "union" good for? Where does my dues money go?
Why should I be envolved? Why is all this important to me?
WHY SHOULD I CARE?
If you ask yourself any of these questions without finding an answer, I hope that I can provide one for you.
In America, our founding fathers wanted "We the people" to have a say in their outcome. That statement, of course, is a generalized one. It doesn't touch on the reality of whom it was that had that "say" in the beginning as well as it does not define the struggles to equalize the opportunity for all people to have a voice in our society. Those struggles are a part of the ongoing process to "create a more perfect union". It took, and continues to take, many voices to fortify this America as a union, a DEMOCRACY.
Unions are a WORKPLACE DEMOCRACY. Unions vote for their leaders who then having the support of the group, negotiate for the work conditions for its people. This action is referred to as collective bargaining. One person cannot stand up to a corporation but the power of UNITY/SOLIDARITY cannot be defeated. Unions were born out of necessity, and continue today from that same necessity. The basic rights that unions have fought for from the start are continuously today being fought against by greed.
Members tend to talk about the "Union" as an entity that exist without their envolvement.
THE UNION IS ONLY AS STRONG AS ITS ENVOLVED/ ENGAGED MEMBERSHIP!
The best person to protect your job is YOU. Make your voice heard. YOU have the right to have say in how your union dues is being spent. YOU have the right to...
*Join us in fighting back against the layoffs at Essentia Health by signing this call to action! [1]*
*Join us in fighting back against the layoffs at Essentia Health by signing this call to action! [1]*
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[/Join us on Saturday, June 27 for an informational picket in Spooner. We'll be on the corner of River Street and Walnut Street from 10am to 11am/.]
Among the devastation wrought by the Covid-19 crisis – the tens of thousands of lost lives and millions of lost livelihoods – lay a glimmer of hope. Ordinary people stepped up every day to do what’s right, putting the needs of their communities ahead of their own.
Among the devastation wrought by the Covid-19 crisis – the tens of thousands of lost lives and millions of lost livelihoods – lay a glimmer of hope. Ordinary people stepped up every day to do what’s right, putting the needs of their communities ahead of their own.
This is especially true of the brave front-line workers who risked their own lives to ensure we all have the necessary goods and services to continue to live comfortably. No one exemplifies this spirit of shared responsibility, communal sacrifice, and civic mindedness more than members of USW Local 9460, health care workers at Essentia Health.
This is especially true of the brave front-line workers who risked their own lives to ensure we all have the necessary goods and services to continue to live comfortably. No one exemplifies this spirit of shared responsibility, communal sacrifice, and civic mindedness more than members of USW Local 9460, health care workers at Essentia Health.
Join us for an informational picket in downtown Spooner this Saturday from 10-11am. We'll be standing on the corners of River Street and Walnut Street. We'll have signs on hand toh old that say No Layoffs at Essentia!, Honk for Healthcare Workers! and Keep the Call Center in Spooner! Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.
