Basic Steel Update 10 Big Win in Health Care 13 Defending Voting Rights 23 Testing for Atomic Workers 24

BASIC STEEL UPDATE 10 BIG WIN IN HEALTH CARE 13 DEFENDING VOTING RIGHTS 23 TESTING FOR ATOMIC WORKERS 24

53243_USW_WORK.indd 1 10/17/18 3:59 PM “THIS DEBATE IS NOT ABOUT FREE TRADE, PROTECTIONISM OR IVORY-TOWER ACADEMIC ARGUMENTS. IT IS ABOUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO REAL PEOPLE. NAFTA’S LONG-TERM IMPACT HAS BEEN DEVASTATING, AND REFORMS ARE SORELY NEEDED.” INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT LEO W. GERARD ON OCT. 1, 2018 AFTER THE RENEGOTIATION OF THE NORTH AMERICA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WAS COMPLETED. CURRENT INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD LEO W. GERARD International president STAN JOHNSON Int’l. Secretary-Treasurer THOMAS M. CONWAY Int’l. Vice president (Administration) FRED REDMOND Int’l. Vice president (Human affairs) KEN NEUMANN Nat’l. Dir. for Canada JON GEENEN Int’l. Vice President STEEL BARGAINING HEALTH CARE 2018 ELECTIONS CAROL LANDRY The USW bargaining committee The Alliance of Health Care Unions USW members are working for polit- Vice President at Large reached a tentative agreement with won across-the-board pay increases ical candidates who are dedicated to U.S. Steel. Bargaining continued for 48,000 employees of Kaiser manufacturing and willing to fight DIRECTORS with ArcelorMittal. Permanente, including 7,300 USW for good-paying jobs. DAVID R. MCCALL 10 members. 19 District 1 13 MICHAEL BOLTON District 2 STEPHEN HUNT FEATURES District 3 SPEAKING OUT TRADE WATCH NEWS BRIEFS JOHN SHINN USW active, retired members and The United States reached updated Time study classes are available. District 4 their families are invited to “speak trade agreements with Canada and Labor unions regain popularity with ALAIN CROTEAU out.” Letters should be short and to Mexico, but more work is needed public. A Colorado labor council put District 5 the point. We reserve the right to to protect the rights of workers and up billboards proclaiming Pueblo a MARTY WARREN edit for length. communities in all three countries. “Union Town.” The USW condemns District 6 03 18 lockout at Bull Moose Tube in Georgia. MIKE MILLSAP 34 District 7 ERNEST R. “BILLY” THOMPSON COVER District 8 USW member Kenny Ramirez uses COMMUNICATIONS STAFF DANIEL FLIPPO advanced equipment to make boxes JIM McKAY WAYNE RANICK AARON HUDSON AND GREG COLE District 9 Editor Director of Communications Graphic Designers at International Paper. USW photo by BOBBY “MAC” MCAULIFFE JESS KAMM BROOMELL, CHELSEY ENGEL, LYNNE HANCOCK, R.J. HUFNAGEL, Steve Dietz. 04 TONY MONTANA, BARBARA WHITE STACK District 10

EMIL RAMIREZ USW@Work (ISSN 1931-6658) is published four times a year by the United Steelworkers AFL- EMAIL: [email protected] District 11 CIO•CLC 60 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. Subscriptions to non-members: $12 for one MAIL: USW@Work year; $20 for two years. Periodicals postage paid at Pittsburgh, PA and additional mailing offices. 60 Blvd of the Allies ROBERT LAVENTURE Pittsburgh, PA 15222 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: USW@Work, USW Membership Department, District 12 60 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 USW@WORK RUBEN GARZA Volume 13/4 Copyright 2018 by United Steelworkers, AFL-CIO•CLC. All rights reserved. No part of this Fall 2018 District 13 publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the United Steelworkers.

2 USW@Work • Fall 2018 2018

53243_USW_WORK_X2.indd 2 10/19/18 10:50 AM SPEAKING OUT

Proud Member years, I have asked this question of my International reps On this Labor Day 2018 with four days until my retire- many times. I never got any meaningful responses other than ment, I wish to reflect upon my many years of being a dues- to continue the union PAC programs. They don’t work. We paying union member. are always outspent. I come from a state that took away the right to negotiate a My solution to the problem is to join the fight with our fair contract for our public workers. My state also implement- own party and give the people another viable choice other ed the divide and conquer scheme called “right to work.” than the dysfunctional Democrats and Republicans. I may be unhappy to call my state home, but no one can Robert Saeger, Local 148-2 take away my proud 42 years of union membership. Black Creek, Wis. Stay strong. Harold Simon, Local 437 Read My Book La Crosse, Wis. I have been a member of Local 1165 since June 1995. I am employed at Arcelor Mittal Steel as a plate grinder. I am Union Man a dedicated union member and will always stand strong with Thank you for sending USW@Work. I have been proud my union brothers and sisters. of being a union man all of my life. I was a member of Local I was challenged by a friend years ago to see if I could put 1302 at Evinrude Motors. my thoughts together and write an entire book because he got What made me even more proud of being a Steelworker is tired of reading the countless editorials I used to write. Lo and reading about how much Steelworker locals have done to help behold, I did it! victims of natural disasters in so many places in the southern The book, The Broken Circle, is now available on Ama- part of America. zon. A few months ago, I had a book signing at my public library and donated the proceeds to a charity I feel strongly Jim Sherwin about, The National Conference for Community Justice Delafield, Wis. (NCCJ). Why Pay Dues? The NCCJ is geared to end the racial divide in our com- Regarding the letter, “Why should I pay dues?” in the munities, and unite everybody as one, as we do in the steel spring edition: There is a simple and very powerful reason to industry. Arcelor Mittal matched my donation, and that is belong to a union and pay dues with a positive attitude. something I’m very proud of since I am not in the corporate Here is the thought experiment. Divide your dues for any echelon. period by the hours for that period. If the union was disband- Terrence Forte, Local 1165 ed and the employer did not take back more than that value in Coatesville, Pa. wages and benefits, you are living on another planet. Of course, if you can get all the benefits without paying Don’t Forget Retirees the dues, you are a free-rider, which is equivalent to a scab. I know bargaining with U.S. Steel is an uphill battle You will be playing into management’s hands, and soon you always. Please don’t forget the retirees who built the business will be working for less. into what it is now. We gave the best years of our lives to the company, and we deserve to live in dignity. Jim Eshleman, retired Local 6014 Our health care is a disaster. Our costs have increased Lancaster, Pa. dramatically and benefits have decreased. There is enough Why Not A Labor Party? money in that Carnegie Fund to allow all the retirees decent AARON HUDSON AND GREG COLE health insurance without having to decide between medicine, Graphic Designers With all of the problems we have with our two-party system, why is there no Labor Party like many other countries food or car repairs. Your efforts are appreciated. have? Can’t the major Internationals organize to create one? John Lambert, Local 1013 retiree This would be the ultimate way of showing the people that Collinsville, Ala. EMAIL: [email protected] MAIL: USW@Work unions are there for their best interests with issues like health 60 Blvd of the Allies care, wage inequality, minimum wages, general wages, safety EMAIL: [email protected] USW active, retired members and their Pittsburgh, PA 15222 and more. MAIL: USW@Work families are invited to “speak out.” Letters 60 Blvd of the Allies should be short and to the point. We USW@WORK After being a member of Local 148-2 for over 46 years, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 reserve the right to edit for length. Volume 13/4 Fall 2018 having been involved as a local representative for over 12

USW@Work • Fall 2018 3

53243_USW_WORK_X.indd 3 10/18/18 4:34 PM Kenny Ramirez

Photos by Steve Dietz

4 USW@Work • Fall 2018

53243_USW_WORK.indd 4 10/17/18 3:59 PM Marcus Rodela Juan Romero & Eric Carrizoza

Marcus Rodela

he corrugated boxes that come out local that includes workers at nearby oil forms of paper were developed over of the International Paper (IP) fac- refineries, recycling plants, industrial the years, the use of boxes grew more tory outside of Los Angeles may valve, galvanizing and metal coating common. be simple products, but the work facilities, mattress factories, car washes Cardboard boxes were first mass T produced as containers about two centu- that Local 675 members do to make and other sites. them is anything but low tech. At the IP plant, USW members work ries ago. Box manufacturing follows the “This is some of the most advanced on a three-shift, 24-hour, five-day-a- same basic process workers have used equipment in the country,” said Jose week schedule, with occasional over- since those early days. The safety, ef- Lozano, who worked at the IP plant for time on weekends. ficiency and the level of physical strain 27 years and now serves as a field repre- IP sells its boxes to a diverse array of on workers has changed. sentative for the amalgamated local customers, including beverage makers, “Technology has improved produc- union. grocery companies and online retailers. tivity and efficiency,” Lozano said. “It’s Almost all of the machines that The company’s customer base is a mix made the process easier, faster and safer.” workers use at the IP corrugated box of local and national accounts, said An- The process begins when enormous plant in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., are gie Duvall, an HR generalist for IP. rolls of thick brown or white paper, less than 12 years old, and many are The Santa Fe Springs plant, which some of which weigh nearly 10,000 far newer. Some of the equipment is so produces tens of thousands of boxes pounds, are loaded onto machines advanced that workers require multiple each day, is one of many IP facilities in called roll stands. The paper then travels computers to operate it. the region. The company operates nine through corrugators, which create the “Everything here is brand new to plants in southern California and two wave-like pieces that form the middle us,” said Local 675 member Rafael others nearby in Arizona. layers of the company’s box walls. Núñez, who has worked at the plant for Sheets of flat paper are then glued 18 years. onto the tops and bottoms of those The 181,000 square foot facility, Increased Productivity, Safety fluted layers to form large corrugated which has a “sister” site nearby that The kind of boxes USW members sheets. Those are then cut and folded produces similar products, was built make in Santa Fe Springs date almost into various shapes and sizes to form in 1957. About 92 hourly workers are to the invention of paper in China more the finished products. members of the USW unit, part of a than 2,000 years ago. As more durable

USW@Work • Fall 2018 5

53243_USW_WORK_X.indd 5 10/18/18 4:56 PM Precision, Consistency Required About 90 percent of the boxes made on the job. in Santa Fe Springs contain some type Despite their short tenures, young Along the way, USW members con- of artwork, design or other identifying workers have a strong commitment to stantly test the pieces for quality control material, Núñez said. the union and its role at the factory, and recalibrate machines to match particularly on the subject of safety. customer orders based on specific sizes Kenny Ramirez has worked there for and shapes. New Technology, New Workers five and a half years. He said the USW’s Each step in the process requires The equipment at the plant is so presence at the plant helps to ensure that precision to ensure quality and consis- advanced that once an operator registers the jobs at IP allow workers to care for tency, said Joe Esquibel, whose work an order, the machines can “remember” their families. places him at the beginning, or “wet specifications and settings so IP can “You do what you have to do to pro- end,” of the corrugator machine. safely, quickly and easily fill future vide for your family,” Ramirez said. “If something goes wrong here, it’s orders. The union also works to ensure that going to show up at the other end,” “We’re a bit ahead of other box members are treated fairly and that Esquibel said. plants in terms of technology,” said management can’t play favorites, said That end is where Rafael Núñez Edgar Velasquez, an 8-year IP employee Alberto Franco, who has worked at the works, in the plant’s tool and die room. who works as a maintenance mechanic. plant for six years. He checks tooling before products reach Technology isn’t the only thing new “It keeps things fair and consistent,” the production area. He also reviews at the plant – the work force also is Franco said. dimensions as well as any artwork or relatively young. A wave of retirements Perhaps the union’s greatest contri- labels printed on the boxes to make sure in recent years has meant an influx of bution to the work environment in Santa they are correct. members with only a handful of years Fe Springs is in the area of health and

Luis Salazar WE’RE A BIT AHEAD OF OTHER BOX“ PLANTS IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGY. - Edgar Velasquez Juan Romero ”

Photos by Steve Dietz

6 USW@Work • Fall 2018 Rafael Herrera

53243_USW_WORK.indd 6 10/17/18 3:59 PM safety, Núñez said. “That’s where everything comes with IP, which includes 53 locations and The USW unit and the company out,” Local 675 member Joe Esquibel more than 2,800 workers. That agree- hold monthly safety committee meet- said of those gatherings. ment sets economic conditions, but Lo- ings and collaborate to solve any prob- cal 675 and IP also have a contract that lems that arise, Franco said. governs working conditions specific to “Safety is a priority, both for the Commitment to safety the Santa Fe Springs box plant. union and for the company,” he said. During a recent meeting, a USW The plant was part of the Temple- “You can see them taking action. It’s member reminded his colleagues that Inland paper company until 2012, when not just talk.” every worker on the shop floor – in- IP acquired it in a $4.5 billion merger. That joint commitment has made the cluding management – must have the That acquisition improved labor- Santa Fe Springs plant one of the safest same day-to-day commitment to safety. management relations at the factory, workplaces in what historically has A manager standing nearby nodded in members say. been a dangerous industry. The factory agreement. “We’ve been working toward a bet- recently went two years with only one The exchange was an example of ter relationship,” Velasquez said. minor incident. the “teamwork” attitude that Esquibel The joint commitment to safety is In addition to regular joint safety said is present throughout the plant. evidence that both the company and the meetings, the workers hold more informal That same approach helps both work USW value the people who work at the daily discussions about their concerns. At on the shop floor and discussions at the plant more than profits and production, the start of each shift, hourly workers and bargaining table go relatively smoothly, Velasquez said. managers gather in a break room for what Velasquez said. “It’s not just talk,” he said. “They they call the “tailgate,” an open discus- Workers are covered under the actually follow that, and they believe it.” sion of the previous day’s work. USW’s master converters’ agreement

Eric Carrizoza Joe Esquibel

Albert Franco USW@Work • Fall 2018 7

53243_USW_WORK.indd 7 10/17/18 3:59 PM OIL WORKERS SET AGENDA

8 USW@Work • Fall 2018

53243_USW_WORK_X2.indd 8 10/19/18 10:27 AM ocal union delegates represent- an upcoming generation is becoming in- ing some 30,000 USW members volved with bargaining. The conference who work in the oil industry at included presentations and educational refineries, petrochemical plants, workshops designed to familiarize newer Lterminals, pipelines and as truck drivers members with the bargaining process, approved an agenda for 2019 national particularly those who may not have contract bargaining. experienced a bargaining cycle or have The agenda, or national oil policy, been through only one round. was developed by more than 375 rank- In addition, the Strategic Campaigns and-file member delegates during a Department is holding kickoff sessions September meeting of the National Oil that include mobilization training, how Bargaining Program (NOBP) held in San to conduct effective contract campaigns, Diego. and how to use Communication Action The current NOBP pattern agreement Teams to inform and involve rank-and- and related local contract agreements file members of what’s happening in expire for most local unions on Feb. 1 at bargaining. 12:01 a.m. Negotiations to replace them A text message system will be used are expected to begin in mid-January. again in this round of bargaining and is Oil locals or oil units in amalgam- being upgraded to allow targeted mes- ated locals have 45 days following the sages to individual councils. Members meeting to present the new NOBP policy can join by texting OIL to 47486 and to their members, answer questions and answering the prompts. conduct votes. The policy must be approved by at least 75 percent of the participating locals and units to take effect. NO EXTENSIONS The delegates worked within 17 Unlike previous rounds of bargaining, company councils to develop the propos- TEXT “OIL” TO Nibarger told the delegates that he does als, which address wages, benefits and not expect any “me too” agreements or working conditions for USW members at contract extensions with the companies 220 facilities across the industry. USW- that are party to the negotiations. represented workers produce about 64 MESSAGE47486 OR DATA RATES MAY APPLY “As we lead up to NOBP negotia- percent of gasoline and related products tions, we have received a number of con- in the United States. tract extension requests from companies. Each proposal was vetted by an lead company this round, at a national This is not unusual. They were granted at NOBP oil policy committee consisting of table in January, while individual locals times in the past, but so far this year, we five elected rank-and-file members and or units will meet with their employers have not entertained any such requests,” five alternates. Changes were made as over local issues, such as bidding rights Nibarger said. “This is a national pattern needed during the conference. and seniority. agreement, and all of the oil companies International Vice President Tom need to participate at one time.” Conway and NOBP Chair Kim Nibarger, Similarly, a prohibition on regressive Setting standards a former oil refinery operator and union contract language remains. No-regression The NOBP was established in 1965 safety expert, have held preliminary language is part of a national agreement by Al Grospiron, then president of discussions with Shell. achieved some years ago by oil workers the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers “We bargain for the greatest benefit of when they were part of OCAW. (OCAW) union, as a way for oil workers our members,” Nibarger said. “Our goal Although NOBP negotiations occur to stand together and set industry-wide is to reach a mutually beneficial agree- at the national and local levels, Nibarger employment standards. Specifically, ment. We have a concise list of issues we is trying to encourage USW company the NOBP established common expira- expect to get action on.” councils to act together in bargaining by tion dates and a mandatory national oil In addition to setting policy, the putting proposals on the table at the same bargaining policy. delegates listened to presentations and time or by coordinating information The NOBP became part of the USW participated in workshops. They also requests. through the 2005 merger with the Paper, elected two new alternates to the oil “It is my opinion we can accom- Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy policy committee – Kevin Herbein of plish more being united and moving in Workers International Union (PACE). Local 4-898 and Bryan Gross of Local lockstep as a group than we can bargain- OCAW merged with the United Paper- 13-423. They are the alternates for NOBP ing separately,” he added. “That’s why workers Union in 1999 to create PACE. regions A and E, respectively. we need to bargain as councils. It makes Once approved, the bargaining There were many new, younger faces sense to bargain as one group since we agenda will be discussed with Shell, the at the NOBP meeting, an indication that have many of the same interests.”

USW@Work • Fall 2018 9

53243_USW_WORK_X2.indd 9 10/19/18 10:27 AM Burns Harbor, Ind.

10 USW@Work • Fall 2018

53243_USW_WORK.indd 10 10/17/18 3:59 PM Burns Harbor, Ind.

s USW@Work went those sacrifices and to press, members allowed workers to at U.S. Steel were have a share of that preparing to vote success.” onA a tentative agreement Management while the union’s Arcelor- opened bargaining Mittal bargaining com- with a different idea. mittee also was making Both ArcelorMit- progress toward a new tal and U.S. Steel contract. presented the union Those breakthroughs with concessionary came after thousands proposals that sought of USW members at to increase health both companies voted care costs for mem- unanimously to authorize bers to heights that a strike in September, would have wiped a show of strength and solidarity that the difficult position the industry was in ¬– out any wage increases or bonuses that were forced the two major steelmakers to back brought on by massive Chinese overcapacity offered. The companies’ initial proposals also away from some of their most regressive and a resulting flood of illegally traded sought unnecessary work rule changes and demands. imports ¬– and ultimately agreed to a other concessions that would have decimated The new agreements with the two three-year wage freeze while the compa- decades of collective bargaining gains. companies will replace the three-year con- nies regained their footing. “We did not come to the bargaining tracts that expired on Sept. 1. The union and Both U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal table this summer looking for a fight,” said the companies agreed to continue to operate rebounded and began to earn massive, even International Vice President Tom Conway, under extensions of those agreements while historic, profits. However, when bargaining who leads the union’s U.S. Steel bargaining bargaining continued. for new contracts opened, they still came to committee. “We came ready to work out an the table demanding concessions. honest and fair agreement, but that is a far INDUSTRY REBOUNDS “Steelworkers made sacrifices over cry from what we saw in return.” the past several years that have allowed Talks began in July amid resurgence for both ArcelorMittal and U.S. Steel to be MASSIVE SHOW OF SUPPORT an industry that had been struggling leading very successful,” International President up to the prior round of bargaining in 2015. Leo W. Gerard said. “We came to the table In the days leading up to the con- At that time, USW members recognized seeking fair contracts that recognized tracts’ expiration, the USW held massive

USW@Work • Fall 2018 11

53243_USW_WORK_X.indd 11 10/18/18 4:56 PM Clairton, Pa.

Burns Harbor, Ind.

Clairton, Pa.

Burns Harbor, Ind. Burns Harbor, Ind.

nationwide rallies that drew thousands McCall, who chairs the union’s ArcelorMittal bers voted to approve by a 10-to-1 margin, of members and allies to plant gates and bargaining committee. “They demonstrated included significant annual wage increases union halls across the country, generating a fundamental lack of respect for the men and none of the unnecessary concessions an outpouring of community support for the and women upon whose shoulders rests the other steel companies had sought. union’s bargaining position. their past, present and future success.” The union’s negotiations with Arcelor- “These workers have gone three years As the USW committees returned Mittal cover about 15,000 members of 13 without a wage increase,” Gerard said. “In to the table following those votes, the local unions while the USW’s master agree- that time, they’ve seen the cost of every- companies’ proposals showed signs that the ment with U.S. Steel covers about 16,000 thing go up; they’ve seen their employers union’s solidarity was paying off. By late members of 24 local unions. report millions of dollars in profits; they’ve September, both companies had softened The ArcelorMittal facilities include: seen management pay themselves millions their most onerous demands. Burns Harbor, Cleveland, Coatesville, of dollars in bonuses. Now they are stand- Conshohocken, Indiana Harbor East, Indiana ing up and saying they’ve seen enough.” TENTATIVE AGREEMENT WITH CLIFFS Harbor West, Minorca Mine, Riverdale, Still, even after the Sept. 1 expiration Steelton, Warren Coke, Weirton, I/N Tek, date came and went, the companies’ greedy The USW’s position got a boost on I/N Kote, Columbus Coatings and Columbus demands had changed little, and angry USW Sept. 30 when the union reached a tentative Processing. members scheduled strike authorization agreement on a new four-year contract with The U.S. Steel facilities include Clairton votes. Voter turnouts at USW union halls iron ore mining company Cleveland-Cliffs, Works, East Chicago Tin, Fairfield, Fairfield across the country were massive and the Inc., which operates facilities in Michigan’s Southern, Fairless Hills, Gary Works, Granite results were unanimous. upper peninsula and Minnesota’s iron range City Works, Great Lakes Works, Keetac, Lone “These companies can easily afford to that employ about 1,850 USW members. Star Tubular, Lorain Tubular, Midwest Plant, negotiate fair labor agreements with us, but Talks on that agreement began in early Minntac and Mon Valley Works. they instead came to the table insisting on September. concessions,” said District 1 Director David The Cliffs agreement, which mem-

12 USW@Work • Fall 2018

53243_USW_WORK_X.indd 12 10/18/18 4:56 PM STRENGTH IN SOLIDARITY Kaiser Alliance Wins Contract for 48,000 Health Care Workers

early five months of hard work ance of Health Care Unions,” said Inter- involved in making decisions on how and solidarity paid off for the national Vice President Fred Redmond, their jobs are run.” 48,000 members of the Alliance who oversees USW bargaining in the Nof Health Care Unions (AHCU), health care sector. “We had six rounds Solidarity key as they ratified a strong national con- of difficult bargaining, but our alliance tract with Kaiser Permanente on Oct. 3. stayed focused, and we walked away One of the crucial moments in ne- The AHCU, which includes some with a win.” gotiations came on July 8, when AHCU 7,300 members of USW Local 7600 in members boarded buses and traveled Southern California, was able to secure across Southern California to the city across-the-board wage increases in Refashioned alliance of Costa Mesa to rally at a hotel where each of the three years of the agreement Bargaining began last spring amid the alliance and Kaiser were holding with the health care giant. The alliance changes to the alliance of unions repre- negotiations. also was able to preserve strong health senting health care workers at Kaiser’s More than 2,500 members, including care benefits and language that protects facilities across the country. 500 members of Local 7600, took part workers from last-minute cancellations In March, Local 7600 left its previ- in the rally, making it one of the largest, of their shifts, among other gains. ous coalition and, with seven other most successful solidarity actions in the “Local 7600 leadership did a great like-minded unions, formed the AHCU, 20-year history of partnership. job, both with engaging our members which represents workers in hundreds “There was this incredible energy,” and keeping focus within the renewed of job classifications in nearly every said Melissa Knott, a licensed vocation- alliance,” said International President geographic area Kaiser has a presence. al nurse (LVN) who works at Kaiser’s Leo W. Gerard. “It’s a diverse and ac- While these changes didn’t really Temecula Pediatrics office. “We were tive local, with thousands of members shake members’ focus on negotiations, all there for the same reason: to show spread across more than a hundred facil- they were in the background as bar- our solidarity and our commitment. But ities. Keeping everyone up to date and gaining got underway, said Local 7600 it didn’t stop there. We were able to take involved was a huge task, but our team President Valery Robinson. One of the that enthusiasm and bring it back home made sure that together we were able to committee’s key concerns was main- into our workplaces.” win this difficult fight.” taining Kaiser’s funding for their Labor After the rally, alliance members The negotiations, which began in Management Partnership, even though distributed buttons and stickers, and May, were among the largest private- the labor side of the partnership had established “union color days” where sector talks in the United States this shifted. they each wore the colors of their union year. The contract covers 32,100 The new contract includes funding every Tuesday. They also gathered tens in California; 6,300 in Oregon and and a commitment to maintaining the of thousands of signatures on cards and Washington; 2,100 in Colorado; 2,200 partnership. petitions to management, calling for a in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and “It was really important that Kaiser fair contract. northern Virginia; 2,800 in Georgia and committed to growing the partnership,” In the end, the group reached an- 1,900 in Hawaii. Robinson said. “Kaiser puts money other standard-setting agreement. Unity within the local and across the into a trust fund, and it allows us to do “I think it was really important that alliance was crucial to success. things like our service work and train- we presented a united front,” said Local “This contract would not have been ings. It also funds our committees like 7600 Vice President Liz Cuevas. “Every possible without the unity and strength our health and safety committee so that day, management saw that we were exhibited by every member of the Alli- front-line workers have a chance to be coordinated, and we were serious.”

USW@Work • Fall 2018 13

53243_USW_WORK.indd 13 10/17/18 3:59 PM he USW’s 7th annual Rubber and Plastics Industry Council (R/PIC), held Tin Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Sept. 26, drew member delegates and staff from across Rubber & North America. International Secretary Treasurer and R/ PIC Chairman Stan Johnson led the conference. District 9 Director Daniel Flippo hosted the meeting. Tennessee AFL-CIO President Plastics Billy Dycus, former president of Local 115L, welcomed the 68 delegates and guests. The delegates were representing thousands of union members who work in the rubber and plastics industries making vehicle INDUSTRY tires, inner tubes, hoses and belts, gaskets, packing and sealing devices, containers, and CONFERENCE other consumer and commercial products. The conference was an opportunity for delegates to review the state of the rubber and plastics industries, to discuss important health International Secretary Treasurer and safety matters, to share information about Stan Johnson individual factory locations, common issues and problems, and to discuss the impact of trade. Chad Apaliski, a USW senior technician, presented detailed industry and trade information important to the delegates and the rank-and-file members they represent. Overall, economies around the world have been expanding at a steady if sluggish pace since pulling out of the global recession of 2008-2009. “The reason this ought to concern us is the simple fact that for many years the U.S. has been the only major economy that has been growing,” Apaliski said. “When that happens, and other countries lack internal demand, our lax trade laws mean that those goods (from paper, steel, glass and tires) need a place to go, and they land on our shores.” The tire industry is growing in this country, with new capacity being built in the southeast, where organizing has been traditionally difficult. Tire capacity is also moving to Mexico as more car makers open factories there. Employment in the tire industry has declined since the late 1990s, taking a big hit during the Great Recession and hovering Photos by Van Tenpenny around pre-recession levels until this year. Original equipment tire shipments have been recovering faster than employment. Since 1998, tire imports into the United States have almost tripled from 72 million in 1998 to 190 million last year while domestic tire shipments have largely remained steady. Delegates also unanimously elected the following members to the R/PIC advisory board: Ken Frankforther of Local 207L, Brock Hatlevig of Local 715L, Jody Jaurez of Local 307L, Todd Hastings of Local 745L and Steve Vonk of Local 310L.

14 USW@Work • Fall 2018

53243_USW_WORK_X.indd 14 10/18/18 5:50 PM National Grid Workers March in Boston

As the lockout of more than 1,200 The issue of over-pressurization USW members at National Grid ap- was thought to have been the cause proached its fourth month, workers of a series of natural gas explosions marched through the streets of Boston and fires in mid-September that killed to demand a return to work and to call one and injured about 25 in a nearby on Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachu- suburb. Those lines were maintained by setts to remove National Grid President Columbia Gas workers. Marcy Reed from the organization’s Since the lockout began, state utility board of directors. regulators also expressed safety con- “Marcy Reed made it clear by cerns, citing National Grid’s “persistent cutting off our health care – it means disregard for federal and state pipeline you have no heart, no soul,” said Joe safety regulations.” Kirylo, president of Local 12003. In a letter to National Grid, the National Grid discontinued health Massachusetts Department of Public care coverage for the workers, mem- Utilities said the company has shown bers of Locals 12003 and 12012, on “a persistent pattern of poor manage- July 1, about a week after locking them ment that has required the department’s out. The two locals had repeatedly close scrutiny.” offered to extend their contracts while Dozens of Massachusetts politi- bargaining continued, but the company cians, including the entire Boston city refused. council, have voiced support for the “It’s sad to see how little National locked-out USW members. Grid cares for its employees, their U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and families and public safety,” said John Ed Markey cited the lockout in calling Buonopane, president of Local 12012. for Congressional hearings after the Since the lockout began, more than September explosions. 100 National Grid customers have “They’re fighting for better wages reported safety concerns. As workers and health care coverage. Steelworkers marched on Oct. 10, the company was don’t back down,” Warren wrote on forced to shut down service to more Facebook after joining USW members than 300 customers after non-union on the picket line. workers inadvertently over pressurized To join the call for Congressional the system. hearings, visit usw.to/NGhearing.

USW file photos by Steve Dietz USW@Work • Fall 2018 15

53243_USW_WORK_X.indd 15 10/18/18 5:50 PM iven a chance to vote on their future, the citizens of Missouri successfully derailed a right-to- Gwork law this summer that was approved last year by the Republican- controlled state legislature. Voters on Aug. 7 overwhelmingly defeated by a two-to-one margin a big-business bid to make Missouri the 28th right-to-work state in the nation. It was the second time in 40 years that Missouri residents voted against right to work. Ohio voters struck down a similar law in 2011. Missouri was a rare opportunity for voters to directly weigh in on the mis- named right-to-work laws, which are typically enacted by partisan legislators. The Missouri results, labor leaders ar- gued, revealed how little public support there is for the law. The ballot measure helped to drive Missouri’s largest voter turnout for a primary election in over a decade. One third of registered voters statewide cast ballots, the highest primary turnout since August 2004 when nearly 36 percent of voters considered a gay mar- riage referendum. “Right-to-work policies win when decided by Republican politicians and right- wing judges,” said International President Leo W. Gerard. “They lose when decided by voters – even in red states that went for President Donald Trump.” The unstated purpose of right-to- work laws is to make it harder for working people to form and join unions and collectively bargain for their future. Most union members know that collective bargaining can be effective. Union workers make more money than non-union workers, are more likely to be covered by company-sponsored health insurance and are less likely to be injured on the job. “The problem with trying to peddle right to work in the Show-Me State is that it has nothing to do with rights or jobs. Right to work is about power,” Gerard said. “Right-to-work states take power from workers and hand it to corporations, CEOs and wealthy shareholders. Right to work makes the rich richer. It makes workers poorer.” The resounding ballot victory was in sharp contrast to states like Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin, where right-

16 USW@Work • Fall 2018

53243_USW_WORK.indd 16 10/17/18 3:59 PM to-work laws were pushed through by doors. We did phone banking to labor- “The thousands of miles and hun- corporate-bought politicians with little friendly folks affiliated with our union dreds of union meetings really paid or no public debate. and other unions, and we worked the off,” said Bob Ryan, District 11’s Rapid In Kentucky, the 27th state to adopt polls on the day of the election,” said Response coordinator. “It was a good right to work, the legislation was ap- Rod Herrmann, the local’s business rep. feeling to see that win for working proved in 2017 after Republicans won “The voters were educated. They families.” control of the general assembly for the understood it, and that’s the reason it Voter registration was a key part of first time since 1921. The state Senate was voted down,” Herrmann said. the Rapid Response efforts. voted in a rare Saturday session. Ramirez thanked USW members “Our members hit the ground run- After the right-to-work law passed who participated by talking to their ning and took advantage of the state’s the Missouri online voter regis- Republican leg- tration by utilizing islature and was tablets in their signed by then workplaces and at Gov. Eric Greitens local union func- in 2017, union tions to have their members and their members check allies gathered their voter status more than 310,000 and then easily signatures to stop register online,” the law from going said Amber Miller, into effect. national Rapid Thousands of Response coordi- people, includ- nator. USW member John Powell (left) erects ing active USW a highway sign with Bill Kraemer, a “This was a members and member of Laborers Local 830 and a different approach retirees, partnered candidate for state representative. than we have with a coalition typically taken of workers, students, seniors, and neighbors, co-workers and family – but proved to be solidly effective. their families in a group movement, members. He also praised the retired Because of their hard work, hundreds “We Are Missouri,” to defeat the members who volunteered through the of our members were able to register referendum. Steelworkers Organization of Active after being purged – some without their Together, they talked to their Retirees (SOAR). knowledge. Others registered for the neighbors, friends and co-workers. Retired members who belong to first time.” Volunteers knocked on an estimated SOAR were involved in every aspect John “Tiny” Powell, an industrial 800,000 doors, made more than 1 mil- of the campaign. They collected peti- electrician who belongs to Local 16G at lion phone calls, and discussed issues tions, gathered “Vote No” pledge cards, the Mississippi Lime Co. in St. Genevieve, with working people at more than 1,000 distributed yard signs and canvassed Mo., took a leave to act as casual staff. job sites. neighborhoods, said Bill Finkle, legisla- Working out of the union hall, USW members explained the legis- tive chair for SOAR Chapter 34-3 in Powell started by persuading as many lation to their co-workers, friends, and Kansas City. people as possible to register to vote. He families. They held rallies and town hall The Proposition A initiative was then coordinated door knocking, rallies style meetings and did presentations at originally scheduled to appear on the and election information distribution. district educational conferences. Nov. 6 general election ballot. Missouri “We kicked ass and kept everyone “We had door knocks in every com- Republicans wanted to avoid turning fired up. It was awesome,” Powell said. munity where there are USW members, out labor voters in the crucial Novem- Education was the key to victory, including large cities like St. Louis and ber elections, so they passed legislation Powell said. Many people didn’t know that Springfield, and in rural parts of the moving the vote to the Aug. 7 primary. right to work is not at all what it sounds state,” said District 11 Director Emil “They (anti-worker legislators) like, and were surprised to find that unions Ramirez, whose region includes Mis- thought they were smart when they were required to represent workers who souri. “We had a pretty good ground moved the vote to Aug. 7,” Finkle said. decline to pay fair-share fees. game.” “They thought union voters weren’t “This wasn’t a battle fought only by For example, the officers of Local going to turn out to vote against it. We the unions,” he said. “We led the charge, 11-6, which represents gas utility work- proved them wrong.” and I’m proud of that, but we had to ers in St. Louis, made a point to visit Ramirez credited the USW’s Rapid have support from non-union workers to all of their members at different crew Response Program for effective mes- stop this law. There was no union versus locations and to explain the legislation saging. Rapid Response circulated non-union. It was a worker issue, and and the necessity of voting no. InfoAlerts, ActionCalls and Feedback that’s what did it.” “We knocked on labor-friendly Reports and other materials.

USW@Work • Fall 2018 17

53243_USW_WORK.indd 17 10/17/18 3:59 PM TRADE WATCH

Updated Trade Agreement Is an MORE WORKWORK AHEADAHEAD Improvement, but Flaws Remain

he United States reached agree- offshoring and resulted in lower wages U.S. Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer on what ments this fall with Canada and for U.S. workers. must be done to improve the agreement. Mexico on an updated trade “The impact of the deal must be T Those recommendations included: agreement that includes some signifi- measured not only by what is in the final • Elimination of rules that allow cant improvements over the deal that has agreement, but also by what Mexico companies to freely offshore jobs. devastated U.S. manufacturing over the adopts legislatively to implement its • Enforceable controls on currency previous two decades. commitments,” Gerard said. “Also, what manipulation, illegal dumping Still, much more work is required be- will the administration and Congress do and subsidization. fore the agreement takes effect to protect to ensure that the provisions of any final • Strong “rule of origin” poli- the rights of workers and communities in agreement are effectively applied, moni- cies that look not only at where all three countries. tored and enforced?” materials are made but how they The new agreement, called the Early reaction to the agreement from are made. United States–Mexico–Canada Agree- Congress was hesitant. Some Republi- • Requirements that imported ment (USMCA) would replace the cans, notably Texas Sen. John Cornyn, goods, including food, meet all North American Free Trade Agreement said the agreement may not be good domestic safety, right-to-know (NAFTA). enough to survive a vote. and environmental rules. “USW members have suffered from “People are still going through the • An end to rules that give drug the devastating effects of NAFTA in both details, but it’s not a foregone conclusion companies extended monopolies the United States and Canada,” Inter- that it will get confirmation by the Sen- and ultimately drive up the cost national President Leo W. Gerard said ate,” Cornyn said. of life-saving medicines. following the announcement in October Even if Congress ultimately approves that the United States had completed its the deal, the vote may not come until “Reversing the negative impact of negotiations with both countries. after the Nov. 6 elections and possibly NAFTA has been a priority of the USW “This debate is not since the day Congress about free trade, protec- approved it nearly 25 tionism or ivory-tower years ago,” Gerard said. academic arguments – it’s “The USW and about what will happen to other labor groups have real people.” worked closely with The original NAFTA U.S. Trade Representa- agreement, which took tive Robert Lighthizer effect in 1994, was dev- since the United States astating on a number of initiated renegotiation of fronts. The deal led to the NAFTA. Labor has pro- loss of more than 850,000 vided concrete and spe- manufacturing jobs and the cific recommendations. closure of 50,000 factories Ambassador Lighthizer in the United States. AP photo / Eduardo Verdugo has worked diligently Employees at work in the new multibillion-dollar Honda car In addition, the U.S. plant in Celaya, in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato and seriously to resolve trade deficit with Mexico these issues.” swung from a $1.7 billion Gerard said the USW surplus in 1993 to a $61.4 billion deficit could have to wait until 2019, depending “looks forward to continuing to work 20 years later. on which party controls the new Con- with the administration, Congress and Worse yet, the agreement created a gress next year. The entire U.S. House of our colleagues in Mexico and Canada “race to the bottom,” in which corpora- Representatives and one-third of the U.S. to ensure that a final agreement and all tions were able to seek out locations Senate are up for election this fall. of the implementing provisions promote where they could exploit the lowest Since the Trump administration took broadly-shared prosperity for all workers possible wages and the most lax envi- office last year with a plan to re-do the di- in North America. We remain hopeful that ronmental and safety regulations in order sastrous trade deal, the USW has provided the provisions will measure up and are to maximize profits. That led to massive concrete, specific recommendations to committed to making this happen.”

18 USW@Work • Fall 2018

53243_USW_WORK_X.indd 18 10/18/18 7:26 PM USW MEMBERS CAMPAIGN FOR THE FUTURE

.S. Senator Sherrod Brown has without question fought for Steelworker jobs on the national stage in Washington, D.C., and on his home turf in Ohio. It’s important UThat’s why USW member Tiffany McKee is fighting “that we have labor- for his re-election. friendly, union- In this year’s mid-term elections, Brown is running friendly voices in to retain his crucial Senate seat from a challenge by U.S. Washington and our Representative Jim Renacci, a Republican whose extreme right-wing views on domestic policies could not be more state government. different than Brown’s union-friendly attitudes. Tiffany McKee ” “Sherrod Brown is our champion,” said McKee, who is working full time this election season canvasing union households, leafleting union workplaces and making phone calls to union members in Ohio on behalf of Brown and Richard Cordray, the Democratic candidate for Ohio society and our ideals of freedom and equal opportunity governor. can’t survive this, which is why you are so important – why “It’s important that we have labor-friendly, union-friend- unions are critical for the future.” ly voices in Washington and our state government,” said McKee, a coordinator for the USW’s Rapid Response and Getting involved Next Generation programs. Eric Licht, a USW paperworker from Wisconsin, has The USW brought together a diverse group of members, been secretly interested in politics over the years and decid- young and old, to leaflet work sites, campaign door to door ed this was the right time for him to get publicly involved. and phone bank in key races all over the country. Some are “I kept my interest in politics to myself just because I veterans at political work and others are brand new to the didn’t want to get into fights and arguments with family, experience. friends and co-workers,” he said. “The nation is at a turning point,” former Labor Secre- Licht hopes to persuade union workers of both parties tary Robert Reich told union members in a teleconference to get behind candidates who support working families and held with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka to promote heal the divisions that occurred during the 2016 election. election participation. “With our own members it was just split,” he said. “We just can’t go on with almost all of the economic “Hopefully this time we can meet in the middle over issues gains going to a handful at the top and most workers getting and candidates who are going to help us as union brothers very little,” Reich said. “Our politics can’t survive it. Our and sisters.” Johnnie Robinson, a USW member from District 9, is

USW@Work • Fall 2018 19

53243_USW_WORK.indd 19 10/17/18 4:00 PM Hopefully, this “time we can meet in the middle over issues and candidates who are going to help us as union brothers and sisters. Eric Licht”

participating for the first time. “I’m excited about it,” she We’re pushing said. “I’m going to get up and be a go-getter out there to candidates that are VOTE make a difference.” “ The USW, its campaign workers and volunteers are put- dedicated to manu- ting extra effort into political races in states like Ohio where facturing, have a 2018 the union has membership density and where there are races plan and are willing for both governor and the U.S. Senate. They include Penn- to fight for us and sylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada and Wisconsin, among others. our jobs “We’re focused in places where our jobs are on the line,” TIM WATERS” USW Political Director Tim Waters said. “We’re pushing USW POLITICAL DIRECTOR candidates that are dedicated to manufacturing, have a plan and are willing to fight for us and our jobs. “It’s a huge map,” Waters said. “There are races at every level of politics, from the U.S. Senate all the way down to school board races in communities across the country that are important to us.” The union learned some valuable lessons in recent elections in Alabama, Pennsylvania and Virginia, Waters said. In 2017, energized voters elected Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, I’m excited about a Democrat, as governor of Virginia over Republican Ed it, I’m going to get Gillespie. The voter turnout was the highest in 20 years for a “ Virginia gubernatorial election, with 47 percent of the con- up and be a go- stituency casting ballots. getter out there to In Alabama, Doug Jones, a respected former U.S. At- make a difference. torney, narrowly defeated Republican jurist Roy Moore in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Johnnie Robinson ” Jeff Sessions. That win made Jones the first Democrat to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama in 25 years. In another major upset, Conor Lamb, a young, previously unknown Democrat, won a special House election in Penn- sylvania’s 18th Congressional district, a typically Republican Voice for the union area that backed the president in 2016. A two-term incumbent, Brown represented Ohio’s 13th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives Build on enthusiasm before he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006. He is now “The Steelworkers led these campaigns. What we Ohio’s senior senator. learned is there’s a lot of enthusiasm out there, and our “Sherrod Brown is a leader for our union, a voice for our members especially understand the importance of making union,” Waters said. “He has a long track record, and we are our voices heard, more this year than in any other off-year, really focused on that election.” mid-term election,” Waters said. Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general, solicitor general “We’re really focused on laying out the issues and the and treasurer, is the underdog in the neck-and-neck race to candidates in a detailed way to USW members and offering succeed Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican and former information to help them make their decision.” presidential candidate. Cordray’s opponent, Ohio Attorney It’s important to know where the candidates that get your General Michael DeWine, is a former senator whom Brown vote stand on issues important to workers, retirees and their ousted in 2006. unions including fair wages, health care, retirement security

20 USW@Work • Fall 2018

53243_USW_WORK_X.indd 20 10/18/18 5:10 PM and the right to join or form a union. “Right to work is a huge issue for Steelworkers,” Waters “Workers’ rights, pensions, Social Security and af- said. “And there is just one person standing between us and fordable health care are all on the ballot this election,” right to work for the whole state of Pennsylvania, and that’s International President Leo W. Gerard said in urging USW Tom Wolf,” Waters said. members to participate in the elections and vote. “We need The USW is also backing incumbent U.S. Senator Bob to continue the battle to defend and expand workers’ rights Casey Jr., a Pennsylvania Democrat, in his reelection bid and retirement security. People have a right to retire with against challenger U.S. Representative Lou Barletta, co- dignity.” chair of President Trump’s 2016 campaign in Pennsylvania. Anyone who can’t volunteer to knock on doors or make phone calls should consider donating to the USW’s Political Action Committee (PAC) through local unions, and remember to vote on Nov. 6, general election day. Those who don’t think their vote means anything should Most people are consider the 2017 election for Virginia’s House of Delegates, “actually really where a tied race determined which party would control the supportive of the entire House, Waters said. On Election Day, incumbent Delegate David Yancey, message we’re a Republican, appeared to win the race over Democrat bringing. challenger Shelly Simonds by 10 votes, but a recount put ” Simonds ahead by one vote. CHAD SULLIVAN The next day, a three-judge recount court ruled that a single ballot that had been discarded during the recount should be tallied for Yancey. The race was tied with each candidate having 11,608 votes. Michigan To break the tie, their names were put in separate canis- In Michigan, USW members are working to reelect U.S. ters and placed into a bowl. One name, Yancey’s, was ran- Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat, to a fourth term, over domly drawn, throwing the race and control of the chamber Republican opponent John James, a Detroit businessman. to the Republican Party. Pollsters say James, whose family business specializes in transportation and warehousing, faces an uphill battle PENNSYLVANIA against the veteran Stabenow, who is well-liked and known So-called right-to-work legislation is a looming concern to voters. in a number of states. The Republican super majority in All of Michigan’s 14 seats in the U.S. House of Repre- Pennsylvania’s state House and Senate, for example, has sentatives are up for election this year. Incumbent Gov. Rick a right-to-work bill ready to push through after the Nov. 6 Snyder was term limited and could not run for a third term election. in office. In Pennsylvania, the USW is backing incumbent Penn- Democrat Gretchen Whitmer, a former prosecutor who sylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, who is facing former has served in both Michigan’s Senate and House of Repre- state Senator Scott Wagner, a Republican businessman who sentatives, is running for governor against Republican At- has endorsed right-to-work legislation. torney General Bill Schuette, a mainstay in state Republican Wagner singled out labor unions for sharp attacks dur- politics. ing his four years in the state Senate. During the primary “There’s a lot at stake. We’re knocking on doors, meet- campaign, he said he supports right-to-work legislation, ing with local unions and local presidents, and recruiting which is strongly opposed by labor unions for banning fair volunteers,” Bill Syckle, a member of Local 2-540, said in share payments from nonmembers, or free riders who would describing long days on the campaign for Whitmer and other benefit from union-negotiated contracts without paying dues Democrats. “If what I’m doing helps in November, it will be or fair share fees. worth every minute.” Texas There’s a lot at USW members Chad Sullivan and Emir Hinojosa knocked on doors in suburban Houston for Beto O’Rourke, “stake. We’re knock- a Texas Democrat and former musician running against U.S. ing on doors, meet- Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican presidential candidate in 2016. ing with local unions, O’Rourke, a U.S. Congressman who until recently was local presidents, largely unknown outside of Texas, started out as an underdog and recruiting against Cruz, a senator since 2013, but significantly improved his standing while visiting all of the state’s 254 counties. volunteers. “I really am excited because I want Beto to lead the Bill SYCKLE ” charge in Texas,” Sullivan said. “We’re knocking on doors, talking to people and getting them to move on Beto.”

USW@Work • Fall 2018 21

53243_USW_WORK_X.indd 21 10/18/18 5:13 PM pounding the pavement and talking to union voters in Min- nesota, where the ballot for the November election is unusu- ally busy and consequential. “The members we’re talking to are supportive,” Vu said. We were There’s an open race for governor between Congressman “knocking on doors Tim Walz, a member of the state’s Democratic-Farmer-La- every day until the bor Party and Republican legislator Jeff Johnson. Both U.S. storm hit. Senate seats are on the ballot, along with a number of highly competitive contests for the U.S. House of Representatives JOE SMITH ” and state government. Former Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, a Democrat appointed to the Senate to fill Al Franken’s remaining term, is running against Republican Karin Housley, a state senator, in a special election for a full term. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, is defending Sullivan and Hinojosa also promoted Sylvia Garcia, her seat against Republican Jim Newberger, a three-term a Houston Democrat who won a crowded congressional state representative and a former paramedic. primary election in March to succeed retiring U.S. Repre- Vu was particularly pushing for Walz, Smith and Joe sentative Gene Green, a friend of labor, in a district with a Radinovich, a former state legislator and labor organizer predominantly Hispanic population. who is running as a Democrat for Congress in Minnesota’s “Most people are actually really supportive of the mes- 8th district, an at-risk seat covering Duluth and the state’s sage we’re bringing,” Sullivan said. “It’s been working out iron range. Radinovich is facing a well-funded Republican, well.” Pete Stauber, a former hockey player, police officer and a commissioner in the district’s biggest county. NORTH CAROLINA “I’m pushing for Joe, Tina and Tim Walz,” Vu said. “We Labor’s effort to loosen Republican control of North can’t be apathetic. If we keep this momentum going, if we Carolina’s state government was diverted to disaster relief in keep working hard, we’ll do well in November and have September by Hurricane Florence, which left behind death good results.” and massive destruction in the Carolinas. Republicans held a super majority in North Carolina’s General Assembly, allowing them to override vetoes by Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, and limit what Demo- cratic legislators can do. “We were knocking on doors every day until the storm We can’t be apa- hit,” said election volunteer Joe Smith, who was working “thetic. If we keep with another USW member, Joe Shelley. After that, their im- this momentum mediate attention turned to relief work. With many roads still washed out, labor volunteers did going, if we keep outreach over the phone. They asked union members how working hard, we’ll they were coping in the aftermath of the storm and if they do well in November needed help before reminding them they can use absentee and have good ballots if necessary. results. TUAN VU ” Minnesota USW member Tuan Vu, a health care worker, was

JoAnn Loncar Local 512T

22 USW@Work • Fall 2018

53243_USW_WORK.indd 22 10/17/18 4:00 PM ver the past several U.S. election Democrats who could cast ballots and cycles, conservatives have stepped The Attack to reduce the number of Democrats who up their efforts to suppress the vote hold office, all in the name of protecting Ofrom those who oppose their Wall on Voting us from fraud that barely exists. Street-driven agenda. These attacks have The idea of voter suppression isn’t been hardest on the elderly, the young, new of course. In 1980, Republican ac- and on primarily African-American tivist Paul Weyrich was telling the truth communities. Rights is when he said that Republicans do better The attacks have come in the name when fewer people vote. of protecting us all against “voter an Attack “Our leverage in the elections, quite fraud.” The only problem is this: They candidly, goes up as the voting populace are all based on a lie. The fraud that goes down,” Weyrich said. these laws are supposedly designed to on Us All And this Republican effort to hijack protect us from doesn’t exist. our democracy hasn’t gone unnoticed. A study by News21, an investiga- This past summer, the U.S. Commission tive reporting project funded through on Civil Rights issued a 498-page report the Carnegie-Knight Initiative, included documenting and condemning voting reviews of thousands of public records, restrictions and calling on Congress to court documents and media reports into correct the problem. Of course, what the election fraud in each U.S. state. Their commission calls a problem, Republi- findings: Out of hundreds of millions cans in Washington call a solution. So of ballots cast across the United States they’ll likely do nothing. since the year 2000, there were only Paul Weyrich was right about one 633 incidents of fraud. That’s less than thing – there are more of us than there one instance of voter fraud per state per are of them. When we work together – year. people of color, the poor, the working Still, Republicans love to scare class, young people, and elderly people American voters into believing that in By Fred Redmond, – we can’t lose. That’s why the only every election, cheaters are swarming International Vice President hope the GOP has is to stop us from U.S. polling places, casting thousands exercising our rights. of fraudulent ballots to swing elections less affluent neighborhoods, requiring There is one thing we can do to stop to Democrats. Stoking these irrational excessively specific types of identifica- them, the one thing they are trying des- fears has allowed the GOP to institute tion to vote, and gutting the 1965 Voting perately to keep us from doing, and that some of the most restrictive voting laws Rights Act. is to vote. This Nov. 6, the entire U.S. our country has seen since the days of Not only that, they’ve redrawn the House and much of the U.S. Senate will Jim Crow. borders of voting districts across the be on the ballot, along with governors Republicans used this phantom country, packing poor people, people and state legislators across the country. “fraud” to purge voter rolls by the thou- of color and working-class voters into If we get out and vote in greater sands, to curtail early voting favored a small number of districts to tilt the numbers than we ever have before, we by poor people who often have trouble scales in favor of wealthy Republicans. can show the power of collective action getting time off to vote on election day, It has been a coordinated, state-by- and perhaps spark a movement to retake to cut the number of polling places in state effort to reduce the number of our democracy from the one percent.

USW@Work • Fall 2018 23

53243_USW_WORK.indd 23 10/17/18 4:00 PM hen USW member Loretta Nuclear Energy Moses retired from the Idaho National Labora- Workers Eligible for tory, a Department of Free Medical Testing WEnergy (DOE) site known for nuclear research, she signed up for a free physical and a test for early detection of lung cancer. That act saved her life. A CT or CAT scan, a special X-ray that produces cross-sectional images of the body, located a nodule on her lung that looked suspicious. A follow-up biopsy confirmed a diagnosis of lung cancer. “I had successful surgery, and after- wards follow-up scans showed no cancer was left in my body,” said Moses, whose doctors credit her success to early detection. “I was feeling great before I was diagnosed with cancer. I had no symp- toms, and now I feel like I was given a new lease on life.” Through the years, particularly in the Cold War era, DOE workers like Moses were exposed to hazardous and unsafe conditions that have led to cancers, respiratory diseases and other serious ailments. As part of the 1993 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress directed the DOE to provide free screening to detect and address health problems of DOE workers and retirees. Both the physical exam and the CT scan that alerted Moses to her cancer are offered free of charge through the Work- er Health Protection Program (WHPP), one of four regional and two national programs set up to screen former DOE workers. The WHPP is administered by Queens College of the City University of New York (CUNY) in partnership with the USW and the Atomic Trades EARLY DETECTION and Labor Council in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The USW’s Tony Mazzocchi Center for Health, Safety and Environmental Edu- cation oversees the federal funding of the USW component of the program. University oversight To ensure objective and credible medical examinations, the medical SAV ES evaluations are offered by providers in communities where the DOE operated atomic sites. The evaluations are overseen by the occupational medicine physicians at Queens College. “When we started the program in 24 USW@Work • Fall 2018 LIVES

53243_USW_WORK.indd 24 10/17/18 4:00 PM 1998, we realized that DOE workers radiation or other toxic substances. in the remission or removal of all my had spent decades exposed to harmful John Jenkins was happy to land a job cancers, including skin cancers, which workplace agents but had little or no at the gaseous diffusion plant in Ports- continue to be removed as they develop,” access to knowledgeable physicians who mouth, Ohio, in 1989. He knew there Jenkins said. “I would highly recommend were ready to tell them whether their were dangers, but the job paid well, and this program to all former DOE workers. health was affected by those exposures,” he could stay in the area rather than move It has been a tremendous help.” said Dr. Steven Markowitz, who directs for work. the WHPP program. “We filled that gap Portsmouth was one of three large Local coordinators and still do. We are especially focused GDPs in the United States initially The WHPP employs a small network on chronic lung disease, lung cancer, constructed to produce enriched uranium of former and current DOE workers as beryllium-related disease and hearing to support the nation’s nuclear weapons local coordinators to conduct outreach loss.” program and, in later years, for use by at community events and assist with Dr. Markowitz is an occupational commercial nuclear reactors. program operations. They are often the medicine physician and epidemiolo- first point of contact with program par- gist, as well as an adjunct professor of “I would ticipants and serve as a key contact for environmental and preventative medicine follow-up questions. at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount highly Outreach activities have been suc- Sinai in New York City. cessful in spreading awareness of the More importantly, he chairs the recommend program, and attracting people to par- Advisory Board on Toxic Substances ticipate. Coordinators answer questions and Worker Health at the U.S. Depart- this program about the medical screening program, ment of Labor (DOL). The board advises to all former assist participants in filling out question- DOL about the nuclear weapons workers’ naires and other paperwork, and guide compensation program. D.O.E. workers. those who are eligible through the com- Since 1998, the WHPP has screened pensation program. over 33,000 DOE workers and conducted It has been a “There are many, many people who over 64,000 exams at 14 DOE sites in have worked at these DOE facilities that eight states. The USW is involved with tremendous do not know they are covered under the five of them: the Idaho National Labora- help.” law,” said Jeanne Cisco, one of the coor- tory in Idaho Falls, the Paducah Gaseous dinators at the Portsmouth facility. Diffusion Plant (GDP) in Kentucky, the From 1954 to 2001, the 3,777-acre In most DOE facilities, workers were Portsmouth GDP in Ohio, the Oak Ridge site produced enriched uranium, includ- not permitted to discuss what they did at K-25 GDP in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and the ing weapons-grade uranium, for the U.S. work, leaving spouses and other relatives closed Mound Laboratory in Dayton, Atomic Energy program and U.S. nuclear in the dark about what happened to make Ohio. weapons programs. After the Cold War, their loved one ill. Former workers from these facili- weapons-grade uranium enrichment was The Portsmouth plant was a family ties, as well as current workers from the suspended, and production facilities were affair for Cisco, who is also the benefits three GDPs who worked at least 30 days, leased to the private sector. Enrichment representative for Local 689. She worked are eligible for the occupational health operations were discontinued in 2001. at the Portsmouth facility for 44 years in physical component of the exam, while Portsmouth is now in the process of uranium processing, as did her husband, a high-risk subset of this group may also being decontaminated and decommis- Steve. Her sister and her sister’s husband qualify for annual low-dose CT scans for sioned. worked there in cleanup. the early detection of lung cancer. “As time went on, I was involved Cancer was discovered in Steve Cisco USW members or retirees who were in many different projects and worked after years of participating in the pro- EARLY DETECTION exposed to hazardous substances at other throughout all the buildings within the gram. Jeanne credits the professionals DOE sites or have moved away from the plant,” Jenkins said. “My respiratory at Queens College for saving his life by DOE communities where they worked function declined with every year I accurately reading his records and test re- may be eligible to participate in the worked, but I was in denial that my lung sults and confirming cancerous locations DOE’s National Supplemental Screening condition was related to the chemicals in his body that other doctors missed. Program (NSSP) run by Oak Ridge As- that I worked with every day.” “My husband would be dead if it sociated Universities. The CT scan provided by WHPP wasn’t for Queens College,” she said. found lung and breathing problems. “Even when I retire, I will still do this. I Compensation program Jenkins also developed skin and bladder can’t stand the thought of someone not SAV ES A separate Energy Employees Occu- cancer, which was discovered through the having the help that they need.” pational Illness Compensation Program WHPP physical exams. After his diag- If you’re a former USW DOE worker (EEOICPA), funded by the Department nosis, Jenkins applied for compensation who would benefit from a medical screen- of Labor, was authorized in 2000 to through the EEOICPA. ing or a 3-year follow-up rescreen exami- provide financial benefits to employees “Thankfully, the medical procedures nation, please call the following toll free of DOE and their survivors or contractors covered by the EEOICPA have resulted number: 1-888-241-1199. who became ill as a result of exposure to LIVES USW@Work • Fall 2018 25

53243_USW_WORK.indd 25 10/17/18 4:00 PM Photos by Steve Dietz From left to right: Liam Trefelner, Callie Rose, Colleen Skelley, Sienna Winfield, Ariel Winfield, Jen Winfield, Tyler Winfield, Nolan Przybysz, Cilla Leverknight, Tyler Winfield, former Vice President Joe Biden, USW International President Leo W. Gerard and Charlie LaVallee

26 USW@Work • Fall 2018

53243_USW_WORK.indd 26 10/17/18 4:00 PM WITH Partners Variety USW Helps Special Children Live Fuller Lives

fter a year of exhausting cancer treatments, one big bright spot in 12-year-old Gabby Laufer’s life is a bicycle that allows her to zoom around her Aneighborhood in Erie, Pa., with her twin sister and their friends. It’s not an ordinary bicycle, but an adaptive bike – a large three-wheeler built especially for Gabby and donated to her family by Variety, the Children’s Charity (of Pittsburgh), with financial and other help from the United Steelworkers. In addition to individually customized adaptive bicycles, Variety provides eligible kids with adaptive strollers for easy mobility, and customized devices that give a voice to children with communication disorders through programs called My Bike, My Stroller and My Voice. More than $500,000 was raised to support Variety’s programs, mostly from USW employers around the country, by International President Leo W. Gerard. “I can’t think of anything more precious than giving a child and that child’s family the freedom that comes with being able to ride a bike or go in a stroller or use a communication device,” he said.

USW@Work • Fall 2018 27

53243_USW_WORK_X.indd 27 10/18/18 5:46 PM Since 2012, more than 2,500 Back to school ing computer tablets that are adapted to adaptive bikes, adaptive strollers and Outfitted with leg braces, Gabby went help nonverbal children communicate. communication devices have been back to school on Aug. 28 as a seventh Amy Dobkin, a Variety board sponsored for eligible kids throughout grader. She was strong enough to ride her member, watched approvingly. “For me, Variety’s 54-county service area in bicycle a few days later in Pittsburgh’s beyond freedom and joy for the kids, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. annual Labor Day parade, joining more riding is about giving them opportuni- Gabby led a normal, happy child’s than 160 special kids, their parents and ties. It means inclusion for all the fami- life until June 2017 when a visit to the supporters all wearing red Variety T-shirts lies and they all get to do it together.” doctor’s office for a persistent cough near the front of the parade. uncovered a cancerous tumor in her left This year’s parade marshal was What’s for lunch? lung that was spreading to her right lung. former Vice President Joe Biden, who As the parade marched through “Her world came to an immediate lost a son to cancer and has formed a Downtown, 7-year-old Tyler Winfield stop. Ever since, it’s been trips in and nonprofit organization, the Biden Can- proudly held up his end of a large out of the hospital with chemothera- cer Initiative, to accelerate anti-cancer Variety banner. A few years ago, Tyler, py,” said her mother, Carmen Laufer. research. who is autistic, could only speak a word “Gabby missed her entire sixth grade “Thanks to Leo, I was able to tell or two, leaving his parents and siblings school year. She can’t do anything she Vice President Biden how Gabby brave- frustrated that they did not know how did before.” ly fought off cancer and still stayed so he felt or what he wanted to eat for Cancer and the treatment left sweet,” Variety Pittsburgh CEO Charlie lunch or wear to school. Gabby’s legs and ankles numb. She LeVallee said after the parade. “It was a For kids who have communication gets dizzy from the powerful prescrip- touching moment when VP Biden gave disorders, Variety works with speech tion drugs, and the threat of moving or her a kiss on the cheek.” language experts to assess them and damaging a chemo port installed in her LaVallee, who likes to call himself prescribe communication applications chest stops her from the bruising activi- Variety’s chief excitement officer, said installed on restricted iPads that allow ties that she used to do without fear. the joy he sees in the children whom them to express their needs, desires and “There are so many other things Variety and its sponsors help has how they feel by pressing picture but- she can’t do – gym class, volleyball, changed his own life. tons or typing in words. basketball, water slides, contact sports, “What I’ve learned is their joy A first-grader, Tyler got his com- anything like that,” her mother said, changes all of us, to see how happy they munication device a year ago last June. noting that a weakened immune system are over a bike,” he said. “Sometimes He learned to spell words and practice meant no cool dips in nearby Lake Erie the things we take for granted are trans- what he wanted to say. Now, he can on hot days this summer. formative for them, and they change us.” speak confidently in full sentences to “This bike gave Gabby her life Most of the Variety children partici- the delight of his mother, Jennifer, and back,” she said. pating in the parade were riding adap- the rest of his family. Tyler’s father, tive bikes or strollers. Some were carry- Nathan Winfield, is a member of the In-

28 USW@Work • Fall 2018

53243_USW_WORK.indd 28 10/17/18 4:00 PM Photos by Steve Dietz From left to right: Emilee Alan, Sierra Fagan, Liam Trefelner, Noah Ondrey, Colleen Skelley, Evan Buchheit, Ariel Winfield, Jacob Buchheit, Sienna Winfield, Gabby Laufer, Carmen Laufer, former Vice President Joe Biden, Steven Pander, Carmen Laufer and Gabby Laufer

ternational Association of Sheet Metal, “Variety is an amazing organization, get a chance to hear the personality he Air, Rail and Transportation Workers and I would encourage USW mem- has, and how funny he actually is.” (SMART). “It means the world to us,” bers and the entire community whose Much lighter than a wheelchair, the Jennifer Winfield said while waiting children could benefit to apply for the stroller, which folds up like an umbrella with Tyler to join the parade. “We didn’t program and use their services,” he said. and can fit in the trunk of a car, allows think he would talk. To have him here “It’s really not too good to be true.” Evan to take Jacob to Penguins hockey saying full sentences, telling me what games, the movies and walking around he wants, is amazing.” Sense of freedom the mall. Variety has donated all three avail- Jacob Buchheit, 22, who has a One day about four years ago, Evan, able devices to Vinnie Beavers, a seizure disorder and is partially para- who played club hockey at the Uni- 16-year-old from Western Pennsylvania lyzed from childhood, also uses all versity of Pittsburgh, noticed people with a seizure disorder that limits his three pieces of equipment that Variety getting off the ice who had wheelchairs, mobility and has robbed him of much provides. He rode in the parade with his crutches and prosthetics waiting for of his vocabulary. His father Keith is an brother, Evan, and his mother, Eileen. them. officer of Local 1138 at an Allegheny “Variety has impacted our lives It turns out they were members Technologies Inc. (ATI) facility. tremendously,” Eileen said. of the Mighty Penguins Sled Hockey, The communication device permits Jacob’s blue bike, the first personal which fields four teams of varying ages Vinnie to interact and make friends adaptive equipment he received from that give physically challenged children at school, said his mother, Rachelle. Variety, allows him to participate in and young adults the opportunity to play Although he can only speak 15 or 20 fund-raising events as a Variety Ambas- competitive ice hockey. words on his own, the device holds sador and join his family on scenic bike The Buchheit brothers signed up to four pages of words that he can use to trails around Pittsburgh. play. Jacob uses a stationary stand that express himself. “It gives him a sense of freedom to came with his adaptive bike to maintain “At school, it’s great,” Rachelle said. go out and ride and have fun with us,” his core strength in order to play sled “It’s kind of a bridge between him and Evan said. hockey. other students who weren’t quite sure The bike is both fun and practical Because Jacob is partially para- how to communicate with him.” for Jacob, who has limited speech and lyzed, he can’t use his two sticks to The stroller, an expensive item, mobility. The exercise he gets from push off. But he’s allowed under USA was donated to the Beavers family riding the bicycle has helped him keep Hockey rules to have someone push around the same time that ATI locked up the strength he needs to get through him. Evan went through a certifica- out 2,200 USW members in six states the day. tion process and trained to be Jacob’s for six months in 2015 and 2016 over a “The communication device gives pusher. contract dispute. Keith Beavers was a him a voice,” Eileen, his mother, said. “It “They play together as one unit,” picket captain. allows him to show his personality and Eileen said. “It’s very cool.” connect with people who would never

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53243_USW_WORK.indd 29 10/17/18 4:00 PM USW, MINERS UNION CHALLENGE FIGHTING FOR SAFETY REGULATORY ROLLBACK

The USW and the United Mine Work- trict of Columbia Circuit seeking a review illnesses and fatalities. ers of America (UMWA) have joined of MSHA’s administrative action. The USW joined health experts, forces to challenge a regulatory rollback The initial rule released in 2017 academics, and medical, scientific and of an Obama-era rule that required mines would have required metal and nonmet- labor advocacy organizations in asking to inspect work sites for safety hazards al mine operators to identify and correct OSHA to maintain the provisions of before the start of every shift. adverse mining conditions before the the rule as adopted in 2016. The USW The USW supports a strong regu- beginning of a shift and make a record and many other stakeholders submitted latory and enforcement approach to of the hazardous conditions. comments to OSHA in September. mining in the United States, and knows Under the modified rule, mining The employer information sought by from experience that mines are safer operators may conduct the safety in- the original rule was intended to help when operators, regulators and the spections “as miners begin their work” OSHA allocate its scarce resources for union work continually to improve rather than before they start a shift. That compliance assistance and enforcement, conditions. change leaves it up to mine operators to and to help industry, researchers and Federal law has long required decide the timing of safety inspections, worker representatives to identify haz- underground coal mines to conduct potentially exposing workers to injury. ards and halt preventable work injuries, pre-shift inspections. The USW, UMWA “You ought to know about hazards illnesses and fatalities. and other workplace safety advocates before the shift starts – not three hours Valuable Data believe that similar rules should apply later,” said Mike Wright, director of the In its original comments to OSHA to what MSHA calls “metal and non- USW’s Health, Safety and Environment for the rule, the USW cited an example metal” mines – that is mines other than department. “Inspecting a mine as work of a local union safety committee at a coal mines. begins is like inspecting a ladder while tire plant that routinely reviewed OSHA Mandatory Inspections you are climbing it.” injury and illness data and used the In the closing days of the Obama MSHA also modified a provision information to help identify a repetitive administration in 2017, the Mine Safety that had required metal and nonmetal shoulder injury among tire builders. and Health Administration (MSHA) mining companies to document work- A pneumatic wrench installed on tire significantly strengthened rules requir- place hazards during inspections. As machines eliminated the hazard and the ing mandatory inspections for metal long as the hazards are quickly correct- repeating injury. and nonmetal mines. MSHA, however, ed, documentation is no longer required. The USW has also fought what the changed course this year. Under pres- That change, the USW believes, will union called “unnecessary delays” by sure from an industry seeking regula- make it more difficult to detect patterns OSHA in implementing enforcement tory relief, the agency loosened the very of dangerous conditions in a mine, or of a new standard for occupational ex- same inspection requirements it had to determine if operators failed to do posure to beryllium, a toxic metal with enacted a year earlier. enough to correct hazards they knew many high-tech applications. The USW The USW represents some 13,000 about. represents the majority of unionized miners at metal and nonmetal mines OSHA Rollbacks workers exposed to beryllium. and processing facilities in 31 states that The USW has also pushed back Last year, the USW likewise fought are subject to the rule changes. They against the rollback of safety standards a three-month delay in enforcement of a produce iron ore, copper, nickel, silver, overseen by another federal agency, the new OSHA standard enacted to protect salt, stone and gravel, among other Occupational Safety and Health Admin- workers from respirable crystalline materials. istration (OSHA), created in 1970 to as- silica. When workers cut, grind, or drill In addition to coal miners, the sure safe and healthful working condi- materials that contain crystalline silica UMWA represents miners at metal and tions by setting and enforcing standards. they can be exposed to very small silica nonmetal mines in North Carolina, Ken- In July, OSHA announced its inten- dust particles that can cause silicosis, an tucky and New Mexico that produce a tion to repeal injury reporting require- incurable and sometimes deadly lung range of products including feldspar, ments for large non-mining employers disease. limestone and perlite. that were included in a rule adopted “We have a clear and consistent The rollback was announced by by OSHA in 2016, during the Obama policy no matter what administration is MSHA on April 9, and the changes took presidency. The provisions were meant in power,” said International President effect on June 2. In May, the USW and to promote the identification and cor- Leo W. Gerard. “We support them when the UMWA filed a petition against MSHA rection of workplace hazards with the they’re right and oppose them when in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Dis- aim of preventing work-related injuries, they’re wrong.”

30 USW@Work • Fall 2018

53243_USW_WORK_X.indd 30 10/18/18 5:46 PM COURT ORDERS EPA TO IMPLEMENT WIN FOR USW MEMBERS CHEMICAL DISASTER RULE

Tens of thousands of USW members you they have a huge bankroll to fight Obama administration. work in the chemical, oil refining and against legal challenges they see as The chemical industry fought the paper industries, where they daily face impeding them in any way.” new rules, and when the current admin- the possibility that a catastrophic event Common sense actions istration took over the White House in at work could put them, their families The updated rule requires common- 2017, the industry petitioned the EPA to and communities in harm’s way. sense actions, including improving co- delay and then eliminate them. Pruitt This is why the USW is vigorously ordination and information-sharing with obliged with delays and reviews. fighting attempts by the Environmental first responders and local governments, The USW and a number of envi- Protection Agency (EPA) to delay or involving employees in determining the ronmental groups, community groups completely eliminate enforcement of root cause of incidents and near misses, and state attorneys general challenged safety standards for facilities that use and increasing information made avail- the delays as plaintiffs or intervenors. or store large quantities of hazardous able to surrounding communities about On the other side, industry groups and chemicals. chemical risks. Republican-led states intervened on In a win for USW members and Approximately 30,000 USW mem- behalf of the EPA. families who work in and live around bers work in the chemical industry at The EPA first promulgated acciden- these facilities, a federal appeals court about 300 locations across the United tal release prevention regulations in this summer ordered the EPA to end de- States, according to International Vice 1996. In July 2012, the USW joined a laying the implementation of previous- President Carol Landry, who oversees coalition of community organizations, ly-approved regulations that strengthen that sector. The rule also impacts many environmental groups, and health care the agency’s Risk Management Pro- of the 30,000 USW members who work workers in petitioning the EPA to de- gram, also known as the Chemical in oil and petrochemicals. velop a rule that would require the use Disaster Rule. One of the most important issues in of inherently safer technologies, where Court Ruling the case before the appeals court was feasible, by facilities that use or store In its Aug. 18 ruling, the U.S. Court legal standing – whether the USW or hazardous chemicals. The petition cited of Appeals for the District of Columbia other community and environmental damages from chemical releases caused Circuit directed the EPA to immedi- groups have the legal right to be in- both by accidents and terrorist attacks ately implement the rule, which aims to volved in the case. on U.S. facilities. reduce risks associated with hazardous The court’s ruling strongly supported Chemical Incidents chemicals to owners, operators, work- the union’s standing, and made clear that Soon afterward in 2013, several ers and communities by enhancing the labor unions have the right to defend chemical incidents occurred that re- safety and security of chemical and their members, not only in the work- ceived significant public attention and other facilities. place, but in the community as well. became subjects of investigations by the While the ruling was a victory for “When a number of groups combine Chemical Safety Board. They included the USW and its allies, it does not end as intervenors, a standing decision for the West, Texas, event and an explosion the threat that the EPA may, in the one applies to all of the community and at an olefins plant in Geismar, La., that future, seek to appease the chemical environmental groups. They achieved killed two people and injured 167. industry and eliminate all or most of the standing through us, a fact that may help The Texas disaster involved a fire rule’s protections. in future coalition building,” said Mike and explosion that crushed buildings “This is but a battle in the war as Wright, director of the USW’s Health, and sent projectiles into neighboring the union and community groups have Safety and Environment Department. communities, killing 12 first responders seen an almost continuous onslaught The new rule was initially set to take and two members of the public. More against protections designed to help not effect in June 2017, but former EPA than 160 people were injured. Some 150 only communities but also, ultimately, Administrator Scott Pruitt delayed it buildings were damaged or destroyed. workers. until 2019 as part of his overall agenda In August 2013, President Obama “What benefits workers in the plant of EPA deregulation. issued an executive order establishing a helps improve the environment for Reacting to Disasters working group to study chemical facil- communities outside the plant, and the Reacting to a series of catastrophic ity safety and security. reverse holds true,” said Kim Nibarger, chemical incidents— including a 2013 In March 2016, the EPA announced who directs the USW’s National Oil explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, its proposed amendments to regulations Bargaining Program. Texas, that killed first responders and written to address chemical releases that “The fact that these are among the onlookers—the EPA promulgated the the agency said caused $247.7 million richest corporations in the world tells new regulations toward the close of the in on-site damages.

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53243_USW_WORK_X.indd 31 10/18/18 5:46 PM “With your swearing-in to the Senate, a new world of possibilities begins for Los Mineros and the working class of Mexico.”

Leo W. Gerard

Napoleón Gómez Urrutia Photo courtesy of Los Mineros

32 USW@Work • Fall 2018

53243_USW_WORK.indd 32 10/17/18 7:28 PM Napoleón Gómez Returns to Mexico as Senator apoleón Gómez Urrutia, president and general until conditions improved. secretary of Los Mineros, the Mexican steel and Following the tragedy, Gómez strongly condemned Grupo mine workers union allied with the USW, has re- Mexico and the Mexican government, accusing them of turned home to Mexico as an elected senator after industrial homicide for neglecting to correct health and safety N12 years of exile in Canada. violations in the mine. Gómez received his Mexican Senate credentials on Aug. In retaliation, the Mexican government removed Gómez 28 and took the oath of office on Aug. 30. A USW delegation as union leader and imposed a puppet leader as acting general headed by Canadian National Director Ken Neumann was in secretary of Los Mineros. The move sparked a worldwide attendance. outcry, and international labor organizations launched a In the general elections on July 1, Gómez was on the win- global campaign in support of Gómez and union autonomy in ning Morena party ticket of newly elected President Andrés Mexico. Manuel López Obrador, who won the election with vows to After receiving death threats for criticizing Grupo México, end Mexico’s culture of corruption, its high poverty rate, and Gómez and his family fled Mexico in March 2006 with the inequality. aid of the USW. Later that month, the Los Mineros rank-and- International President Leo W. Gerard welcomed Gomez’s file membership voted overwhelmingly in favor of Gómez as return to Mexico. their general secretary. “With your swearing-in to the Senate, a new world of possibilities begins for Los Mineros and the working class of Sham charges Mexico. For the first time in decades, there is a real oppor- Gómez was then persecuted through the courts on sham tunity to transform the structures of worker representation, charges of corruption. Gómez successfully contested the ac- industrial justice and economic decision-making to make cusations eleven times until a federal court finally put an end democratic representation, real collective bargaining, decent to the case in 2014, denouncing the charges as baseless and wages and pro-worker policies available to Mexican work- unconstitutional. ers,” Gerard said. In 2013, Gómez was finally taken off Interpol’s red alert “This transformation would benefit not only workers in list of wanted suspects after Interpol’s own internal review Mexico, but also their sisters and brothers in Canada and the board heavily criticized the Mexican government for using United States who have suffered the unfair competition result- Interpol for its own political purposes. This meant Gómez ing from wage suppression in Mexico,” he added. was able to leave Canada for the first time since 2006. Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite the Union Los Mineros leaders were targeted and imprisoned by in Great Britain and Ireland, a partner with USW and Los authorities, including Juan Linares, who was illegally incar- Mineros in the international union Workers Uniting, praised cerated for more than two years. Actions by global unions Gómez for resisting the efforts of the Mexican government and their affiliates helped to secure his release from prison in and its largest corporations to destroy him and his union. 2011. “Napoleon’s return to Mexico to be sworn in as a senator In the years after the Pasta de Conchos tragedy, the for the Mexican republic is not only a victory for his and Los Mexican government continued its attacks on Los Mineros by Mineros’ courageous and dignified campaign, but for global freezing its financial accounts, imprisoning union leaders on solidarity in the face of injustice,” McCluskey said. false charges, attempting to eliminate the legal right to strike, “Unite is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with Na- and using police and military force in violent attacks on poleon and his union. His fight is our fight and we wish him workers, resulting in the deaths of at least four union activists every success in transforming Mexico in the fight for a better and injuring many more. world.” Yet despite this, Los Mineros has continued to be the most successful trade union in Mexico. From Canada, Gómez suc- Refuge in Canada cessfully concluded collective bargaining agreements, negoti- Gómez and his family were forced to leave Mexico and ating the highest wage increases of any union in the country. seek refuge in Canada in 2006 after the government of then With his return to Mexico, Gómez said he intends to Mexican President Vicente Fox stripped him of his legal reopen the investigation into the Pasta de Conchos tragedy, certification as leader of the union and filed bogus criminal and fight for the rights of Mexico’s trade unions. In his first charges when he protested the deaths of 65 workers in an week in the Senate, Senator Gómez led the vote to approve explosion at Grupo Mexico’s Pasta de Conchos mine. Convention 98 of the International Labor Organization on the Rescue efforts at the Pasta de Conchos mine were stopped Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining, which has been after only five days, unlike the collapse of the San Jose mine waiting for ratification for 62 years. in Chile four years later, when 33 miners were found alive As President of the Senate’s labor commission, Gómez after 17 days trapped underground. will also play a key role in drafting labor law reform legisla- Before the disaster, Gómez had warned of the dangerous tion to end employer-controlled unions and allow workers to conditions in the mines and asked that production be stopped vote on their contracts.

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53243_USW_WORK.indd 33 10/17/18 7:28 PM NEWS BRIEFS

The teachers’ strike revived memories of an historic Steel- worker dispute against the former Colorado Fuel & Iron, now known as EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel, from 1997 to 2004. SOAR activist Joel Buchanan, a veteran of the CF&I dispute, helped organize the striking teachers, one of whom was his son, and pushed for the billboards. Two billboards were placed on Interstate 25 which runs north and south. A third was erected on Santa Fe Avenue, a main thoroughfare. USW Condemns Bull Moose Tube Lockout The USW condemned the Aug. 22 decision by Bull Watching Brazilian Elections Moose Tube in Trenton, Ga., to lock out 56 members at the International Vice President Fred Redmond led a union specialty piping factory, a subsidiary of London’s Caparo delegation to Brazil to observe the first round of presidential PLC., over contract negotiations. elections on Oct.7. “All workers deserve family-supporting wages, affordable Joining Redmond were Clayola Brown, president of the A. health care and respect on the job. That is what these workers Philip Randolph Institute, and staff members from the USW are seeking at the bargaining table,” said District 9 Director and the United Auto Workers. Daniel Flippo. The U.S. union delegation visited a polling place and met “The company, sadly, would rather force their own hard- with leaders of Brazilian and international political parties. working employees out on the street than negotiate a fair Brown and Redmond also met with Afro-Brazilian union contract that meets those fundamental needs,” Flippo added. leaders to discuss ongoing joint work to fight racism and “We call on Bull Moose Tube to immediately reverse this develop black labor and community leadership. ill-advised decision, put these hard-working people back on the “We can’t allow the advances we have made for racial job, and return to the bargaining table to negotiate a new agree- equality and justice over the past 50 years to be destroyed,” ment that treats these workers with the respect they deserve.” Redmond said. “We have to stand strong and fight together.” Workers’ Party candidate Fernando Haddad won 28 per- New Contract for Medical Staff cent of the votes in the first round, and far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro won 46 percent. A second round of elections was Some 50 members of Local 4950-11 in Ishpeming, Mich., scheduled for Oct. 28. ratified a new contract in August, increasing wages and main- Haddad entered the race after former president and union taining benefits. leader Lulu da Silva, the overwhelming favorite in the polls, was The negotiations with Bell Physician Practices were imprisoned on fabricated corruption charges and disqualified. difficult, but the membership, composed of LPNs and staff Bolsonaro, who has support from business, corporate media handling billing, medical records, reception and more, stayed and the military, has threatened to roll back human and civil strong and united and finally ended up with wage increases in rights laws and empower police to shoot to kill. He has publicly each of the contract’s five years. disparaged women, Afro-Brazilians and LGBT people. Notable contract provisions include increased pension contributions, stronger language for new-hire orientations, as Labor Unions Regain Popularity well as maintaining a buyout option for members who elect Labor unions are regaining popularity with the American not to use company health insurance. public and now hold a 62 percent approval rating, up from an all-time low of 48 percent in 2009, a recession year. Gallup, the polling company, said the rate of approval for labor is the highest it’s been since 2003, when 65 percent of the public thought positively of labor and George W. Bush was president. This year’s rate is consistent with the 61 percent approval last year and is up from 56 percent in 2016. Current support for unions is fairly high across the United States, Gallup said, with majorities of all major gender, age, education and geographic groups, approving of unions. Billboards Proclaim Union Town At the same time, union approval varies sharply by politi- The Southern Colorado Labor Council raised money from t- cal affiliation. Democratic approval of unions has held fairly shirt and button sales to honor union members in Pueblo, Colo., steady over time, while the approval levels of independent with three billboards proclaiming the city a “Union Town.” voters and Republicans have fluctuated. Labor unions, including the USW and the Steelworkers This year, Gallup said 80 percent of Democrats approve of Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR), came up with the idea labor unions versus 45 percent for Republicans. The approval rate after a successful teacher’s strike galvanized community support. among Independents falls squarely in the middle at 62 percent.

34 USW@Work • Fall 2018

53243_USW_WORK_X.indd 34 10/18/18 5:46 PM Not Without a Fight Leaders of Local 2-482 persuaded delegates at the Wis- consin State AFL-CIO convention on Sept. 26 to join them in a global solidarity action with the USW Kimberly-Clark council, UNI Global Union and IndustriALL. Despite record profits, Kimberly-Clark announced plans to significantly scale back its worldwide operations and close its flagship plant in Neenah/Menasha, Wis., where Local 2-482 represents the work force. Local 2-482 President Dave Breckheimer and District 2 Students watch assistant instructor Staff Representative Sally Feistel described to the delegates Steve Tilley of Local 851 L the fight with the company over its decision. Wisconsin pub- simulate basic assembly. lic and private unions support the USW. Time Study Member Education Available The USW offers a time study education program for those local unions with employment contracts that include production rates or incentive-based pay systems. Typically found in manufacturing industries like tires, pot- tery and mattress building, incentive-based pay systems can be complex and difficult to understand, yet they should maintain the basic premise of a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay. “The USW’s time study program gives our members an opportunity to gain an even stronger voice in the workplace,” International Secretary-Treasurer Stan Johnson said. “Having a qualified time study representative within the local union can be an incredibly powerful tool.” The USW offers two levels of training starting with a Bea Lumpkin and SOAR executive one-week course for first timers. This entry-level course gives board member Scott Marshall participating members a basic understanding of how incentive rates are established and calculated. The course covers time study vocabulary, how to prepare At 100, Bea Lumpkin Has No Plans to Slow Down for a time study, how to properly record and analyze data and Bea Lumpkin has seen her share of difficult times for how to draft effective contract language. Graduates will be workers, but she also has seen plenty of reasons for hope. able to perform a time study and make sense of time study The key to turning the tide is simple, she says: organizing. data presented to them. “None of us should ever give up,” Lumpkin said. “There’s An advanced class brings together experienced time study always a way out if we unite enough people together.” representatives, and provides opportunities for local union Lumpkin, a longtime USW activist and SOAR member participants to ask questions and discuss relevant topics while who recently celebrated her 100th birthday, knows it can be improving their time study skills and networking. done because she has seen it before, in the Great Depression More than two dozen participants were expected to attend and the rise of fascism that preceded World War II. time study classes scheduled this year for Murfreesboro, Legislation that established Social Security and the mini- Tenn., in early October. mum wage and eased restrictions on union organizing came If your local is interested in receiving time study training, as a result of those struggles. requests can be made to the International through your district “FDR didn’t just give us the New Deal. He did it because director or staff representative. All applicants must pass an workers kept pushing him forward,” Lumpkin said. “We have entry exam that covers basic mathematic skills. to give immigrants a lot of credit for that – there were a lot of people in the immigrant community who were very early Wanted: USW-Made Goods! labor organizers. They are a source of hope.” Do the members of your local union make a consumer The massive organization of workers following the product that other USW members can buy? If so, let us know! Depression led to decades of prosperity. That same kind of USW@Work wants to help our brothers and sisters across the activism today can turn the tide, Lumpkin said. country purchase union-made goods. Email us at editor@usw. “The urgency of building and strengthening the labor org, and tell us your name, your local union number and loca- movement has kept me going and given me a lot to live for,” tion, and the product(s) that you make so we can encourage Lumpkin said. other union members to support you.

USW@Work • Fall 2018 35

53243_USW_WORK_X.indd 35 10/18/18 5:46 PM Have You Moved? Notify your local union financial secretary, or clip out this form with your old address label and send your new address to:

USW Membership Department, 60 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Name ______New Address ______City ______State ______Zip ______

SEE PAGE 8

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