Basic Steel Update 10 Big Win in Health Care 13 Defending Voting Rights 23 Testing for Atomic Workers 24
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10 BASIC STEEL UPDATE 13 BIG WIN IN HEALTH CARE 23 DEFENDING VOTING RIGHTS 24 TESTING FOR ATOMIC WORKERS 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.