DEDICATED GLASS WORKERS 04 REBUILDING AMERICA 10 FOCUS ON COVID SAFETY 08 AN UNUSUAL LABOR DAY 23

67668_Magazine.indd 1 9/18/20 6:14 PM “RECOVERING FROM THE COVID-19 CRISIS AND ENSURING SHARED PROSPERITY FOR GENERATIONS TO COME WILL TAKE BOLD ACTION AND A SUSTAINED COMMITMENT. JOE BIDEN’S PLAN FOR REVITALIZING AMERICAN MANUFACTUR- ING DEMONSTRATES BOTH.” INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT THOMAS M. CONWAY

CURRENT INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD THOMAS M. CONWAY International President JOHN SHINN Int’l. Secretary-Treasurer DAVID R. McCALL Int’l. Vice President (Administration) FRED REDMOND Int’l. Vice President (Human affairs) KEN NEUMANN Nat’l. Dir. for Canada LEEANN FOSTER Int’l. Vice President NEIGHBORHOOD WORK CONTINUES STAYING SAFE ROXANNE BROWN ACTIVISM IN PHILLY DESPITE OBSTACLES AT ATOMIC SITES Vice President at Large Members of Local 4889 in Phila- The Institute for Career Develop- Despite the challenges USW mem- delphia dedicated themselves to ment provides USW members with bers face in the atomic sector, they DIRECTORS improving one of the most troubled a chance to learn new skills or always work hard to create safe and DONNIE BLATT neighborhoods in their hometown. advance existing ones. healthy workplaces. District 1 20 24 28 MICHAEL BOLTON District 2 STEPHEN HUNT FEATURES District 3 SPEAKING OUT TRADE WATCH NEWS BRIEFS DEL VITALE USW active and retired members Despite numerous promises from Workers at Ohio’s Fisher Cast are District 4 and their families are invited to President Donald Trump, the fighting for fairness. Local 2-232 DOMINIC LEMIEUX “speak out.” Letters should be short nation’s workers are still suffering members in Wisconsin ratified a District 5 and to the point. We reserve the from the effects of unfair trade. contract with Briggs & Stratton’s MARTY WARREN right to edit for length. 14 bidder. You can nominate fellow USW District 6 03 members who are multiplying good in their communities. MIKE MILLSAP District 7 33 ERNEST R. “BILLY” THOMPSON COVER District 8 Elijah Centers, Paula Sills and Jesus COMMUNICATIONS STAFF DANIEL FLIPPO Perez, members of Local 137M at the JESS KAMM BROOMELL R.J. HUFNAGEL AARON HUDSON District 9 Director of Communications Editor GREG COLE Owens-Illinois glass plant in Southern Graphic Designers BOBBY “MAC” MCAULIFFE California. CHELSEY ENGEL, LYNNE HANCOCK,TONY MONTANA, District 10 04 CHEYENNE SCHOEN, JOE SMYDO EMIL RAMIREZ USW@Work (ISSN 1931-6658) is published four times a year by the United Steelworkers EMAIL: [email protected] District 11 AFL-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 GAYLAN PRESCOTT 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 15/4 Copyright 2020 by United Steelworkers, AFL-CIO•CLC. All rights reserved. No part of this Fall 2020 District 13 publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the United Steelworkers.

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67668_Magazine_X.indd 2 9/21/20 11:42 PM SPEAKING OUT Health Care is Worth the Fight to address the imperfections in that legislation, and because As a retired member of Local 5668 in Ravenswood, of our efforts, six states introduced bills to close loopholes in W.Va., I know how important health care coverage is for our the federal version. It passed in Colorado already, and with seniors, especially at a time like this when a global pandemic each state that joins, thousands more working people will be is threatening the health of thousands of retired Americans able to count on paid sick leave if they’re quarantined due to every single day. COVID-19. The peace of mind that brings is invaluable, and That is why I was so proud to see the article in the most it’s only the beginning of what we can obtain if we stay active recent issue of USW@Work about the union’s victory at the and innovative. Constellium plant in Ravenswood, where the company want- This is in addition to our ongoing struggles to protect and ed to unilaterally gut the retiree health care plan. strengthen our right to organize (PRO Act), and to protect The truth is, without a union there to fight that battle, the our pensions (partially by removing the GROW Act from the company might have gotten away with it. And the fact that aforementioned HEROES Act). We have a lot on our plate, the union kept fighting even when the odds seemed impossi- but that is precisely why we can’t let our guard down or allow ble makes me proud to call myself a Steelworker. That’s what our focus to shift from the substantive to the sensational. Steelworkers do – we fight for what is right. And that’s why The election is now only weeks away. No matter who we need unions like the USW in every workplace. wins, we have battles to fight that existed before 2020, and Knowing that we have the thousands of members of the they’ll exist beyond. We must keep the heat on our represen- USW and the Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees tatives, regardless of their party affiliation, their disposition (SOAR) in our corner all across the country makes us that toward unions, or whether they are incoming, outgoing, or en- much stronger when we’re facing off against the bosses who trenched. A sympathetic occupant in the White House would want to cut our health care, or politicians who want to gut be a major advantage, but it is in Congress that we have our Medicare and Medicaid, leaving people like me without the best opportunity to make headway. Our presence must be felt benefits they earned over so many years of hard work. before, during, and after this election. We cannot afford to Thank you to all of the retired Steelworkers who keep take a break. Unless we maintain this pressure and continue fighting the good fight even after they retire. If you’re a to make our voices heard, we will fall short, and there’s too retired Steelworker and you aren’t a member of SOAR, you much at stake to allow that to happen. We have the influence; should join today and help us keep up the fight. we need to use it. As President Jimmy Carter once said, “Working together, with our common faith, we cannot fail.” Lesley Shockey President, SOAR Chapter 23-16 Noah Cope Sandyville, W.Va. Recording Secretary, Local-21005 Plymouth, Mich. Keep the Heat on Lawmakers The 2020 election is fast approaching, and predictably, an Take a Look at Both Parties incredibly divisive election cycle is sucking the air out of the I feel I must respond to the letter in the Summer issue, room. It’s natural that the presidential race would dominate “Union Members Should Vote Biden.” the news cycle as well as our attention. The writer states that he has “never” voted for a Repub- The president sets the country’s tone and agenda for the lican and never will. I say that is a narrow-minded view of next 4-8 years, which can have ramifications for decades. Most politics and what is good for this country as a whole. importantly for union members, the president appoints the The writer is certainly entitled to his views and voting members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). All preferences, but to say that he never will vote Republican union members have to decide for themselves – in any election means that he doesn’t really care about the goodness, honesty – which candidate they truly believe will guide the NLRB in or ability of the candidate, just that he is a Democrat. the direction that will broaden the rights of working people. Russ McCoy It is imperative that we not let the drama of the presiden- Local 1014, retired tial race distract us from the vital House and Senate races that La Porte, Ind. are also taking place, and we cannot lose sight of our com- mon goals as union members. Many of the challenges work- ers face are currently in stark relief, thanks to the coronavirus

EMAIL: [email protected] pandemic, and there are multiple pieces of legislation before MAIL: USW@Work Congress to address those challenges. 60 Blvd of the Allies We must use our strength to ensure passage of the EMAIL: [email protected] USW active and retired members and Pittsburgh, PA 15222 HEROES Act, rather than the inferior HEALS Act. After the MAIL: USW@Work their families are invited to “speak out.” 60 Blvd of the Allies Letters should be short and to the point. USW@WORK Families First Coronavirus Relief Act passed both houses of Pittsburgh, PA 15222 We reserve the right to edit for length. Volume 15/4 Fall 2020 Congress, we mobilized through our Rapid Response network

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67668_Magazine.indd 3 9/18/20 6:14 PM YOU GIVE 110 PERCENT

USW Glassmakers at Owens-Illinois Dedicate Themselves to Quality Products

Editor’s Note: USW@Work visited the Owens-Illinois glass factory prior to the outbreak of COVID-19. The members there are now following numerous additional safety protocols beyond those seen in these photos.

Photos by Steve Dietz

4 USW@Work • Fall 2020 Susana Espino

67668_Magazine.indd 4 9/18/20 6:14 PM s they spend their days making glass bottles and jars for ic this spring, the fight for safety was a challenge for the local, beer, wine, soft drinks and other foods and beverages, but that union activism as well as state- and county-level safe- Athe members of Local 137M in California can spot the ty mandates helped to push the company to do the right thing. slightest imperfections in their products with just a quick touch or glance. Thousands of Glass Workers That commitment to meticulous quality control is a hallmark Overall, the USW represents about 25,000 workers in the of the work force at Owens-Illinois (O-I), and also one of the glass industry, including hundreds of mold makers and thou- factors that set USW glassmakers and their products apart from sands of others who produce containers, tableware, fiberglass, those that come out of non-union glass plants. flat glass, sheet glass, auto glass, tubing and other materials. “Putting out a good product means having pride in what you The USW’s GMP Council coordinates bargaining for nearly do,” said Local 137M President Tahinna Aguayo. “When you 10,000 members at container companies like O-I, as well as Ar- are out there doing a dagh Glass, Anchor Glass, Gallo Glass, Longhorn Glass, Ger- specific job, you carry it resheimer and Arkan- out to a T, because you sas Glass. want to ensure that your The fact that Lo- customers get noth- cal 137M members ing but quality in their have thousands of hands.” union siblings across The customers who the North American 110 glass industry stand- purchase O-I products have been on the receiv- ing with them helps ing end of that quality for The USW in their fight for fair nearly 10 decades. The wages and benefits, plant marked its 90th represents about especially in a rela- year in 2019 and shows 25,000 workers in tively high-cost-of- no signs of stopping. living area like Cali- “It’s a sense of pride the glass industry. fornia. that you have in the job David Pina “The workers at that you do,” Aguayo the O-I plant are a said. “You go out there perfect example of and you make sure that how labor and man- you give 110 percent. agement can work to- And on top of that, you gether to ensure long- try to transfer that ener- term success,” said gy to your co-workers GMP Council Chair as well.” Bruce R. Smith. “The The longevity the plant hasn’t survived plant and its workers for 91 years by acci- have enjoyed in south- dent. It has survived ern California is due in and thrived because large part to the union the workers share a spreading that conta- commitment to hard gious energy and dedi- work, fairness and solidarity, day in and cation through the work Jaime Ortiz force, members say. day out.” “This job is everything to me,” said Local 137M member The USW’s mem- Anita Villagran. bership in the glass industry grew as a result of the 2018 merger The plant, southeast of downtown Los Angeles, is one of 13 with the Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers O-I glass facilities employing a combined 3,300 USW members International (GMP), which Smith served as president prior to in the United States. The USW also represents members at two the merger. The members of Local 137M were a part of GMP. O-I factories in Canada. “It’s a big plus to have the union behind us,” Bautista said. Each facility has three collective bargaining agreements; one “Every day when you come to work, you know you have a for production and maintenance, one covering the automatic good-paying job. The wages are great; the insurance is good.” machine department, and one for mold makers. Those obvious benefits of union membership help to reduce Those agreements provide stability, safety and economic se- turnover and build continuity, both for the union and the com- curity for union members and their families. pany, Aguayo said. “The union provides a lot for our families,” said Local 137M “They get good people in here, because at the end of the day, member Jesus Bautista. “It gives us job security.” they stay,” she said. “These are really good-paying union jobs.” Aguayo said that in the early days of the COVID-19 pandem-

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67668_Magazine.indd 5 9/18/20 6:14 PM ‘A Little Family to Me’ and the company can prosper. consistently faces pressure from cheaply Villagran, who has spent much of her “We’ve worked really hard,” Aguayo made, unfairly traded overseas compe- career at the O-I plant, is one of those said. “We’ve built a strong management- tition. That pressure has come largely dedicated workers. Her brother and two labor relationship. We have a very close from Chinese manufacturers, which daughters also work at the factory. working relationship.” have illegally dumped cheap glass con- “This is what I have been doing for The fact that both the company and tainers and other products in the United 41 years. I love it,” she said. “This is the union are dedicated to quality control States in an attempt to undercut manu- like a little family to me. This is my has helped the two sides find other areas facturers like O-I and others. second home.” on which they have common ground, “This union fights for fair trade on so Aguayo said that the 250 USW mem- said plant manager Doug Pittman. many fronts,” said District 12 Director bers at the plant strive to build on that “It’s a very important relationship. I Gaylan Prescott. “It goes far beyond family atmosphere. She said the local like to think of it as a partnership,” he steel and aluminum. We need a level and the company have worked hard in said. “We share in our success, and we playing field in every industry – paper, recent years to create a collaborative share in the challenges.” rubber and plastics, glass. These jobs relationship that allows the two sides are worth the fight.” Fighting for Fair Trade The basic glassmaking process has to focus on putting out quality products Some of those challenges have while making sure that both the workers been the same for thousands of years included working in an industry that – workers heat raw materials such as

Jesus Perez

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67668_Magazine.indd 6 9/18/20 6:15 PM “

Anita Villagran

Annie Villagran The union provides a lot for our families. It gives us job security.”

Jesus Jesus Michael Paul Bautista Barrios

sand, limestone and soda ash combined company’s rigorous standards. Although and other consumers. with recycled glass to create a molten cameras scan the containers for defects Because their products ultimately end liquid, then form that liquid into shapes and machines test their strength, work- up directly in the hands of consumers, using molds. While USW members at ers also manually and visually inspect the workers at O-I take special care to O-I still employ those methods, it is the products to ensure quality. ensure that they are free from imperfec- their attention to detail and commitment Containers that don’t meet O-I stan- tions. to excellence that make their products dards are recycled as “cullet” and added “At the end of the day,” Aguayo said, second to none. to a future batch. The rest are shipped “it is management and union working Each piece passes through a series of to beverage and food companies, filled together to get this product out there.” inspections to make sure it meets the up and sent to store shelves, restaurants

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67668_Magazine.indd 7 9/18/20 6:15 PM Coronavirus Pandemic Reveals Vital Importance of Union HSE Committees

s the COVID-19 nearly every job in the settings, said International Raising health and safety pandemic present- facilities aside from regis- Vice President Fred Red- concerns is perhaps the Aed challenges for tered nursing. mond, who oversees bar- most important function of workers in every sector of “It’s been a struggle, and gaining for the USW’s health a union, especially at the the economy, it also exposed it’s still a struggle,” Wolk care workers. local level, said Paul Shaffer, a very simple but import- said. “We’re still fighting to president of Local 4-0005 in ant fact: Without unions to be able to get fresh personal Ticonderoga, N.Y. collectively fight for health protective equipment (PPE).” “Without us confronting and safety protections, most Wolk said USW health managers and holding them American workers have been and safety activists fought to It’s to doing the right thing, it forced to confront those get high-efficiency partic- would have been all over,” challenges on their own. ulate air (HEPA) filters in been a Shaffer said of his local’s Even for USW members areas where COVID-19 and struggle, response to the virus. like Tyona Wolk, president of possible COVID-19 patients Without persistent union Local 9600, health and safety were staying, made sure and it’s still activism, the company’s issues have been a struggle the filters were adequately a struggle. response would have been a in recent months, but having maintained, and fought to patchwork of incomplete and the union as a foundation has make sure that management ineffective measures, leaving made the difference. took other important steps we’re still workers and their families far “We have been able to to protect workers and their fighting to be more vulnerable to illness, step up and fill a void with patients. he said. this pandemic, making sure able to get “We’ve been trying that the employer looks out The Union Difference to stay out in front of it,” Without the strength of fresh PPE.’’ for employee safety where Tyona Wolk, Local 9600 Shaffer said, explaining that they weren’t going to initial- the USW and its commit- he and other local leaders ly,” Wolk said. “They know ment to health and safety worked with the company that we’re watching and we activism at every local, that to create two pandemic have people on the floor who fight would have been nearly teams – a pre-outbreak and are reporting to us, and we impossible, said Wolk, who “The issues of health and post-outbreak group – before bring our concerns to them.” previously worked at a non- safety have never been more the virus gained a foothold in Wolk’s local represents union health care facility. important,” Redmond said. their upstate New York town. about 800 members who “We literally had no “And they are never more “We’ve been pretty lucky as work at Oroville Hospital voice,” she said. “I clearly important than for our front- far as cases go here.” and nearby clinics north remember us feeling incred- line health care workers, who of Sacramento, Calif. The ibly timid in every aspect of every day put themselves in Planning Ahead workers there are covered our jobs.” harm’s way to care for others. Local Local 4-0005 by four collective bargain- A strong voice on health They need us to care for them Vice President and Safety ing agreements that include and safety issues is essential, as well as they do for us.” Facilitator Jason Vargo is particularly in health care part of the facility’s pre-out-

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67668_Magazine_X.indd 8 9/21/20 11:42 PM break team. He and his team but we have to keep our folks members meet three times from bringing this home to their a week for about an hour families and hurting them.” each time to discuss develop- Croftcheck, a union ments and make plans in case member since 1976 whose COVID-19 begins to spread home local is Local 1557 in at the facility, which is home Clairton, Pa., said that union to about 600 USW members, membership allows workers as well as contractors and to be an equal part of safety members of management. discussions with their em- The group discusses issues ployers, which facilitates Leeann Foster, Pontus Georgsson, from PPE distribution to progress. International Swedish Union workplace sanitation to how “We’ve become partners Vice President Pappers President to keep masks from fogging with the company,” he said. up workers’ glasses. “It’s worked out OK. We’ve Global “You name it, we’ve faced had some fights, but we’re it together,” Vargo said. partners in this.” Vargo said that in some Paper Workers cases, workers are forced Federal Response into close quarters together, The most frustrating as- Confront COVID-19 and that the reality of life in a pect of fighting the pandemic, paper mill doesn’t always fit union safety leaders say, has he USW led a group of about 80 union neatly with protocols handed been the muddled and incon- leaders from pulp and paper unions in 20 down by bureaucrats. That’s sistent response from leaders countries in an online meeting this summer where local safety leaders in Washington, D.C., includ- T to discuss their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. become essential in making ing President Donald Trump. International Vice President Leeann Foster, sure those important concepts “He’s sending very mixed who oversees bargaining in the USW’s paper can translate into the reality messages to people,” Croft- sector, served as co-chair of the meeting with of life on the job. check said, pointing out that Pontus Georgsson, president of Swedish union “The golden rule is to the president has called the Pappers. The event was coordinated through the socially distance. When that virus a “hoax,” refused to global union coalition IndustriALL. can’t happen, then that’s when wear a mask in public, and Foster and Georgsson opened the meeting by PPE really comes into play,” failed to support national stating their determination to work together to he said. “You cannot make safety mandates, such as an face the pandemic, agreeing that global solidarity these decisions from an office. emergency standard from is now more important than ever. You need to be with the guys the Occupational Safety “There is so much strength and expertise in on the floor. You have to make and Health Administration this group,” Foster said. “We have risen to the safety so it works.” (OSHA). Wolk agreed that a more challenge of COVID and gone beyond. We must An Equal Partner coordinated national response reinvent ourselves in the crisis.” Calvin Croftcheck, the would have helped union and Even before the pandemic, safety was a priority USW’s safety coordinator for non-union workers in their in the paper sector, which can be one of the most U.S. Steel, helps the union efforts to fight the disease. dangerous for USW members and all workers. fight for safe workplaces for “If we had true leaders in Workers across the globe must recommit about 16,000 members at the the White House,” she said, themselves to safety and health and not allow steel giant’s facilities across “we would have saved thou- employers to use the pandemic as an excuse to the country. sands of lives.” bust unions, said IndustriALL pulp and paper While a significant part of Still, Croftcheck said sector director Tom Grinter. his job is to prevent indus- that the fact that COVID-19 “Unions must have a seat at the table at every trial incidents from injuring doesn’t discriminate between level,” Grinter said. workers, Croftcheck said his union and non-union workers On the contrary, rather than an excuse for experience in dealing with has made it easier to con- union busting, the pandemic is a reason to or- past outbreaks, including front management on health ganize. Workers should be bringing new, young the MRSA scare of 2009, and safety issues, which has workers into the labor movement to ensure that has proven valuable as he helped protect workers across they, too, have protections, Georgsson said. works to fight the spread of all industries. “We see increasing attacks on workers’ and hu- COVID-19. “This isn’t a union issue. man rights and we have to push back,” said Indus- “Our members depend It’s not a company issue,” he triALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan. on us to keep them safe,” said. “It’s a human issue.” “International solidarity is crucial and together we Croftcheck said. “Not only that, are strong enough to defend those in need.”

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67668_Magazine_X.indd 9 9/21/20 11:42 PM fter nearly four years of Donald • Billions in investments to help Trump's inaction on a promised American manufacturing sites, Aoverhaul of the nation’s crum- especially small businesses, retool bling infrastructure, former Vice Pres- their operations through tax in- ident Joe Biden outlined an ambitious, centives, low-cost loans and other detailed plan that would put millions of funding streams. Americans back to work, jump-start the “These provisions will put our coun- stagnant economy and help to revitalize try on stronger economic footing and U.S. manufacturing. bolster our national security,” said “I do not buy for one second that the Secretary-Treasurer John Shinn. “As the vitality of American manufacturing is a pandemic has made clear, our country thing of the past,” Biden said. “This will must be able to supply its own needs.” be a mobilization of R&D and procure- ‘Made in America’ ment investments in ways not seen since Dan Boone, president of Local 979 World War II.” at ArcelorMittal’s Cleveland steel mill, Biden unveiled his $2 trillion “Build said Biden’s “Buy American” provi- Back Better” infrastructure and eco- sions will help Steelworkers like those nomic recovery plan this summer. at his workplace regain solid footing “Recovering from the COVID-19 after years of facing unfair competition crisis and ensuring shared prosperity for from China and other nations that flout generations to come will take bold action trade laws. and a sustained commitment,” said Inter- “We’ve been through some hard times national President Thomas M. Conway. and we’ve been through some very “Joe Biden’s plan for revitalizing Ameri- good times,” said Boone. “The idea of can manufacturing demonstrates both.” Made in America means a lot to us. We Biden’s proposals will make sure think that all of the steel we use should that our future is built in America be made in America.” by American workers. Biden is proposing to pay for his plan The plan calls for: in part by restoring the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, after Republican cuts • Strong “Buy American” provisions, in 2017 reduced it to 21 percent. Those with a commitment to invest $400 tax cuts, which came with promises of billion in American-made products swift job growth, actually resulted in and services. slower growth over the ensuing two • A $300 billion investment into years than the nation saw in the final researching and developing new two years of the Obama administration, industrial technology, a plan that is according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Sta- projected to create 5 million new jobs. tistics data. • Aggressive trade enforcement ac- “The days of Amazon paying nothing tions against countries that unfairly in federal income tax will be over,” undercut American manufacturing, Biden said. including practices like currency When the government spends tax manipulation, dumping and illegal dollars, Biden said, it should do so in a subsidies. way that supports American jobs. • A massive expansion of worker Ohio AFL-CIO President and USW training and education programs member Tim Burga said Biden’s eco- for manufacturing and innovation nomic plan puts the interests of work- jobs in communities across the ers, rather than corporations and Wall country, with a focus on communi- Street, at the forefront. ties of color. “We’ve lacked a cohesive, national • Stricter domestic content rules and manufacturing plan for a long time,” better enforcement of false labeling Burga said. “Joe Biden’s plan is exactly to ensure that “Made in America” what we need.” means what it says.

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67668_Magazine.indd 10 9/18/20 6:15 PM Creating Good Jobs percent of its value. The new president Biden’s procurement plan will spur put Biden in charge of overseeing the U.S. manufacturers to create good recovery effort from what, at the time, American jobs across all of the USW’s was the worst economic crisis since the core industries. The plan to invest in Great Depression. new highways, bridges, schools, elec- Biden took the reins of the American trical grids, communications networks Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a com- and other public assets will increase the plex $800 billion program that involved U.S. nation’s demand for products including 100,000 projects and 28 individual Election Day is steel, aluminum, cement, rubber, plas- agencies, and he demanded transparen- tics and other USW-made materials. cy and accountability. Tuesday, Nov. 3, Each new job in those industries will It was an effort that even critics ac- 2020. in turn support the creation of even knowledged was efficient, effective and more jobs in the direct supply chain, in scandal-free. the service sector or elsewhere. Statis- “He did a good job running the tics from the nonpartisan Economic Pol- Recovery Act,” said political organiz- icy Institute show that manufacturing er Jeff Hauser, who spent three years jobs create a ripple effect – every 100 working for the AFL-CIO and has been ELECTION jobs in durable manufacturing support a frequent critic of Biden’s Wall Street nearly 700 additional jobs. ties. “He was very focused on avoiding 2020 Biden’s administration will follow scandals, and he succeeded.” through where Trump failed on infrastruc- Biden’s experience as vice president ture, said John Williams of Local 6787 at makes him the right candidate at the Voter Information ArcelorMittal in Burns Harbor, Ind. right time, said Jared Bernstein, a senior Find your registration status, “Trump hasn’t provided Americans fellow at the Center on Budget and register to vote and get informa- with what he promised,” Williams said. Policy Priorities. tion about mailed ballots and early “The country needs a fast, broad, robust “He would be the most battle-tested voting, as well as more information infrastructure bill. The Biden package president to come into office that we’ve about the USW’s endorsement would be huge for the steel industry ever had in this regard,” said Bern- process and our chosen candidates and our sister and brother industries in stein, a former economic adviser to the by visiting USWVoices.org. aluminum, rubber and others.” Obama administration. “Biden would The Biden plan will also ensure that bring a unique experience to the office.” the nation won’t face a manufacturing Strengthening Unions Work the Polls deficit like the one the U.S. confronted Biden’s massive recovery plan isn’t Having workers to staff polling at the outset of the COVID-19 pan- just to invest in manufacturing jobs, but places has never been more vital. demic, when Americans saw a shortage to make sure they are good jobs. His Each state has individual deadlines of critical supplies such as ventilators, proposal includes policies to make it and requirements, but if you are in- hospital beds, personal protective equip- easier for workers to organize unions terested in serving as a poll worker, ment, sanitizer and other products. and to hold employers accountable visit PowerThePolls.org/USW to Biden’s plan includes provisions to when they interfere with organizing learn more. make advance purchases of critical efforts. medical supplies and pharmaceuticals to That means the plan isn’t just good ensure sufficient stockpiles for use in a news for American workers, it’s also future crisis. good news for the members of the USW Biden is ‘Battle Tested’ and other unions, said International Vice Besides having a detailed plan to President David McCall. rebuild the economy, the former vice “The Biden plan won’t just jump-start president has the experience to know American manufacturing, it will be what it takes, because he has done it a shot in the arm for the labor move- before. ment,” said McCall. “It will create thou- In 2009, when President Barack sands of good-paying union jobs for Obama took office, nearly 12 million American workers all along the supply Americans were unemployed and the chain.” stock market had lost more than 50

USW@Work • Fall 2020 11

67668_Magazine.indd 11 9/18/20 6:15 PM tion that would have removed countless cus on promoting union organizing. roadblocks that workers face when • Extend collective bargaining rights forming unions. He has vowed to name to independent contractors, and officials to the National Labor Relations ensure that workers are able to Board (NLRB) and his Cabinet who bargain with the employer that truly will protect workers’ rights. He will sign holds the power over their working legislation like the Protecting the Right conditions, including franchises. to Organize (PRO) Act, which will • Expand the rights of farm workers make it easier for workers to organize and domestic workers. and punish employers who illegally • Increase funding and enforcement stand in their way. efforts of the Occupational Safe- BIDEN'S “It’s so important for American ty and Health Administration to Pro-Union workers to belong to unions, so that ensure all workers have safe and they have someone to fight for them and healthy workplaces. stand with them,” Biden said. “Ameri- RECORD cans deserve a government that works A Rebirth of Labor for them, not against them.” The Democratic Nominee Unlike President Trump, Vice Biden’s platform acknowledges de- Will Empower Workers President Biden has proudly marched cades of income inequality and stagnant side-by-side with USW members. He to Organize wages and calls for a rebirth of the labor has stood up for private- and public-sec- movement. tor workers throughout his life and will As president, Biden will protect pen- continue to do so as president. ormer Vice President Joe Biden, the sions by signing the Butch Lewis Act, Biden’s extensive plans for labor son of a working-class family from stand up for our most vulnerable workers reform will usher in a rebirth of a northeastern Pennsylvania’s coal F by raising the minimum wage, and strong American working class. On country, has supported the interests of invest billions in infrastructure improve- the campaign trail, Biden cites statis- working Americans throughout his career, ments that provide good, union jobs. tics showing that the decline in union and the Democratic presidential nominee membership over the past 40 years has detailed plans to continue that support In addition, the Biden mirrored a massive increase in the share after he wins the White House. administration will: of U.S. income going to the wealthiest 1 “If I’m your president, you will never • Penalize employers that bargain in percent of Americans. He is committed have a more union-friendly president,” bad faith. to reversing that trend. said Biden. “We’re not bending or bow- • Support federal legislation to ban “This is no accident,” Biden said, ing any more. We are going to take this harmful right-to-work pointing out that employers attack labor country back, and unions are going to (for less) laws. rights for a very simple reason: to keep be the ones to do it.” • Ensure that workers can exercise a greater share of the fruits of that labor In 2008, before leaving the U.S. Sen- their right to strike without retali- for themselves. ate to serve alongside former President ation. As the COVID pandemic continues to Barack Obama, Biden was known as • Protect public sector employees expose the longstanding fissures in the “middle-class Joe” for good reason – he and their right to join unions. U.S. economy, workers in all sectors, received a rating of 93 percent from the • Expand the eligibility of workers to including essential workers at compa- AFL-CIO for his voting record on labor collect overtime pay. nies like Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and issues. By contrast, Trump’s vice pres- • Provide resources to the Depart- FedEx, are seeking the protection of ident, Mike Pence, received a lifetime ment of Labor to target wage theft, unions. rating of just 4 percent during his 12 misclassification of employees and To be successful, they will need a years in Congress. other violations of workers’ rights president and NLRB who are on their “The difference is as clear as it’s ever that cost Americans millions of side. been: Joe Biden has a long history of dollars a year in lost wages and “The fact is, when workers do well, standing up for workers, and Donald benefits. everybody does well,” Biden said. Trump and his administration have a long • Withhold federal funds from com- history of attacking them,” said Interna- panies that engage in union-busting tional President Thomas M. Conway. activities. Biden, when he was a Delaware • Support federal efforts to ensure senator, was an original co-sponsor of equal pay. the Employee Free Choice Act, legisla- • Create a Cabinet-level group to fo-

12 USW@Work • Fall 2020

67668_Magazine.indd 12 9/18/20 6:15 PM allow this administration another four (for less) law, which would put years, we will be back in the 1920s in workers on the defensive across the terms of workers’ rights.” United States and result in lower President Shapes Board wages and weaker benefits. Congress established the NLRB in • Opposed legislation to help workers 1935 as part of the New Deal, and the and retirees, such as the Butch Lewis board is tasked with overseeing union pension reform bill and the Protect- elections and investigating and prose- ing the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. cuting labor rights violations. • Issued executive orders intended to The president appoints and the senate restrict unions at federal agencies. confirms board members to five-year • Sought to defund or eliminate the TRUMP'S terms, with one member’s term expiring Chemical Safety Board. Anti-Union each year. While the NLRB is techni- History of Fighting Workers cally an independent agency, that power Trump openly opposed unions long gives the president enormous influence before he became president. He and his RECORD over its policies and decisions, and business associates were hostile to work- The President President Trump has used it to disman- ers during his decades as a real estate Fought Workers tle workers’ rights. Some of the rules developer and business mogul, said JoJo Every Step of the Way the agency overturned have existed for a Burgess of Local 14693 in Pennsylvania. half-century or more. “ e current occupant of the Oval Oce he 2016 presidential election had Here are just a few examples of has been nothing but anti-worker,” Burgess far-reaching and long- what the Trump board has done: said, pointing out that the vast majority lasting consequences, perhaps none of the products sold under Trump’s name • Sought to dramatically lengthen T over the years have been manufactured more damaging than President Trump’s the timetable for union elections determination to undermine workers’ overseas, as have many of the materials and limit access to workers, giving rights at every turn. used in the buildings that bear his name. employers major advantages when From his appointments to the Nation- Besides his NLRB appointments, Trump seeking to bust organizing drives. al Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to named a notorious anti-union crusader, • Made it easier for employers to judges and Labor Department officials, Peter Robb, as the organization’s general decertify existing unions. the president has fought workers and counsel. Robb has worked for a series of • Made it more difficult for contract unions harder than any administration in union-busting law rms and, in 1981, was employees and workers at franchise modern American history. instrumental in President Ronald Reagan’s businesses to join unions. The NLRB, an agency that receives ring of striking air trac controllers in • Allowed companies to implement little media attention but has significant one of the most notorious labor decisions policy changes without bargaining. power over workers, is now dominated in U.S. history. Today, Robb leads the “It goes to the old adage – an injury to with anti-union Trump appointees who NLRB’s eld oces and directs many of its one is an injury to all,” said John Wil- have relentlessly sought to curtail the rule-making attacks on workers. liams of Local 6787 at the ArcelorMIttal rights of workers. plant in Burns Harbor, Ind. “What is Trump’s Relentless Attack “The NLRB operates largely under the won at the bargaining table can be taken Even in the midst of the COVID-19 radar, but its decisions go directly to the away with a ruling or a piece of legis- pandemic and the resulting economic heart of what we do – wages, benefits, lation. That’s why it’s so important for downturn, Trump’s hand-picked hench- working conditions, even our ability to working people to support a Biden-Har- men stepped up their attacks on workers. form a union and sit at the bargaining ris ticket over a Trump-Pence ticket.” is spring, the board sought to table in the first place – all of it depends Trump’s administration has taken eliminate what has been known as the on who serves on that board,” said Inter- “blocking charge policy,” under which other actions to hurt working national President Thomas M. Conway. union election results can be delayed if For Justin Willis of Local 7-507 in Americans: an employer engages in illegal coercion northern Illinois, the 2020 election rep- • Eliminated workplace safety stan- or other unfair labor practices. resents a crossroads for working people dards and reduced enforcement by “Donald Trump's caustic hostility to – making it truly, as he said, “the most the Occupational Safety and Health collective bargaining has manifested important election of our lifetimes.” Administration, including opposing itself in the most anti-worker NLRB in “They’re trying to turn back the an emergency federal safety stan- America's history,” said AFL-CIO Presi- clock, to take back everything we have dard to keep workers safe during the dent Richard Trumka. “We must oppose built for the past 60 or 70 years in terms COVID-19 pandemic. him at every turn.” of workers’ rights,” Willis said. “If we • Supported a federal right-to-work USW@Work • Fall 2020 13

67668_Magazine.indd 13 9/18/20 6:15 PM TRADE WATCH

Trump’s Broken Promises on Trade PRESIDENT’S OVERALL RECORD A FAILURE, EVEN WITH STEEL, ALUMINUM TARIFFS espite the much-needed Section nomic havoc around the world, it was Obama’s administration. 232 tariffs that helped to level clear that Trump had failed to deliver on “The fact that Trump’s trade deficit Dthe playing field for American almost all of his trade-related promises, is larger than the same period in the last steel and aluminum workers, President with the exception of the Section 232 year of the Obama administration shines Donald Trump’s overall record on trade tariffs. a big fat spotlight on Trump’s failure has proven to be a failure for work- to ‘eliminate’ the trade deficit, which ers and manufacturers, leading to job Trade Deficit Soars he promised endlessly as a candidate losses, plant closures, stagnant wages Perhaps the clearest evidence of in 2016,” said Lori Wallach, director of and a larger trade deficit than the one he Trump’s failure has been the continued Global Trade Watch, a nonprofit organi- inherited. growth of the U.S. trade deficit, which zation that monitors global trade data. During his 2016 campaign, candi- is the difference between the goods Even when China is removed from date Trump adopted a number of the and services Americans purchase from the data, U.S. trade deficit numbers are USW’s long-held positions on trade, other countries vs. those it sells to them. still grim. In the first half of 2020, the arguing that the North American Free Trump, as a candidate, promised voters goods trade deficit with the rest of the Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was a that they would see that number drop world increased by $3 billion over the failure, that China’s rogue behavior was “like you’ve never seen before.” same period a year earlier. unfairly destroying American industry Instead, the gap has only continued and that major reforms were needed to grow. In 2018, Trump’s first full year Promises of New NAFTA in U.S. trade policy to save blue-collar in office, the trade deficit ballooned to Another of Trump’s campaign jobs and vital factories. $621 billion – its highest level since pledges, intended to woo blue-collar While those positions were not 2008, according to figures from the U.S. workers away from Democrats, was to wrong, as president, Trump failed to fol- Department of Commerce. renegotiate the failed NAFTA, to get, as low through on most of them with real In the first half of 2020, the trade he said, “a better deal for workers.” policy changes or results, and workers deficit was 6.5 percent higher than it In reality, what Trump was able to are suffering as a result. Even before the had been during the same period in achieve with the new NAFTA was more COVID-19 pandemic wreaked eco- 2016, the final year of President Barack business as usual. It took an interven-

14 USW@Work • Fall 2020

67668_Magazine_X.indd 14 9/21/20 11:42 PM tion by unions including the USW, as devalues its currency, the yuan, which produced millions of cars and provided well as Democrats in Congress, prior makes Chinese imports cheaper for good jobs to more than 4,500 workers. to the deal’s implementation to ensure Americans to buy. The tactic is useful in GM shuttered and sold the property last that the agreement included real labor reducing the effectiveness of enforcement year as it continued to shift much of its reforms, environmental protections and efforts like the Section 232 tariffs and vehicle production to Mexico. other policies vital to discouraging the other duties. For years, the practice has Soon after his election, Trump visit- offshoring of more American jobs. harmed U.S. industries and killed jobs. ed the area and promised to save jobs at Rather than putting workers at In 2016, Trump promised to call the factory. “Don’t sell your house,” the the center of his effort to renegoti- China out for that behavior “on Day president said. ate NAFTA, Trump chose instead to One.” In reality, it took more than two- “He told everybody it’s all coming seek the advice of Wall Street, cor- and-a-half years, until August 2019, be- back,” said former Lordstown worker porate CEOs and business lobbyists. fore Trump’s Treasury secretary applied Trish Amato. “He lied.” That resulted in a deal, known as the label, and the administration lifted While the Gadsden and Lordstown the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement it less than six months later, despite factories were among the most glaring (USMCA), that failed to secure enforce- intense criticism from Congress. examples, workers elsewhere have also able labor reforms, particularly in suffered as a result of Trump’s fail- Mexico, one of the most crucial ure to stem the tide of offshoring. components to protecting workers About 1,500 USW members in all three countries. USW Voices at U.S. Steel’s Great Lakes Works Thanks to months of work by Check out the USW’s video series to hear near Detroit are facing an uncer- U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio Steelworkers tell their stories about how tain future after their sprawling and other Democrats in Congress, Trump’s broken promises have hurt them. plant was indefinitely idled. Those the deal Trump negotiated was Visit www.uswvoices.org/broken-promises. workers are far from alone. Over- amended to include those labor all in Michigan, the number of provisions. jobs lost as a result of unfair trade “That amounts to the stron- has doubled during Trump’s term, gest-ever labor enforcement in a according to data from the U.S. U.S. trade deal,” Brown said of the Department of Labor. USMCA. “If corporations are forced Not only has Trump’s administra- According to a report from the Trade to pay workers a living wage and treat tion failed to rein in China’s cheating, Justice Education Fund, Michigan saw a them with dignity, no matter where it has actively delivered U.S. taxpayer 211 percent increase in trade-related job those workers are located, then we take money to Chinese companies. A review losses from 2017 through 2019 com- away the incentive for them to move of loans delivered under the Paycheck pared to the three prior years. jobs abroad.” Protection Program, created to keep “Michigan is hemorrhaging jobs to Even with the additional protections, small businesses from shuttering due offshoring week after week, with devas- the USMCA is far from perfect. Much to COVID-19, revealed more than 125 tating effects on our working families, work remains to ensure that the new loans to Chinese-backed companies our communities and our economy,” the provisions are strictly enforced and that totaling more than $400 million. report’s authors concluded. the agreement doesn’t result in more “President Trump would rather cave The path forward, Conway said, is lost jobs and shuttered factories. to [Chinese] President Xi than stay to create a new national agenda that pri- International President Thomas M. tough on China,” said U.S. Sen. Charles oritizes the fight for fair trade on every Conway said he hoped that the deal Schumer of New York. “When it comes front, to make much-needed invest- was just the beginning of a new era of to the president’s stance on China, ments in infrastructure with strong “Buy worker-friendly trade deals. Americans are getting a lot of show and American” provisions, and to modern- “As we look forward to future trade very little results.” ize American manufacturing facilities to pacts with other countries, we will seek Perhaps no one in America has create thousands of good jobs at home. even stronger rules to protect workers gotten a closer look at Trump’s fail- “The bottom line is that for decades, and communities from offshoring, pol- ures than the workers in the U.S. auto workers have been waiting for real lution, unfair trade policies and viola- industry, particularly USW members action to fix our broken system,” said tions of labor rights,” Conway said. at Goodyear’s now-shuttered Gadsden, International Vice President Roxanne In order to achieve those goals, how- Ala., tire factory, and carmakers at the Brown, who oversees the USW’s legis- ever, U.S. workers will need stronger former General Motors (GM) factory in lative and political efforts in Washing- leadership on trade than they’ve seen Lordstown, Ohio. ton, D.C. “Donald Trump got elected from President Trump. “The Gadsden closure happened as by promising to fix that system, but he imported tires from around the globe hasn’t followed through. We need more Taking on China flooded the U.S. market,” Conway said. than talk – we need true leadership on Another campaign promise – declar- For generations, union members every possible front to ensure a level ing China a currency manipulator – has made tires in Gadsden and cars in Lord- playing field for workers and truly re- also gone largely unfulfilled. stown. At one time, the Ohio factory build American manufacturing.” The Chinese government artificially

USW@Work • Fall 2020 15

67668_Magazine.indd 15 9/18/20 6:15 PM TRADE WATCH SW International Vice President As he opened the hearing, Chairman ment and manufacturing,” Brown said, WORKERS Roxanne Brown told members Blumenauer acknowledged that the “we will increase demand for scientists BLAST Uof Congress in August that COVID-19 crisis revealed massive short- and engineers.” they and other leaders must develop a comings in the nation’s manufacturing In her testimony, Carnegie Mellon’s cohesive plan for the future of American supply chain and reiterated the need for Fuchs argued that offshoring of jobs to manufacturing in order to create good Congress to take a new approach. low-wage countries not only hurts work- jobs, reduce the trade deficit and protect “I was horrified to see medical ers, but makes companies less likely to national security. facilities across our country, including pursue groundbreaking research. Brown delivered that message via hospitals and nursing homes, struggle “When firms move manufacturing video testimony before the U.S. House to secure personal protective equipment overseas to developing countries, such Ways and Means Committee’s Subcom- and lifesaving medical devices, like ven- as China, Singapore, Malaysia, and mittee on Trade. The hearing was titled tilators,” Blumenauer said. “COVID-19 otherwise, it can become unprofitable “Trade, Manufacturing, and Critical Sup- has served as a very painful example of for those firms to pursue innovative new ply Chains: Lessons from COVID-19.” a long-existing problem.” products and technologies,” she said. In her testimony, Brown argued that Pharmaceutical Supplies the nation’s political leaders consistently International spend time and resources to come to the Vice President Besides the clear lessons of Roxanne Brown COVID-19, Brown said, another glaring aid of the nation’s farmers, and that they testified via must make the same kind of effort to video call. example of the nation’s supply chain help those companies and workers who crisis is in the pharmaceutical industry. produce and distribute essential goods. Last year, the United States imported “Every five years, more or less, $128 billion in pharmaceuticals. Accord- Congress debates, amends and adjusts ing to the Food and Drug Administration, programs for our nation’s farmers, who only 28 percent of active pharmaceutical represent roughly 5.4 percent of the ingredient manufacturing facilities are country’s economic output,” Brown Brown Urges located in the United States, and Chinese told the lawmakers. “Manufacturing is companies supply more than 90 percent double that output, but Congress has Congress to Focus of U.S. antibiotics. not strategically allocated its time and Steelworkers know all too well how resources to focus on the needs of Amer- on manufacturing the drive for lower prices can send good ican manufacturing.” pharmaceutical jobs overseas. The Subcommittee on Trade, chaired That problem, Brown said, extends “USW Local 10-729, which rep- by Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, much more deeply, into all USW-repre- resents workers at Avantor Materials, oversees topics such as imports and sented industries, including steel, alumi- saw the company purchase plants in exports, customs, tariffs, international num, paper, rubber, chemicals and oil. India and Poland,” Brown said. “The com- trade agreements and supply chains. “We face a deficit in manufacturing pany slowly and incrementally moved that could undermine our national secu- products manufactured and/or packaged Americans Want a Plan rity and lead to additional shortages of at the Phillipsburg, N.J., site overseas.” “There is rising demand for an vital goods,” she said. Whether it’s much-needed drugs and industrial or manufacturing plan for this other medical supplies, or steel, alumi- country, and the time for such a plan is Jobs Support Communities num and other vital resources, the U.S. well overdue,” Brown told the group. The need to create a national policy industrial supply chain urgently needs the Joining Brown to speak before the goes beyond the need for materials for support of U.S. lawmakers, Brown said. committee were Erica Fuchs, Carnegie national defense and military equipment, The nation is desperate for a unified Mellon University professor of engineer- Brown said. Good manufacturing jobs manufacturing policy, which includes ing and public policy; Prashant Yadav, promote strong communities, as those a commitment to fighting unfair trade senior fellow at the Center for Global jobs support employment for millions and overcapacity, a massive overhaul of Development; Kim Glas, president and more, while providing a solid tax base U.S. infrastructure, investment in new CEO of the National Council of Textile for schools and other public services. technologies and upgrades at industrial Organizations; and Thomas Duesterberg, “Manufacturing workers earn 13 sites, worker retraining, Buy American senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a percent more in hourly compensation legislation, and strong protections for conservative political think tank. than comparable workers in the rest of workers’ rights, she said. “Our union has long known that the private sector,” Brown said. The keys are “containing overca- without a strong, globally competi- In addition, the nation’s manufactur- pacity, increasing our commitment to tive manufacturing base, our members ing sector supports the development of American workers, improving effective and communities are less secure, less new technologies and innovations, she trade enforcement and increasing our resilient, and are at an increased threat explained. R&D commitments,” Brown said. “The to future health and economic crisis,” “By increasing the tie between feder- USW stands ready to lead the way.” Brown said. al investment into research and develop-

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67668_Magazine.indd 16 9/18/20 6:15 PM WORKERS BLAST

SW members in Ohio Goodyear “ban” the president ican company that employs worse by the fact that the and across the United mentioned is actually a long- thousands of people in the union had repeatedly sought UStates were quick to standing corporate prohibition state of Ohio alone, that is the president’s help over the denounce President Donald on all partisan political messag- not just irresponsible, it’s past year to save jobs at the Trump in August after the es on Goodyear’s shop floor – shameful,” said District 1 Goodyear factory in Gads- president called for a boycott not just on pro-Trump gear. Director Donnie Blatt. den, Ala., which closed its of Goodyear tires. Trump’s post, which doors this year after 90 years “All I can say is, Mr. Pres- “The policy has always came around 10:30 a.m. and in operation. ident, you bit off more than been no political stuff was eventually re-shared by “Our union and our you could chew this time,” more than 123,000 Twitter individual members reached said Goodyear retiree Gerald – hats, T-shirts or any- users, led Goodyear stock to out directly to the president Smith. “You’re attacking my thing in the shop,” said drop more than 6 percent over and his White House staff livelihood, the livelihood of Nixon, who has worked the next few hours. Given a on countless occasions,” all retired people at Goodyear for the tire-maker for chance at a press conference Conway said. “It would who have worked so hard for later to rescind or clarify his have been nice if the pres- so long. You’re attacking us.” 27 years. “It’s been that call for a boycott, the president ident would have paid as The controversy began way since I started with instead doubled down, saying much attention to that loss with a single, ill-conceived Goodyear.” that if Goodyear sales declined of American jobs as he does message that the president and workers were laid off as a to his MAGA hats. Maybe a shared on the morning of Aug. result, they would simply “be tweet or two back then would In addition, President 19. able to get another good job.” have been helpful.” Trump, who repeatedly touts “Don’t buy GOODYEAR “He attacked not only Trump’s boycott message, his so-called “America First” TIRES – They announced a American workers, union USW members said, was an- policies, chose to directly BAN ON MAGA HATS. Get workers, he attacked all other example of his failure attack a 122-year-old iconic better tires for far less!” the Americans,” said Keith to support American workers American company that is president tweeted to his 85 Kling of Local 5439 in Mag- when they need it the most. the largest U.S. tire maker million followers. nolia, Ohio, during a rally and employs more than 6,000 The response from critics in Goodyear’s hometown USW members. The compa- “Donald Trump has bro- was instantaneous. Local 2L of Akron, Ohio, in support ny operates 16 research and ken his promises to the members and other USW of the company’s workers. manufacturing facilities in 12 leaders and allies, including “It’s just a sad day when a American worker,” said U.S. states, as well as three U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown sitting president jeopardizes Joe Platt of Local 1123 in Canada. of Ohio, blasted Trump and American workers, American “For a president who in Canton, Ohio. “He’s pointed out the many prob- voters’ livelihoods, jeopar- campaigned four years ago let down the American lematic and inaccurate aspects dizes their families.” on standing up for fair trade of his message. For International Pres- Steelworker, and and saving American jobs, As Local 2L Unit Chair ident Thomas M. Conway, enough is enough.” for him to turn around and Rick Nixon explained, the Trump’s attack was made call for a boycott of an Amer-

USW@Work • Fall 2020 17

67668_Magazine.indd 17 9/18/20 6:15 PM VICTORY

AT KUMHO

Georgia Tire Workers supporters, threatening plant closure, and safety measures, and workers faced an creating an impression of surveillance. outbreak that put their lives at risk. Win Despite Brutal The violations continued when The workers alerted health officials An
-Union Campaign workers relaunched their organizing to their conditions, expressing fear that campaign in 2019. the lack of precautions could put the In one particularly egregious case of wider community at risk. orkers at Kumho Tire in bullying, the company tried to make an Workers spoke before the Ma- Macon, Ga., won their battle example of quality control worker Vic- con-Bibb County Board of Health Wto join the USW this August toria Whipple, who was pregnant and during a public meeting conducted by after withstanding the company’s re- working overtime to make extra money telephone, describing an employer that lentless, illegal campaign to thwart their while awaiting the new addition to her failed to distribute an adequate supply organizing rights. family. As the election was wrapping of face masks or sanitizer, refused to “These workers voted to unionize up in September 2019, managers pulled implement consistent social distancing, even though Kumho tried every un- Whipple off the plant floor and suspend- and failed to provide sufficient paid sick derhanded, despicable stunt it possibly ed her indefinitely without pay because leave for workers forced into quarantine. could to violate their rights and poison she was supporting the union. She was “The only thing important to them the election results,” said District 9 later reinstated. is the tires,” said one Kumho worker, Director Daniel Flippo, whose district “The workers’ solidarity in the face who said he brought his own mask and includes Georgia and six other southern of extreme intimidation shows just how sanitizer to work but still feared catch- states, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands. urgently they need the protections that ing the virus because he worked closely The National Labor Relations Board only a union can provide,” said Flippo. with colleagues on every shift. (NLRB) declared the union drive victo- “Their victory over an abusive, greedy Other workers reported that Kumho rious after processing the final 13 ballots company should inspire other workers was refusing to regularly and thoroughly from an election last fall. Kumho filed who want to end the mistreatment they disinfect the factory, consistently limit objections while the local is eager to face from their own employers.” the use of common areas or give details begin bargaining, the company is refus- Flippo said that he hopes the Kumho about the rash of COID-19 cases, such ing to negotiate until those objections victory, especially in the face of long as the number of colleagues infected. have been resolved. odds and persistent, well-funded op- Now that their victory is official, The election victory was a long, position, provides inspiration for other Kumho’s workers can sit down with their difficult battle for the Kumho workers. workers to organize, particularly in the employer and bargain health and safety In 2017, they narrowly lost in their first southern United States, where most protections, as well as fair wages, benefits organizing attempt after the company states have anti-union “right to work and other working conditions, said Inter- waged a vicious union-busting cam- (for less)” laws on their books. national President Thomas M. Conway. paign, which included threats against “In forming a union and holding “Kumho thought they could get USW supporters. Kumho to account,” Flippo added, away with just continuing to bully and The company’s conduct during that “these workers will help set stronger intimidate their employees, hard-work- campaign was so egregious that Admin- pay and workplace standards for the ing people who simply wanted to exer- istrative Law Judge Arthur J. Amchan whole industry.” cise their right to bargain collectively,” not only ordered a new election but As they awaited the results of their Conway said. “That is a losing strategy, took the extraordinary step of ordering vote, workers saw conditions at the Ma- and these brave workers have proven the company to read workers a list of con factory continue to deteriorate, es- that yet again. Rather than fighting their its numerous labor law violations. The pecially in the area of health and safety. own workers, employers should work violations included illegally interrogat- When the pandemic struck, the company with them to build a better future for ing employees, threatening to fire union failed to implement common-sense everyone.”

18 USW@Work • Fall 2020

67668_Magazine.indd 18 9/18/20 6:48 PM fter years of working with earning money when their names or im- beginning,” Huma said. “Your support student athletes to pursue more ages are used for profit. Following that means everything to these athletes, Ajust and humane policies in announcement, a handful of represen- who are fighting for justice with zero college sports, the USW this summer tatives in the U.S. House began talking leverage.” announced its full support for a compre- openly about overturning the NCAA’s hensive College Athletes’ Bill of Rights. long-held rule barring athletes from The Worth of Big-Time Athletes The measure would be based on a competition if they benefit financially In 2012, Huma co-authored a report framework that U.S. Sen. Cory Book- from their names or images. with Drexel University sports man- er of New Jersey proposed with the “Over the years, the NCPA has agement professor Ellen Staurowsky support of the National College Players been pivotal in bringing forth reforms,” called “The $6 Billion Heist: Robbing Association (NCPA), an organization Conway said. “As the organization con- College Athletes Under the Guise of with whom the USW has collaborated tinues to succeed, college athletes will Amateurism.” The carefully researched for nearly 20 years. continue to gain the protections they so study concluded that over a four-year In a letter to members of the U.S. desperately need.” period, NCAA rules would deny college Senate on July 24, International football and basketball players $6.2 President Thomas M. Conway urged billion that they would otherwise senators to support Booker’s frame- USW HELPS ATHLETES receive in a fair market. work, which includes proposals to The pair found that, on aver- allow athletes to secure representa- age, an athletic scholarship at the tion and receive compensation for Gain Momentum time was worth about 23,204 per the use of their names and like- year, while the market value of a nesses, establish health and safety major college football or basketball standards, increase the freedom for player was between 137,000 and student athletes to transfer, and pro- $289,000 per year. vide medical coverage, among other The report also found that many provisions. college athletes still struggled to pay “NCAA (National Collegiate for basic necessities while in school. Athletic Association) sports is a An increase in compensation predatory industry that exploits of only about 3,300 per student college athletes physically, econom- athlete per year “would be enough ically, and academically,” Conway to free many from poverty and re- wrote. “Unjust NCAA policies and duce their vulnerability to breaking practices have a disproportionate NCAA rules to make ends meet,” the report said. negative impact on Black college Ramogi Huma athletes, many of whom are from Barriers to Unionization low-income homes.” Steelworkers Join College Group Despite the board of governors’ Broad Support for Reform to Urge Congressional Action decision, the NCAA consistently The framework, which has made it clear it would not declare strong support in the U.S. House, that college athletes are employees The NCPA has been instrumental of their schools. That designation would, won the backing of the NCPA and other in helping to develop antitrust lawsuits advocacy organizations, as well as a among other things, give the players the that were the impetus for the easing of right to join traditional labor unions. number of current and former profes- economic restrictions against student sional athletes. The NCPA includes Conway promised, though, that athletes. Those settlements also led to an the USW would continue to support more than 20,000 Division I athletes at expansion of health care for athletes, as more than 150 campuses. The USW has the NCPA’s mission to fight for justice well as an increase in funds to support for student athletes across the country. supported the organization’s work since them as they complete their degrees. its inception in 2001. “This small, determined group of people The success of the NCPA is a direct has made a major difference in the lives “The USW has stood in solidarity, result of the early support the group side by side, with the NCPA,” Conway of thousands of people,” he said. received from the USW, said NCPA Conway said the partnership would wrote. “Our union strongly supports Executive Director Ramogi Huma, who congressional action to put an end to the not exist without the persistence of helped launch the organization when he Huma and retired International Presi- countless injustices that have plagued was a football player at the University college athletes for generations.” dent Leo W. Gerard. of California, Los Angeles. “We know there is still work to do if The advancement of the Bill of “This progress would never have Rights framework is the latest in a we want to achieve the kind of fair and been possible without the support of the just treatment that these hard-working series of victories won through the USW. The Steelworkers could have eas- NCPA’s advocacy. In October 2019, the athletes deserve,” Conway said. “We ily declined to be involved, but instead hope that the progress we have seen is NCAA governing board voted to relax have stood side by side with us since the rules banning college athletes from just the beginning.”

USW@Work • Fall 2020 19

67668_Magazine.indd 19 9/18/20 6:48 PM WEWE Reall NEEDNEED FOODFOOD

USW members answer call to help residents and opened the community’s first food pan- struggling Philadelphia neighbors try in the union hall on West Allegheny Ave. They cooked meals at the Ronald McDonald hen Rich Cucarese first saw the abandoned House and a homeless shelter, planted a community factories and other signs of poverty in garden to provide fresh vegetables sorely needed in Philadelphia’s Nicetown neighborhood, residents’ diets and forged an innovative partnership W with an anti-poverty group called the Poor People’s he decided to involve his kids in community service projects there. Army. But then Cucarese, Rapid Response coordinator When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, exac- for Local 4889, realized how much more could be erbating the former manufacturing community’s accomplished by mobilizing hundreds of Steelwork- already-high unemployment and poverty rates, scores ers to help the struggling community. of residents began relying on the food pantry to sus- In the 20 months since Local 4889 relocated from tain their families. the Philadelphia suburbs to Nicetown, Cucarese and “As fast as we can get the food in, we’re empty- other USW members have dedicated themselves to ing that pantry out,” observed Cucarese, an assis- improving one of the most troubled neighborhoods in tant operator on the galvanizing line at U.S. Steel’s one of America’s poorest big cities. Fairless Hills works. “We probably need to double or They held food, coat and toy drives for Nicetown triple the size of it.”

Photos by Steve Dietz

20 USW@Work • Fall 2020

67668_Magazine.indd 20 9/18/20 6:16 PM Local 4889’s help has been a godsend, said Cheri Honkala, a national organizer with the Poor People’s Army, who has worked with poor and homeless Philadelphia residents for 40 years. Although she’s partnered with other labor groups over the years, she added, “nobody has really embraced the cause like the Steelworkers have.” She said USW members understand poverty isn’t a personal failure but the direct result of a broken economy that deprives many Americans of fami- ly-sustaining jobs, leaving them just one unexpected expense away from financial ruin. “I just think the Steelworkers get it on a whole different level,” said Honkala, noting many Nice- town residents struggle to make ends meet even though they juggle multiple minimum-wage jobs. After Local 4889 merged with Local 404 and consolidated operations in Nicetown, Cucarese and other local officers took an immediate interest in their new neighborhood. Nicetown’s decay, precipitated by a wave of factory closures that began decades ago, stunned them. Companies making steel, snack foods, vehicle parts and pulleys, among other products, all closed or relocated. “The jobs disappeared, and the area just basically fell in on itself,” Cucarese explained, relating a fate that’s befallen former manufacturing towns all over the country because of offshoring, industry consoli- dation and other factors over which workers had no control. Housing in Nicetown deteriorated because own- ers couldn’t keep up with payments or maintenance. Blight spread. Chronic disease rates skyrocketed because residents lacked access to health care and nutritious food. Besides the old factory buildings that serve as constant reminders of the neighborhood’s decline, former manufacturers left behind costly en- vironmental problems that compound the challenges of revitalization. Today, Nicetown’s median household income is about $21,000—down $8,000 over the past decade. Men in Nicetown live about 64 years, 10 fewer than the citywide average. Along with abandoned factories and other telltale signs of decline, however, USW members encoun- tered warm-hearted residents eager to turn Nice- town around. “There’s despair,” Cucarese said, “but there’s also hope.” He contacted Honkala, a familiar figure in the neighborhood, to say the Steelworkers wanted to be good neighbors and to help however they could. Honkala told him: “We really need food.” Local 4885 placed collection boxes at U.S. Steel and Coilplus, another USW-represented workplace, and asked members to donate canned goods, cereal and other nonperishable items. Members at those locations responded overwhelmingly not just on one or two food drives but on half a dozen. “It was amazing,” Honkala said. “The Steelwork-

USW@Work • Fall 2020 21

67668_Magazine.indd 21 9/18/20 6:16 PM ers really delivered. They filled those said, many simply did without the help. bilitate neighborhood housing, hold boxes, and it continued over and over When they arrived in Nicetown, job fairs, host screenings of labor films again.” Local 4889 officers realized that the on the union hall’s lawn and create a During the holiday season, Chris grounds of the union hall needed as library of union materials for residents Harley, Local 4889’s Next Gen coordi- much attention as the interior. to peruse inside. nator and an operator at Coilplus, wor- In clearing away brush, tree limbs Their goal isn’t only to meet their ried about neighborhood children going and other debris that had accumulated in neighbors’ daily needs but to encourage without gifts. recent years, members made space for labor organizing, a pathway to long- So USW members, their families the community garden that Honkala, Cu- term prosperity. By fighting for fami- and friends collected used toys and bi- carese, Harley and Local 4889 President ly-sustaining wages and decent benefits, cycles—and even cleaned up the bikes Rob Cusick agreed was urgently needed. unions help workers build middle-class before distributing them. Volunteers made raised beds from lives and strong communities. “We’re here for you,” Harley said old door frames and other wood scav- Right now, many residents struggle he and fellow USW members told their enged from the neighborhood, then with low-pay jobs lacking health care neighbors. planted melons, tomatoes, cucumbers and other benefits. Honkala wants them As members began making overdue and other vegetables to distribute to know, “It doesn’t have to be like this. repairs to the union hall, they decid- through the food pantry. That’s where the labor piece comes in.” ed to turn a small space into the food The local also rented office space to Cucarese wants to not only in- pantry. Donations from churches and the Poor People’s Army, which happily volve more members of Local 4889 in civic groups help stock the pantry now, relocated from a local church because community service projects but invite even as the local envisions additional of the union hall’s more central loca- residents to participate as well. food drives at the 20 or so workplaces it tion. With the pantry and anti-poverty Already, he said, some neighbors represents. group under one roof, Honkala said, the stop by periodically just to see what This is the first time Honkala can hall functions like a kind of community union members are doing next. recall having a food pantry right in Nice- center. “People are hearing about what town. While some residents traveled The local and Honkala’s group we’re doing,” he said, “and they’re to pantries in other neighborhoods, she already are working on plans to reha- actually getting pretty excited about it.”

22 USW@Work • Fall 2020

67668_Magazine.indd 22 9/18/20 6:16 PM Celebrating LABOR Labor Day 2020 was unlike any other like New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh tion to the cause of labor. Here are just USW members have seen in their and elsewhere were canceled due to a few images of the many ways USW lifetimes. Holiday parades and com- COVID-19. Still, even in the midst of a members across North America cele- munity celebrations that traditionally global pandemic, workers found a way brated Labor Day this year. draw thousands of participants in cities to express their solidarity and dedica-

USW@Work • Fall 2020 23

67668_Magazine.indd 23 9/18/20 6:16 PM ICD's WORK CONTINUES Despite Obstacles

Educational Program Offers Online Trainings, New Career Opportunities

he economic effects of the pect that there are going to be some slow utilized their ICD benefit to take courses in COVID-19 pandemic through the times and very busy times. You get used heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Tspring and summer placed both ob- to that,” Davis said. “This is a slow time, “You have members coming out of stacles and opportunities in front of USW but just because it’s slow doesn’t mean I here with no trade or skills. You have to members whose locals participate in the have to sit around and do nothing.” have a backup plan,” said Ingram, who Institute for Career Development (ICD). worked at the Gadsden factory for 27 The ICD, a joint labor-management New Business Venture years. He found a job at an automotive training program that the USW has made Besides pursuing what he called “reg- plant about an hour away from his home, a part of its collective bargaining agree- ular school,” Davis also decided to do – and said that his HVAC experience like- ments with 15 employers, provides more as he put it – “something fun” and began ly helped open the door for him. than 50,000 members with a chance to taking classes in woodworking. “If I could tell anybody something learn new skills or advance existing ones. “Out of the blue,” he said. “I didn’t about ICD – use your benefit,” Ingram While the ICD has 65 physical loca- have any experience.” said. “Take advantage of it.” tions in steel, rubber and tire, glass, con- That opportunity eventually led Davis The ICD began in 1989 as a joint ven- tainer and utility sectors, the spread of the to create his own small business, “From ture between the USW and its employers, coronavirus posed challenges to students the Heart Woodworking,” which sells his a chance to provide retraining opportu- looking to take advantage of the program hand-made pens, bowls and other items nities for workers who had lost their jobs this year, even as layoffs in a number and helped Davis and his wife, Quiana, during the steel crisis of the 1980s. USW of industries led to a higher-than-usual make ends meet during challenging eco- members can gain access to the ICD’s demand for such instruction. nomic times. The company name was programs by negotiating with employers “When former International President inspired by Davis’ son, Graham, who to include the benefits in their contracts. Lynn Williams first envisioned the Ca- died at age 2 due to a heart defect. The governing board of union and reer Development Program, his concept “This was supposed to be a hobby company leaders oversees the ICD as a was not only to provide future employ- … but I’ve made this work for me and whole, while each individual location ment opportunities for members, but to my family,” Davis said. “I think a lot also has a joint committee that tailors also enhance their talents and develop of people lose sight of the fact they can the educational offerings at an individual new personal skills,” said Internation- make money outside of their jobs and be site to members’ specific needs. al Vice President David McCall, who productive.” The ICD partners with colleges and serves on the ICD governing board along The ICD also provided a safety net universities to offer some programs, and with International President Thomas M. for Local 12L members Joel Ingram and several dozen USW locals operate learn- Conway. Brian Smith, who lost their jobs when ing centers near their work sites to make Rashon Davis, of Local 5133 at U.S. Goodyear closed its factory in Gadsden, classes as accessible as possible. Steel’s East Chicago Tin, has explored Ala., and shifted production to a plant in several of those avenues. He took San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Learning During a Pandemic advantage of the program’s tuition-assis- While a number of those training sites Providing a Backup Plan had to shut down in-person classes as a tance benefits to earn a degree in human At the time, Smith had worked at the resources from Purdue University, as result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the plant for 25 years, and Ingram was seven institute continued to offer online op- well as a real estate license. weeks away from full retirement. They “With a steel mill, it’s cyclical. You ex- tions, and members in some locations re-

24 USW@Work • Fall 2020

67668_Magazine.indd 24 9/18/20 6:16 PM This is a slow time, but just because it’s slow doesn’t mean I have to sit around and do nothing.” Rashon Davis, Local 5133

tooled existing sites to ensure they could a lot of people who may not be able to follow the necessary safety protocols. sit in a classroom, but they want to do “Just because some of our centers something like this,” Hayden said. “It’s are shut down, that doesn’t mean that a good opportunity for any member, learning has to stop,” said ICD Executive anywhere.” ABOUT Director Sean Hayden. Whatever the opportunities may be, Through the ICD, LaTanya Saunders, whether they are for members working to the ICD of Local 1014 at U.S. Steel Gary Works, build new skills or pursue a new career, completed a master’s degree program the ICD is a valuable asset to the USW in human resources management online membership, an avenue for members to through Columbia Southern University. gain knowledge they can carry with them She said the institute eliminated the forever. financial burden of pursuing higher edu- “I told the guys once we finish this, WHERE IS IT AVAILABLE? cation and provided her with the flexi- they can’t take it away from us, like the The USW has negotiated ICD bility she needed to earn a degree while closing of the plant,” Smith said of the benefits as part of its contracts continuing to work. Goodyear factory in Gadsden. “That’s with the following companies: AK “It has been so important for me to be why the ICD was started, to help the Steel, ArcelorMittal, ATI Metals, able to reinvent myself,” said Saunders, members in times of need. It’s given us ATI Specialty Metals & Compo- who saw her hours reduced during the something to turn to in desperate times.” nents, BFGoodrich, Bridgestone pandemic. “With COVID, people are ‘This Gives You Hope’ Americas, Continental-ContiTech, losing their jobs, and with this degree, I Corning, Goodyear, MacLean am more marketable.” Nick Zimmerman was facing just such a time this spring, about two years after Power Systems, Republic Steel, Online Education moving with his family from Wisconsin Sumitomo, Tetra Pak, U.S. Steel This summer, the ICD also offered to Northwest Indiana. He became a crane and USS-POSCO Industries. three-month trials of language classes operator and member of USW Local 1010 to USW members through the Rosetta in East Chicago, Ind., but was laid off as a HOW DO WE GET IT? Stone software company. result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s a great opportunity for someone Zimmerman earned a commercial If the ICD isn’t part of your con- to explore whether they can learn a new driver’s license (CDL) through the ICD tract, you can bargain with your language or converse better with friends and eventually received two job offers. employer to include it. and family at no risk,” said Conway, who Although he later got called back to his has been instrumental in the expansion job at ArcelorMittal, he said he is happy For more information, of the institute during his tenure as an to have the CDL in his pocket. visit www.icdlearning.org, international officer. “It’s a great program,” he said. “Times contact the ICD at The ICD also partners with online are tough for a lot of people right now, 219-738-9029 or email learning centers like Penn Foster, Tooling and this gives you some hope.” [email protected]. U and others to provide remote education. “It’s a new avenue, because we have

USW@Work • Fall 2020 25

67668_Magazine.indd 25 9/18/20 6:17 PM FROM SUFFRAGE

Sojourner Truth

Elise Bryant

Ida B. Wells

26

67668_Magazine.indd 26 9/18/20 6:17 PM women mobilize to honor the 19th TO EQUALITY amendment

group of dozens of labor union change starts with just one person,” Deanna Hughes, president of Local women dressed all in white Flener-Gittlen said. 9460 in Duluth, Minn., and a military Amarched outside the White She also said engaging women as veteran who broke quite a few glass House on Aug. 18, holding candles and leaders at all levels to help them get ceilings during her service, said she can singing songs like “This Little Light of practical experience is especially im- understand the trepidation some work- Mine” and “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” portant during this pivotal year, where ers may feel about getting involved with the Black national anthem. so much is on the line for workers and political advocacy. The hot night was dedicated to women. But, she said, at the end of the day, the anniversary of the 1913 women’s “The stakes couldn’t be higher,” she she knows if workers don’t get in- suffrage parade in Washington, D.C., as said. “This is all hands on deck, and volved, someone else will get involved well as to the 100th anniversary of the Women of Steel committees across the for them, and those people may not 19th Amendment, guaranteeing white United States are mobilizing right now to have the people’s best interests in mind. women’s right to vote. make sure every vote counts this year.” “Everything in your life can find its Coalition of Labor Union Women Women of Steel activists have way back to politics and legislation,” President and Executive Director of the turned the program into a vast network, Hughes said, “from the price of the cup Labor Heritage Foundation Elise Bryant which makes it an ideal partner. Their of coffee you buy every morning to the marched this past August, leading the focus has been sending postcards to response, or lack thereof, we’re seeing women in song. She said this year it is members who are suspected of being right now from the government to the more important than ever to remember purged from the rolls, reminding them coronavirus.” Black women to check their Bryant believes that if anyone can like Ida B. Wells, registration sta- find a way to adapt to and activate with- a journalist and tus and update it in the many challenges posed by the women’s rights if necessary. virus and the upcoming election and rise activist, and So- All of that above them, it is women and their allies. journer Truth, an can be found “Women are the surge who are going abolitionist and and completed at to make the tipping point in this election early suffragette. uswvoices.org. go in the direction of democracy and “These The activist inclusion and equality for all,” Bryant women recog- arm of the union said. “I really believe that.”

nized there was Int'l Vice President also hosted racism within the Roxanne Brown a Facebook women’s suffrage livestream dis- movement,” cussion on Sept. Bryant said. “We 15, featuring have to bring International those stories Vice Presidents forward and tell Leeann Foster the complete and Roxanne ‘her-story’ of Brown. The women’s suf- leaders virtually frage.” met with Women listen to a usw podcast The USW’s of Steel mem- director of the bers across the episode about empowering Women of Steel program, Ann Flen- country to talk about registering voters women leaders, featuring er-Gittlen, also believes it is vital for and the importance of women turning coalition of labor union women’s rights and labor activists to out to the polls. know the history behind the progress “In all of our communities, women women president elise that’s already been made in order to step up, do the work, lead and inspire,” bryant and others. visit move forward. said Foster. “It’s especially important usw.to / podcast. “It makes you realize that often we do our part.”

USW@Work • Fall 2020 27

67668_Magazine.indd 27 9/18/20 6:17 PM USW WORKERS Clean Up America's NUCLEAR LEGACY HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES REMAIN A CONSTANT CHALLENGE FOR ATOMIC SECTOR

hen it comes to health and is than the person doing the job." tell workers they were handling recy- safety concerns, the USW’s Brown said that any time there’s a cled uranium that had been used in the Watomic workers are unique – potential for danger, the USW won’t production of plutonium – one of the they handle toxic chemical waste and hesitate to raise an alarm, whether it’s most dangerous substances on Earth. radioactive material that require great with a contractor or DOE officials. The material contained cancer-causing, care, extensive personal protective “We’re pushing to make health and radioactive traces of plutonium, neptuni- equipment (PPE) and attention to health safety better at the bargaining table as um and technetium-99. and safety rules and procedures. well as at the policy level in Washing- The use of the recycled reactor tail- Also, unlike most members, they ton, D.C.,” Brown said. “It affects DOE, ings continued until 1974, but it wasn’t have to contend with a third party – the the Department of Labor (DOL) and until more than 15 years later workers Department of Energy (DOE) – that their health and safety standards.” learned the full truth about the materials awards contracts to companies that they had handled. employ them. Then add to that mix Workers in the Dark At government-run uranium plants the U.S. Congress, which appropriates Making sure contractors or govern- like those in Paducah, Piketon, Ohio, funding for the environmental cleanup ment agencies do the right thing to keep and Oak Ridge, Tenn., the AEC was work at atomic sites, and there is plenty workers safe isn’t always easy. responsible, as the DOE is today, for of gamesmanship and politics to go AEWC President Jim Key, a vice monitoring worker safety and environ- around. president of Local 8-550, has worked at mental issues, including those of the Despite the challenges that these the former Paducah, Ky., gaseous dif- contractors. situations pose for the USW’s atomic fusion plant, now a cleanup site, for 46 “It was the fox guarding the hen- sector leaders, members and the inter- years. As an environmental, safety and house,” Key said. “They hid (exposure national, they always push forward to health representative for his local, he information) under a veil of secrecy.” create safe and healthy workplaces. testified before a U.S. House subcom- Key also told the House panel that “The contractors and DOE need mittee in September 1999 about how the the “reality of plutonium contamination continual education,” said International federal government did not tell workers in the production process did not regis- Vice President Roxanne Brown, who for 40 years about the level of radiation ter with the overwhelming majority of oversees the USW’s Atomic Energy to which they had been exposed. the hourly work force at Paducah” until Workers Council (AEWC). “No one The DOE’s predecessor, the Atomic they read about it in the newspaper. knows better how safe or unsafe a task Energy Commission (AEC), failed to “The majority of current and former

28 USW@Work • Fall 2020

67668_Magazine.indd 28 9/18/20 6:17 PM workers are afraid that they may have outside, low-bid companies, he said. clean room where they can get dressed been exposed to substances like pluto- “The majority of complaints that in their street clothes. nium without proper protection and that exist today at all DOE locations concern Local union members watched at they will, as a result, be stricken with a low-bid, outside contractor person- Paducah as the subcontractor’s employ- fatal disease,” Key testified. nel not being held to the same safety ees blew through those processes and re- After the government acknowledged requirements as the internal USW work moved potentially contaminated clothes it had exposed workers to hazardous ma- force,” he said. in the last stage, Key said. terial for years without their knowledge, Subcontractors, he said, view safety The local filed a “stop work order” Congress passed the Energy Employees through the lens of Occupational Safety and shut down the job, he said. Local Occupational Illness Compensation Pro- and Health Administration (OSHA) union members met with the prime con- gram Act (EEOICPA) in 2000. People construction rules and not the internal, tractor, which then held a meeting with who worked in nuclear weapons pro- OSHA general industry safety and health subcontractor workers. duction and contracted certain illnesses regulations. “Their response was: ‘Why do we because of their exposure could receive Key cited an example of a subcon- have to do this containment process compensation and medical care. tractor hired to perform asbestos abate- here? We don’t have to adhere to all ment at the former Paducah gaseous these safety regulations on public proj- Incremental Progress diffusion plant. The local union told the ects,’” Key recalled. “Since the mid-1990s, health and prime contractor that it had asbestos-cer- Ultimately, the work was taken away safety within DOE facilities has dras- tified workers, but the contractor still from the subcontractor, and the remain- tically improved because the agency chose to subcontract the work. When the der of the project was completed by requires its awarded operating contrac- subcontractor employees arrived, local the USW’s highly skilled, well-trained, tors that have a unionized work force union safety representatives monitored safety-conscious members. to engage the unions and their own them. “Each time we hold our AEWC health and safety representatives who After handling asbestos, workers meetings, there are different stories are trained by the USW and the USW’s must go through a rigorous containment related to subcontractors not being held Tony Mazzocchi Center,” Key said. process involving multiple rooms and to the same health and safety regulations That improvement stops with the containment systems in which the work- as our USW work force,” Key said. prime contractor, however. Oversight ers remove potentially contaminated suffers when work is subcontracted to clothing and shower before moving to a

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67668_Magazine.indd 29 9/18/20 6:17 PM Money over Safety protection on, but there were some The profit motive sometimes without it,” he said. “Personal vehi- causes companies to fail to prioritize cles, government vehicles, workers, safety, said John Knauff, president trailers and a large area of the site of Local 1-689 in Piketon, Ohio. had to be cordoned off as a result “Management ego, pride and of management’s failure to control money are always your biggest radiological work.” safety dangers,” said Knauff. “Con- The contractor was attempting to tractors were so eager on getting get a performance-based incentive a performance bonus that they left of $40 million for decontaminating, contaminated equipment in the open decommissioning and demolishing air. We had highly contaminated the PFP ahead of schedule, Collins areas that had not been contaminat- said. ed before.” As a result, he said, trailers were The pressure for performance- contaminated and had to be sprayed based incentives starts with Con- with chemical stabilizing agents, gress. At an AEWC meeting last fall, and will have to be demolished and Kevin Dressman, director of DOE’s buried as radioactive waste. More Office of Enforcement, acknowl- than 40 workers ingested or inhaled edged the push to show results in radioactive particles, prompting a cleaning up former nuclear sites. nine-month work stoppage. WE STILL HAVE POCKETS “There is a lot of pressure from Another time, workers were told to tear a hole in a facility roof to OF NUCLEAR COWBOYS Congress for DOE to show prog- “ ress,” he said. “That is part of what show that demolition work had been WHO ARE EITHER CHAS- they are trying to incentivize.” done so the contractor could receive Key said there are incentives its incentive money, according to ING INCENTIVES OR JUST on specific scopes of work. “If the Collins. contractor can get work done in a “A rainstorm occurred shortly DON’T KNOW HOW TO specific period of time, they get bo- after the roof was torn open, and nuses. This leads to low-bid, outside the rain water washed radioactive MANAGE PEOPLE. subcontractors that promote short- contamination throughout a portion cuts to all health and safety rules of the building. It made no sense to ” and requirements in order to get the cut the hole in the roof, but it had a job done quicker.” payout, and it was done anyway,” A good example of the influence he said. of performance-based incentives Defective Equipment was the deactivation and demolition Collins said that Hanford of the Plutonium Finishing Plant workers are potentially exposed (PFP) at the Hanford Site in Wash- to hazardous waste, tank vapors, ington state. chemical vapors, processing chemi- The plant encompassed dozens of cals, asbestos, beryllium, plutonium, structures that processed plutonium strontium and a host of other ma- nitrate into solid buttons and pluto- terials, in addition to facing con- nium-oxide powder for shipment to fined spaces and regular industrial U.S. weapon factories. The facility hazards. They wear every type of was one of the most highly contam- respiratory protection available from inated areas of the nuclear complex, a self-contained breathing apparatus as plutonium’s status as an alpha to a powered air-purifying respirator emitter with a high propensity to go (PAPR). airborne makes it one of the most But some of the PAPRs workers dangerous radioactive particles. wore during the cleanup of the PFP “The PFP closure project spread site leaked. plutonium contamination on site and “This type of respirator, regard- off,” said Local 12-369 Vice Presi- less of brand, has had intermittent dent at Large Bill Collins. battery failures, some from de- One major incident occurred in sign and others due to improper December 2017 during the demoli- charging practices,” Collins said. tion of the main PFP plant. “The PAPRs have a history of “Most workers had respiratory workers knocking off filters during

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67668_Magazine.indd 30 9/18/20 6:17 PM their work. It was a low-percentage safety representatives. problem, but working with plutonium “Now, if health and safety reps Photos requires almost perfect personal pro- bring a concern to a lower manager’s courtesy of tective equipment and work execu- attention, the manager knows that Department tion,” he said. if the situation is not fixed, we will of Energy To prevent filters from getting bring it to Fred,” Littleford said. knocked off inadvertently, the con- Chavez said that Fluor’s safety tractor worked with the manufacturer systems have improved greatly since to create a “bump stop,” a ring that it first came to the site, and that it has fit between the filter and its housing, better safety systems than the con- Collins said. This worked for one tractor on the nuclear energy side. type of filter cartridge, but not for an- “I give Fred a lot of credit for other one designed to protect against that. If we have an issue, we will chemical and radioactive contamina- stop by his office in a surprise visit tion. It leaked, according to a test the or call him. We don’t have that with contractor did in October 2016. the contractor on the nuclear energy “USW workers, including all the side,” Chavez said. “You bring up other Hanford Atomic Metal Trades a health and safety issue to lower Council crafts were exposed to ranked management there and it’s not hazards while using these PAPRs at dealt with like it should be.” PFP,” Collins said. “The contractor Fluor’s contract with DOE is al- has not taken responsibility for track- most up and the agency issued a new ing any of the workers’ future health RFP (request for proposal). This does effects.” not sit well with Chavez and Little- ford. “Our local is hoping the DOE Safety Systems Vary will extend the current contract so “We have some sites that do we don’t have to experience another their best to ensure health and safety transition; it seems like we just got and others that really need to do the through the last one,” Littleford said. work,” Brown said. Key said safety returns to zero ev- Locals put pressure on contractors ery time a new contractor is awarded and local DOE officials, and also a prime contract and comes to a site. bring their concerns to the interna- He said the most important activity a tional to put pressure on the DOE in local can take is to negotiate with the Washington, D.C. prime contractor to have one USW “It is a work in progress,” health and safety representative for Brown said. every 100 in-house employees. Collins said the safety systems at Then, when the DOE agreement Hanford can be at times outstanding with the contractor ends or the con- and other times an accident waiting tractor leaves the site, the local will MANAGEMENT EGO, to happen. still have a contract with a successor PRIDE AND MONEY ARE “The majority of the site, I would clause that keeps the representatives “ say, has management that does a intact, Key said. Over the last few ALWAYS YOUR BIGGEST really good job, but we still have years, USW atomic locals have been pockets of nuclear cowboys who are able to increase the number of USW SAFETY DANGERS. either chasing (incentives) or just health and safety representatives in don’t know how to manage people,” the field, he said. he said. ” “Our members are the best, At Idaho National Laboratory smartest, most aware workers across (INL), the health and safety relation- this country. That is no different ship that Local 12-652 has with its across the DOE complex,” Brown contractors varies, according to the said. “I trust them implicitly about local’s president, Matt Chavez, and what is best for them when it comes vice president, Henry Littleford. to safety and health. They should al- They said that Fred Hughes, ways have a say on health and safety the INL program manager for the and be at the table because they are cleanup contractor, Fluor Corp., will the ones who can ensure the safety at ensure health and safety issues get the site.” resolved if lower management does not listen to the union’s health and

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67668_Magazine.indd 31 9/18/20 6:17 PM efore there was a United Steelworkers union, there funds began to – as Ball said – “go belly up.” was Henry Ball, steelworker. “That’s what we fought for,” Ball said. “In case something B Ball, who turned 100 this year, started working like that would happen.” at a steel mill in Johnstown, Pa., in 1941, a few years after Bethlehem Steel filed for bankruptcy in 2001, and the the formation of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee company was dissolved in 2003. Through a series of mergers (SWOC), and a year before the members of that organization and acquisitions, the company’s assets eventually became part helped form the United Steelworkers. of what is now ArcelorMittal. It wasn’t long before the United States entered World War But thanks to the PBGC and the decades of tireless activ- II, and the young Henry left his job to serve in the 605th An- ism by USW members, Ball and other retirees continued to ti-Aircraft Artillery Gun Battalion in Europe, where he earned receive their pensions. three Bronze Stars and a Belgian fourragère for his bravery. After the war, Ball returned to Bethlehem Steel’s John- A SOAR Pioneer stown plant, about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh. He spent the Ball retired from the Johnstown mill in 1982, but his ac- next four decades in the mill’s steel car department, helping tivism didn’t stop there. In fact, he was just getting started. the factory become one of the world’s most well-known man- He became a founding president of his local chapter of the ufacturers of railroad freight cars. Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) when the “When I started, we didn’t have the union,” Ball said. organization was formed in 1985. He remained in that role until “But then, bit by bit, things started getting better.” last year, when he moved in with family in South Carolina. In the early days, Ball said, dues were 45 cents a month, Over the years, he also served as vice president of the Great- and the starting wage was 59 cents an hour. er Johnstown/Somerset Central Labor Council and volunteered Through constant activism and a series of well-planned for numerous political campaigns in the Keystone State. strikes, the Steelworkers in Johnstown’s Local 2635 and “I am a die-hard Democrat,” Ball said. “That’s the way I across the country won numerous contractual gains, Ball said. always saw politics.” “When we had to, we would strike, and strike, and strike Ball, who remains a dues-paying member of SOAR, said to get a fair deal,” Ball said. “When I left, we were making he was hopeful that the labor movement could have a bright $15 an hour. That was big.” future with a worker-friendly president. USW members fought for more than just wages, Ball said. “I think you’ll see a resurgence of unions,” with Joe Health care, pensions and safety were other major concerns. Biden’s election in November, Ball said. “He’s making those Ball recalled that he and his fellow union leaders at Beth- statements already. He wants to see all workers have a chance lehem Steel opted to forgo raises several times so they could to join a union.” direct more money to their pension. Ball, who attended dozens of USW conferences and con- ventions over the years, keeps in touch with several former Fighting for Workers co-workers from Johnstown, closely follows the work of the Outside of contract bargaining, Ball and other activists USW and delights in meeting fellow Johnstown transplants in fought hard for government programs to protect workers – South Carolina who remember the town’s deep labor roots. achieving major victories such as the establishment of the “Everywhere you go, you meet someone from John- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and stown,” he said. the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). At the end of a recent chat with USW@Work, Ball said his The latter institution, created in 1974 to protect defined goodbyes in the way he’s grown accustomed to ending all of benefit retirement plans, proved to be a crucial lifeline for his conversations. Ball and thousands of others when American steel “You have a good day,” he said, “and a better one tomorrow.” companies faced a crisis in the 1980s and pension USW RETIREE CELEBRATES 100100 Years

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Local 1016-3 Begins ULP Strike at NLMK More than 400 members of Local 1016-3 began an unfair past and know that we can accomplish great things through labor practice (ULP) strike at Western Pennsylvania’s NLMK solidarity and collective action,” McAuliffe said. “NLMK steel plant in August after company management presented needs to stop breaking the law and negotiate in good faith the members with a “last, best and final” contract offer. with its workers.” The USW and NLMK have been negotiating for months The USW filed ULP charges against NLMK with Re- on a new contract, but the company has insisted on forcing gion 6 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) based members to accept a high-deductible health plan. on the company’s failure to provide information necessary District 10 Director Bobby “Mac” McAuliffe said that the to bargain on an informed basis, management’s refusal to USW members at NLMK are committed to holding manage- process grievances and for unilaterally changing benefits to ment accountable. exclude the families of deceased employees, effective imme- “We’ve stood together to survive during hard times in the diately upon their death.

Photos by Ike Gittlen

Netroots Nation Goes Online USW Seeks Intervention COVID-19 prevented Netroots Nation from holding its annual conven- to Save Titanium Sponge Plant tion in person this year, but it didn’t stop thousands of grassroots organizers The USW in August urged Congress and labor activists, including USW members, from collaborating virtually. and the Trump administration to act to save Originally scheduled for August 13-15 at the Colorado Convention TIMET’s titanium sponge plant in Henderson, Center in Denver, the conference was preempted by the coronavirus pan- Nev., from permanent closure, after TIMET demic but was still able to host 150 hours of virtual sessions this year for announced July 13 it intends to idle the facility. organizers from across the world. Without the Henderson facility, the U.S. Now in its 15th year, Netroots has hosted presidents and presidential would completely depend on imports for candidates, labor leaders and other high-profile speakers over the years, in- titanium sponge and scrap from China, Japan, cluding Barack Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Sen. Bernie Sanders, ice Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan or India. President Al Gore, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Gov. Howard Dean, Richard “We cannot risk our national security by Trumka and the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber. depending on other countries to supply titani- More than 3,800 activists participated this year, from groups includ- um for our military airplanes, helicopters and ing the USW, the Communications Workers of America, the International aerospace equipment,” said USW District 12 Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Service Employees International Union, the Director Gaylan Prescott. Amalgamated Transit Union, UNITE HERE and the International Associa- “Before it’s too late, President Trump and tion of Machinists & Aerospace Workers. Participants took part in in-depth congressional leaders from both parties must training sessions and panel discussions focused on improving organizing take action to prevent compromising our na- and communications for labor and other progressive organizations. tional defense.”

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67668_Magazine_X.indd 33 9/21/20 11:42 PM NEWS BRIEFS Nominate a Steelworker for Multiplying Good Members Ratify Contract USW members who went above and beyond to aid coronavirus relief in their with Briggs & Stratton Bidder communities recently earned the USW the prestigious Multiplying Good One In Members of Wisconsin’s Local a Million Award for outstanding public service. 2-232 voted overwhelmingly in August Steelworkers across the United States and Canada stepped up to make and to ratify a new contract with a newly donate masks and other PPE for health care workers, provided meals to those on formed affiliate of KPS Capital Partners, the front lines, and collected food for local pantries throughout the pandemic. an investment firm that is purchasing the Multiplying Good, formerly known as the Jefferson Awards Foundation, Milwaukee-area manufacturing plant and trains community leaders, activates service projects, and celebrates people doing other assets from bankrupt engine maker public service. The USW has long sponsored and participated in the program. Briggs & Stratton. “Our members show time after time that through struggle can come great sol- The five-year agreement, which cov- idarity and community,” said USW Vice President Fred Redmond, who oversees ers about 300 hourly workers, was con- the union’s health care sector. “They always find a way to come together, and tingent upon the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s everyone should be proud of what they are accomplishing in the face of these approval of the sale to KPS, which came challenges.” on Sept. 15. Briggs & Stratton filed for To nominate a Steelworker you know who is multiplying good in their com- Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July. munity, and for more information about the USW’s historical involvement in the “The USW supports the KPS bid, and Jefferson Awards program, visit usw.org/uswcares. we look forward to a long and productive partnership with the company here,” said Michael Bolton, director of the USW’s District 2, which includes tens of thou- sands of union members in Wisconsin and Michigan. “The company has a solid track record of success in running manufacturing facilities like this, and this contract will put the company and the workers on that same track.” The agreement includes wage increas- es of more than 11 percent over the term of the contract and maintains the work- ers’ existing health care coverage. The contract also includes a strong retirement plan, increased sick and accident cover- age, and the establishment of a volun- tary employees’ beneficiary association (VEBA) to fund retiree health care coverage. The new contract also includes a number of union-friendly provisions such as dues check-off, new employee orien- Fisher Cast Workers Fight for Fairness tation, and neutrality on union organizing Even after their employer received hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars in the event that the reorganized Briggs in federal COVID-19 relief funds, members of USW Local 2342 at Fisher Cast & Stratton owns or operates similar Steel Products in West Jefferson, Ohio, are still fighting the company’s efforts to facilities. bust their union. “The USW is very familiar with KPS As the members negotiate a new contract, the company is attempting to strip from its past operations and acquisitions,” away some of the workers’ most fundamental protections and rights, including said International President Thomas M. union security, seniority, just-cause discipline and arbitration. Conway. “Our union will welcome their For the first time in its 51-year relationship with the USW, Fisher Cast hired an ownership, and we expect to have a outside attorney to bargain with the union. In more than three months since the ex- strong relationship with the company as isting contract expired, the company only agreed to four days of meetings and has we work with them to turn this business so far only offered a one-year agreement with wage increases of 25 cents per hour. around.” “This relief funding was meant to help small businesses and support good The Briggs & Stratton sale was due to jobs,” said District 1 Director Donnie Blatt. “The company benefited from tax- close by the end of September. payer money and now is attacking good, union jobs.”

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67668_Magazine.indd 34 9/18/20 6:17 PM USW Joins Allies in Suing EPA Photo by Steve Dietz over Toxic Chemical Review Jan. 20, 2020. The USW and its allies filed a lawsuit on July 16 seeking a review of a new risk evaluation of the chemical methylene chlo- ride, a toxic chemical and potential occupational carcinogen. The petition, filed with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, argues that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not fulfill its obligations under the 2016 Toxic Substances Control Act to fully measure the dangers associated with the chemical. The USW and its allies flagged concerns in an open com- ment period on the draft version of the risk evaluation last year, alleging that the EPA under-assessed workers’ exposure to methylene chloride. Unions File New Charges Against ASARCO “We cannot allow incomplete assessments of toxic The USW and other unions at ASARCO filed new unfair chemicals to place our members at unnecessary risk,” said labor practice (ULP) charges after ASARCO failed to rein- USW Secretary-Treasurer John Shinn, who heads the union’s state workers returning from the ULP strike and kept replace- chemical sector. ment workers in the returning strikers’ jobs. The USW and its allies anticipate a notification this fall On July 5, the unions at ASARCO notified the compa- from the appeals court about when it will accept legal briefs ny that they were ending the strike that began last October, and hold oral arguments in the case. ceasing picketing activity and making an unconditional offer to return to work, effective July 6, at 8 a.m. in Arizona and 10 a.m. in Texas. Local Settles Contract with Solvay Blue Island As ASARCO has ignored its obligations under federal Local 7-209-09 members at Solvay’s Blue Island, Ill., labor law, on August 13, the USW filed its position statement plant reached a new three-year agreement with the company with Region 28 of the National Labor Relations Board seek- this spring that includes wage and benefit increases. ing an injunction to compel the company to return workers The new contract runs through March 31, 2023. to their rightful jobs, expel replacement workers if necessary Production, maintenance, shipping and receiving workers and make whole those who were deprived of wages by the received a one-time signing bonus as well as annual wage company’s continued unlawful actions. increases. The contract also includes improvements in holiday The unions have also requested information concerning pay, vacation and overtime language. alleged “permanent replacement” workers currently on the job The Blue Island site creates chemicals that go into soaps, and have demanded to bargain over the announced temporary shampoos and other sanitizing products. Local 7-765’s bar- and indefinite shutdowns of the Hayden Concentrator, Hayden gaining at Solvay’s Chicago Heights, Ill., plant was put on Smelter and Amarillo Refinery. hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic, however. USW to Hold Virtual Education Conference The USW is planning the international union’s first virtual Members Earn Bonuses for Front-Line Dedication education conference: “Smarter is Stronger!” The two-day Members at Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) event, Nov. 18-19, is intended to make sure members are able locations throughout eastern Kentucky and southern West Vir- to continue doing the work of the union until they can gather ginia will finally see appreciation bonuses that acknowledge in person again. their hard work on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. The online conference will include nearly 100 training The local’s USW leaders announced the bonus payments sessions about representation, officer duties, health and safety in mid-August. and other topics to provide members with practical knowl- The bonuses, in the amount of $400 each, were not part of edge for use in their locals and workplaces. The conference the members’ collective bargaining agreement and came after will include district breakout sessions and opportunities for USW leaders sent two letters to ARH urging them to award members to socialize, including activist groups such as Veter- appreciation payments to all of their employees. ans of Steel and Next Gen. “Our members are the front line of this pandemic,” Dis- The conference is free for USW and SOAR members. trict 8 Director Billy Thompson said. “They deserve to be Register and find out more information about the conference at treated with the same appreciation as you showed managers www.usw.org/educationconference. Participants are urged to and non-union employees.” pre-register for classes online due to limited capacity in some The payouts apply to all workers hired prior to March 1 of the trainings. Once registered, members will receive infor- and also include furloughed employees. mation about additional classes, required hardware and internet The eight USW locals include roughly 2,200 members connection, and how to access the conference through your across nine hospitals, while ARH employs roughly 6,000 device. The USW will also offer training sessions before the workers system-wide. conference to make sure participants can use their equipment.

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67668_Magazine.indd 35 9/18/20 6:17 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 ______You may also email the information to [email protected]

WORKERS BLAST BOYCOTT See Page 17

Photos by Steve Dietz

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