Rapid Response News Archive
- May 07, 2013 | Rapid Response The End of the 40-Hour Week? The U.S. House of Representatives is taking up a bill that would replace our guaranteed overtime pay with a new “comp time” system.
- April 03, 2013 Bring Jobs Home is Back! Because of your continued effort to keep holding our lawmakers' feet to the fire, the Bring Jobs Home Act is back! The legislation has been reintroduced in the 113th Congress by Representative Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).
- April 02, 2013 Sequestration . . . What Are Our Priorities? Massive budget cuts known as the sequester are causing a lot of pain for average Americans in ways we can see and ways we often don’t.
- April 02, 2013 The 2013 Rapid Response and Legislative Conference is Fast Approaching! In just two weeks we will be back in our nation’s capital for the 2013 Rapid Response and Legislative Conference, April 16-18, at the Washington Hilton. With a newly-convened Congress and a host of pressing issues, we’re presented with a great opportunity to advance policies that matter to Steelworker families at a very critical time.
- April 02, 2013 The Affordable Care Act . . . Three Years Later Even after 39 unsuccessful attempts to repeal it, the Affordable Care Act is celebrating its third birthday! So just what has the Affordable Care Act done in the last three years? Try some of these fast facts.
- April 02, 2013 Who the Heck is ALEC? As we continue to deal with a barrage of state focused legislative battles, it is imperative that we understand exactly who is behind them. The answer? The American Legislative Exchange Council, or better known as ALEC.
- December 31, 2012 Goodbye 2012 . . . Bring on 2013! As the year comes to a close, we want to acknowledge the work that you do to make sure the voices of working people are part of the debate wherever policy is decided. Once again, nobody does it like our union . . . more
- November 30, 2012 USW Rapid Response & Legislative Conference We are pleased to announce that the 2013 Rapid Response and Legislative Conference will be held during the third week of April in Washington, D.C., at the Hilton Washington. This conference comes at the start of a new Congress, presenting an opportunity for us to advance policies that matter for Steelworkers and our families at a critical time.
- October 04, 2012 | Rapid Response Medicare 101: What's a Voucher? Vouchers have been a hotly contested topic. Learn more about what they are and their implications for fundamentally changing Medicare as we know it.
- October 02, 2012 | Rapid Response Medicare 101: Paying for Medicare Learn about how we finance Medicare, it's cost-effectiveness, and the trust funds.
- September 30, 2012 | Rapid Response Medicare 101: Do You Know the Basics? Make sure you understand how Medicare works and the recent changes to improve the program.
- September 13, 2012 | Rapid Response The Affordable Care Act - Looking Ahead Learn about the benefits to come under the Affordable Care Act.
- September 11, 2012 | Rapid Response The Affordable Care Act - How Does it Benefit You? Find out the facts on how the Affordable Care Act - "Obamacare" - is already making a difference in millions of lives.
- August 08, 2012 Who is Really Pulling the Strings? As we continue to see an onslaught of anti-worker legislation bombard our state houses, it is vital that we understand where these destructive ideas began. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), is an organization that boasts 2,000 legislative members and three hundred plus corporate members.
- July 22, 2012 Bring Jobs Home! Did you know that over the last decade, we have lost more manufacturing jobs (as a percentage of the total) than during the Great Depression? That’s 50,000 facilities and nearly six million manufacturing jobs gone.
- November 07, 2011 | Rapid Response Update on Key Legislation - November 2011 Find out the status of the American Jobs Act and a bill to deal with China's currency manipulation.
- October 21, 2011 | Rapid Response Congress Passes Trade Deals with Colombia, Korea and Panama Find out how your Members of Congress voted on trade agreements with Colombia, Korea and Panama.
- October 07, 2011 | Rapid Response Fed Up? Hit the Streets and Support an Occupy Wall Street Event Near You! Find out more information on how to support an Occupy event near you.
- October 06, 2011 2012 USW Regional Rapid Response Conferences The first-ever Regional Rapid Response Conferences will take place in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Detroit within the first five months of 2012. This will be an entirely new type of Rapid Response Conference, focused heavily on skill-building workshops, networking and strengthening our ability to impact the legislative process in order to defend and promote our members’ needs.
- June 01, 2011 Rapid Response - A History Worth Fighting For A proud history of a great program.
- May 31, 2011 Steelworker Activism Helps to Save Northampton County’s Gracedale Nursing Home The nurses at Northampton County’s Gracedale Nursing Home in Pennsylvania are proud members of United Steelworkers Local 2599. The nurses – along with the leadership and Rapid Response Team from the local – are providing a great example of activism that rises to meet the challenges of today’s work environment.
- February 14, 2011 | USW USW President Gerard Joins Democratic Leader Pelosi on Jobs Bill Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi joined House Democrats and USW President Leo W. Gerard to raise their voices yesterday, sending a clear message that the number one national priority is to create jobs.
- October 07, 2010 Foreign Money Influencing U.S. Elections On a recent appearance on MSNBC’s Ed Show, United Steelworkers President Leo W. Gerard discusses how the Chamber of Commerce has received hundreds of thousands of dollars—if not millions—in foreign donations from countries like Bahrain, Abu Dhabi (U.A.E.), India, Russia, China, and elsewhere ... more
- September 29, 2010 U.S. House Vote for China Currency Reform Gets Big USW Nod Today’s U.S. House 348-79 vote approval of the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act (H.R. 2378) was given a big nod by Leo W. Gerard, International President of the United Steelworkers (USW) with the following statement. He testified Sept. 10 before the Ways and Means Committee and has mobilized workers’ calls on the issue in union halls and Washington forums.
- July 20, 2010 | Rapid Response United Steelworkers Send 100,000 Letters Urging Action on Clean Energy Jobs Legislation, Creating and Maintaining Manufacturing Jobs As the U.S. Senate prepares to take up clean energy legislation, members of the United Steelworkers, along with USW International Secretary-Treasurer Stan Johnson and BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director David Foster, highlighted the more than 100,000 letters sent from USW members.
- July 12, 2010 | Rapid Response China Undercuts U.S. Paper Jobs A report by the Economic Policy Institute highlights the subsidies that are giving Chinese paper producers an unfair advantage.
- March 26, 2010 What Healthcare Means for Us The new healthcare law contains many benefits for Steelworkers. Find out what it means for you.
- March 23, 2010 | Rapid Response Health Care Reform Passes House - President Obama Signs Into Law History was made recently when the U.S. House passed a health care reform bill that the President signed into law.
- February 02, 2010 | Rapid Response 2010 Rapid Response Conference Call Letter and Registration The Rapid Response Conference will be held during the first week of May 2010 in Washington, D.C. For registration and other information, please visit this link.
- January 29, 2010 | Rapid Response American Prospect Magazine Highlights Manufacturing If you want facts about what has happened in manufacturing in the United States and why it matters or information on the failure of our trade, tax and economic policy or steps we can take to restore the American working
- January 28, 2010 | USW Rapid Response USW Resource Guide for Laid-Off Members (Updated 1/13/10) View a guide with information for newly laid-off members that walks through key steps to consider when the paycheck stops.
- October 21, 2009 | Rapid Response I Have Great Healthcare. . .Why Would I Want Reform? While many USW members have great healthcare benefits, those benefits are coming at an increasingly high cost.
- September 17, 2009 | Rapid Response We Did It: USW Secures Victory for Workers in Tire Trade Case President Obama stands up for U.S. workers through his decision on a Section 421 trade case.
- June 18, 2009 | Rapid Response USW Rapid Response: Leading the Way on the Employee Free Choice Act! The Employee Free Choice Act is at a critical point. The following is an update for USW activists.
- May 27, 2009 Local 5965 Urges Community: "Buy American" Steelworkers in the Hastings, Michigan area are taking the Buy American message throughout their community
- April 27, 2009 | Rapid Response USW Members Respond with Compassion Locals Across the Country Send Much-Needed Help to Our Hurricane-Impacted Sisters and Brothers in the Gulf Region
- April 10, 2009 | USW 1,000 and counting...track the USW's 'Buy American' resolution here The "Buy American" resolution is the foundation of our "Make Our Future Work" economic renewal campaign. Click here for the latest.
- March 12, 2009 | Rapid Response Employee Free Choice Act Introduced The Employee Free Choice Act was re-introduced on March 10, 2009. For a listing of cosponsors, visit this article.
- February 18, 2009 | Rapid Response New Video: USW Fights for Free Choice USW and Rapid Response members helped deliver more than 1,000 letters in support of the Employee Free Choice Act to Sen. Arlen Specter's office. Click here for more, including video.

