United Steelworkers: News Articles

Obama: Loss of 605,000 jobs in August proof we can't afford more of the same McCain

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Senator Obama today released the following statement on the August Jobs Report:

"Today’s jobs report is a reminder of what’s at stake in this election – John McCain showed last night that he is intent on continuing the economic policies that just this year have caused the American economy to lose 605,000 jobs. John McCain may believe that the fundamentals of our economy are ‘strong,’ but the working men and women I meet every day are working harder for less, the typical working age family’s income is down $2,000 since George Bush took office, and their purchasing power is as low as it’s been in a decade. John McCain’s answer is more of the same: $200 billion in tax cuts to big corporations and oil companies, and not one dime of tax relief to more than 100 million middle-class families. If I am President, I will cut taxes for 95% of all working families and provide an immediate $50 billion to struggling states so that they don’t have to cut back on health care and education and can rebuild roads and schools. That’s the change working families need right now,” said Senator Barack Obama.

Senator Obama’s Emergency Economic Plan includes:

Cut taxes for 95 percent of working families – by $500 for an individual and $1,000 for a married couple. Barack Obama supports a set of middle class tax cuts including a “Making Work Pay” credit that would provide $500 for an individual or $1,000 for a married couple – a benefit for 95 percent of workers and their families. Given the pressing situation in the economy today he would like the first round of checks to be delivered as quickly as possible to help families cope with the rising price of gasoline, food and other necessities.
25 billion in a State Growth Fund to prevent state and local cuts in health, education and housing assistance or counterproductive increases in property taxes, tolls or fees. The fund will also ensure sufficient funding for home heating and weatherization assistance as we move into the fall and winter months.
$25 billion in a Jobs and Growth Fund to replenish the highway trust fund; prevent cutbacks in road and bridge maintenance and fund new, fast-tracked projects to repair schools – all to save more than 1 million jobs in danger of being cut.

Union Members can Turn Indiana and the Nation Around

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

USW Rapid Response Coordinator for District 7, Brett Voorhies, knows that the stakes couldn't be higher for working Hoosiers this election. With plants closing down all over Indiana, like the recent Master Brand Cabinet Company in Richmond, Hoosiers are constantly reminded of the economic challenges brought about in the past eight years under of Bush/Daniels. With a white house and a governor, who are consitantly hostile towards unions and the middle class, and corporate interests trying to push dangerous Right-to-Work laws at the statehouse, working Hoosiers have many reasons to get active this election ... more

USW to 'Adopt' 3,000 Striking Workers' Families in Mexico

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The United Steelworkers (USW) union has launched a campaign in which its local unions in the U.S. and Canada will adopt a striking family at the Cananea copper ore mine, owned by Grupo Mexico, where 3,000 workers have been on strike in Mexico for more than a year ... more

USW brother dies in Sparrows Point accident

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Robert J Fuchs, a member of USW Local 9477 in Baltimore, Maryland, was fatally injured this morning while removing material from a deflector roof in the ore handling operation at Sparrows Point (Severstal.)

It appears that a section of material broke off and pinned him against a wall. He was 65 years old and had 39 years of service.

The USW's Health, Safety and Environment's John Alexander will be investigation. Emergency Respose Team member Allan McDougall will be attending to the family.

Women of Steel to McCain: Palin wrong woman for the job

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The Women of Steel today sent an open letter to John McCain, saying that while it's progress that a woman is on the Republican presidential ticket, he unfortunately chose the wrong woman for the job. Read more here.

Obama's Labor Day message: Time for president who'll stand up for working men, women

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Hello everybody. This Labor Day weekend, we don’t just celebrate the end of summer; we also honor the hardworking men and women who have made this country what it is and the American labor movement that has fought tirelessly to improve their wages, benefits and working conditions.

America was built by its laborers, but today our workers are struggling just to get by in an economy that no longer works for them. That’s why we can’t afford four more years of the failed George Bush economic policies – policies that Senator McCain has proudly embraced and promises to continue.

It’s time we had a President who will stand up for working men and women by building an economy that rewards not just wealth, but work and the workers who create it. It’s time you had a partner in the White House who knows that the struggles facing working families can’t be solved by spending billions of dollars on more tax breaks for big corporations and wealthy CEOs, and that hardworking families need immediate relief.

That’s why, as President, I’ll end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and give them to companies that create good-paying jobs here at home, and while Senator McCain is proposing $4 billion in new tax breaks for oil companies that are making record profits I’ll put a $1,000 tax cut into the pockets of 95% of workers and their families.

It’s time you had a President who honors organized labor – who’s walked on picket lines; who doesn’t choke on the word “union”; who lets our unions do what they do best and organize our workers; and who will finally make the Employee Free Choice Act the law of the land.

That is the choice in this election. We can choose to remain on the path that has abandoned workers and gotten our economy in so much trouble, or we can reclaim the idea that in America, opportunity is open to anyone who’s willing to work for it.

I’ve spent my entire career fighting for working men and women. And so has my running mate, Joe Biden, a man whose heart and values are rooted firmly in the middle class. With him by my side, I am confident that we can take this country in a new direction and restore that fair shot at your dreams that is at the core of what Joe Biden and I stand for, and what America stands for as a nation.

Obama makes history, fires up working families

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Barack Obama not only made history last night when he accepted the nomination for president. He inspired working famlies across America.

"Obama’s acceptance speech made a forceful case for change, calling on working Americans to join him in fighting for a better life for our children, grandchildren and all the rest of us," said USW International President Leo W. Gerard.

"The separate paths Obama and Biden have each followed to reach this historic nomination for America’s Democratic presidential ticket is familiar to Steelworkers who have struggled, too. The Obama-Biden election fight for the White House is our fight," Gerard said. Read more of the USW's statement on Obama's speech here. Hundreds of USW members hosted watch parties across the country and the union is planning a nationwide block walk next week on the day John McCain accepts the GOP nomination to highlight his terrible record on issues important to working famlies.

Read the full text of Obama's remarks here and check out a video of the historic moment:

USW Commemorates 88th Anniversary of Women's Right to Vote with Interactive Photo Project

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The USW is commemorating the 88th anniversary of the day the U.S. Constitution was amended to grant women the right to vote with an interactive online photo project that will highlight the activism of the union’s women members.

“There’s no better way to celebrate this historic occasion than to work hard in what is a historic election. Fighting for Barack Obama and Joe Biden not only helps us protect working families, but it’s allowing us to be apart of a milestone we’ll be able to share with our daughters and granddaughters,” said Ann Flener, director of Women of Steel.

Across the nation, Women of Steel are joining other USW activists to support candidates who will help put an end to George W. Bush’s attack on working families and the Middle Class. Activists are phone banking, block walking, leafleting and other work to rally fellow union members for the Obama-Biden ticket.

Among their efforts is participating in a nationwide block walk event Sept. 4 – the day John McCain is set to accept the Republican nomination for president. The USW’s wildly successful Get the Lead Out program has also been shepherded by the Women of Steel, who continue to educate families about the Bush administration’s failed trade policies that are allowing toxic imports into our homes.

To mark the anniversary of the end of women’s suffrage, the USW is inviting activists to submit photos capturing the spirit of this important moment in history. E-mail photos of activism to flickr@usw.org along with your reflections on how far women have come and your optimism about this year’s historic election. Please include your full name, local, and a phone number.

Select photos and comments will be posted on the redesigned www.usw.org.

USW: McCain-Palin bad team for working families

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

USW International President Leo W. Gerard commented today on John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate, saying, "It is important to realize that while the governor's husband is a member of a union, this does not automatically qualify her for an on-the-job training program to become a heartbeat away from the presidency. And while her husband is one of 850,000 dues-paying members of the steelworkers union, it does nothing to absolve Sen. McCain of his long history of anti-union sentiment and anti-worker actions, including continuously pushing an anti-working family agenda." Read more of the statement here.

2 USW brothers critically injured in plant explosion

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

On Aug. 21, 2008, USW members Gene Gremillion and Robert (Robbie) Patilla of Local 13243 were critically injured by an explosion at ChemTrade Logistics in Beaumont, Texas.

Details of the accident are unknown at this time and under investigation.

Brothers Gremillion and Patilla were transported to UTMB hospital in Galveston. Brother Gremillion sustained second-degree burns on his face, arms and legs. Brother Patilla has two broken legs and third-degree burns. He is in critical but stable condition.

Emergency Response Team representativfe Duronda Pope is assiting the families and Health, Safety and Environment representative Kim Nibarger is investigating the accident.

Biden at convention: 'Get back up'

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

See a video of Biden's acceptance speech here.

Excerpts of Joe Biden—as prepared for delivery

Democratic National Convention

Denver, Colorado

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Barack Obama and I took very different journeys to this destination, but we share a common story.

Mine began in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and then Wilmington, Delaware, with a dad who fell on hard economic times, but who always told me: “Champ, when you get knocked down, get up... get up.”

My mother's creed is the American creed: no one is better than you. You are everyone's equal, and everyone is equal to you.

My parents taught us to live our faith and treasure our family. We learned the dignity of work, and we were told that anyone can make it if they try.

That was America's promise.

For those of us who grew up in middle class neighborhoods like Scranton and Wilmington, that was the American dream – and we knew it.

***

You can learn an awful lot about a man campaigning with him, debating him, and seeing how he reacts under pressure. You learn about the strength of his mind. But even more importantly, you learn about the quality of his heart.

I watched how he touched people, how he inspired them, and I realized he has tapped into the oldest American belief of all: we don't have to accept a situation we cannot bear. We have the power to change it.

***

The choice in this election is clear. These times require more than a good soldier – they require a wise leader. A leader who can deliver change. The change everybody knows we need.

Barack Obama will deliver that change.

***

As we gather here tonight, our country is less secure and more isolated than at any time in recent history. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has dug us into a very deep hole, with very few friends to help us climb out.

Should we trust John McCain’s judgment when he says there can be no timelines to drawdown our troops from Iraq – that we must stay indefinitely?

Or should we listen to Barack Obama, who says shift responsibility to the Iraqis – and set a time to bring our combat troops home?

Now, after six long years, the Bush administration and the Iraqi government are on the verge of setting a date to bring our troops home.

John McCain was wrong. Barack Obama was right.

***

Now, it’s our responsibility to meet that challenge. Millions of Americans have been knocked down. And this is the time as Americans, together, we get back up.

Hundreds of USW members across USA hosting watch parties for Obama's historic speech

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Steelworkers across the United States – and even in Canada -- will host “watch parties” tonight in their homes and in union halls as Sen. Barack Obama accepts the Democratic Party’s nomination for president.

More than 400 parties are planned, from Minersville, Pennsylvania, to San Antonio, Texas, to celebrate the acceptance speech by the candidate endorsed by the largest industrial union in the U.S., with more than 850,000 members.

For more information, click here. And check back to usw.org for photo and video highlights from the parties!

Block walk for Obama-Biden on Sept. 4

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The USW is inviting its members to sign up to block walk next Thursday, Sept. 4 - the day Republican John McCain accepts the GOP nomination for president.

Union members across the nation will be talking face-to-face to fellow union members about McCain's positions on the economy, jobs, trade, Social Security, education and more. McCain's policies will negatively impact working families, and we simply can't afford another four years of business as usual in Washington, D.C.

Check our our interactive map to find a block walk near you and sign up using our online form here. And don't forget to watch fellow USW members talk about why they're walking Sept. 4.:

Steelworkers to Hold Candlelight Vigil as Kimberly Mill Prepares for Shutdown

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Members of United Steelworkers Local 2-9 and their families will be holding a candlelight vigil across the street from the NewPage paper mill in Kimberly, Wisconsin Wednesday, August 27 at 9:00 p.m. Three weeks ago, the NewPage Corporation, headquartered in Miamisburg, Ohio announced that the Kimberly mill would be shutting down at the end of the summer ... more

Gamesa management: No downside to USW

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

By Ann Belser, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Julius Steiner clearly did not go to the Wal-Mart school of management.

Not when he says, "We voluntarily recognized the Steelworkers union," and then he follows it with this sentiment: "There's no downside. There simply isn't."

Mr. Steiner is CEO of Gamesa USA in Philadelphia, a Spanish-owned company that builds wind turbines and develops wind to energy farms. Gamesa (pronounced gam-ay-sah) was named by American Rights at Work on its Labor Day list of Partnerships that Work, for the company's strong ethic of workers' rights.

"Gamesa has a Western European approach to dealing with people that embraces the concept of corporate social responsibility," Mr. Steiner said.

Mary Beth Maxwell, executive director of the American Rights at Work Education Fund, announced the list, which includes the Washington National Opera in Washington, D.C.; Justice Clothing in Bangor, Maine; and Alabama Power in Birmingham.

"While job outsourcing, corporate bankruptcies, layoffs and unfair negotiations are rampant, this year's Labor Day List employers and their employees' unions tell another story. They are proving that tumultuous labor relations are a thing of the past, not the future," she said in a news release on the announcement. "These companies buck the trend and showcase the strength that comes when workers and management create long-lasting productive partnerships. Economic success does not have to come at the expense of workers' rights."

Mr. Steiner said the company was comfortable with the union representing the workers because it provides a clear path for disputes and takes away any uncertainty an employee might have that he could be fired at any time.

"We don't have a we/they mentality that often accompanies a union. We have a relationship that's cooperative," he said.

He also noted that working with the United Steelworkers union, the company has been able to secure a no-strike clause in the contract so that production is ensured and workers don't have to worry about being out of work while disputes are settled.

Ann Belser can be reached at abelser@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1699.

Michelle Obama at convention talks of family, hard work and change

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Michelle Obama, wife of presidential candidate Barack Obama, spoke to the nation last night. She told the story of how she met her husband, saying, "As our friendship grew, and I learned more about Barack, he introduced me to the work he'd done when he first moved to Chicago after college. Instead of heading to Wall Street, Barack had gone to work in neighborhoods devastated when steel plants shut down, and jobs dried up. And he'd been invited back to speak to people from those neighborhoods about how to rebuild their community.

The people gathered together that day were ordinary folks doing the best they could to build a good life. They were parents living paycheck to paycheck; grandparents trying to get by on a fixed income; men frustrated that they couldn't support their families after their jobs disappeared. Those folks weren't asking for a handout or a shortcut. They were ready to work - they wanted to contribute. They believed - like you and I believe - that America should be a place where you can make it if you try."

For a video and the full text of Michelle Obama's speech, visit the Steelworkers for Obama section.

VIDEO UPDATE: Biden, USW go way back

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The USW's relationship with vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden goes back to the Steelworkers being the first union to endorse him in 1972, when he first got elected as a U.S. Senator.

Thirty-six years later, that relationship is stronger than ever.

Biden was among the Democrat primary candidates who appeared last year at the USW's presidential candidates' forum in Cleveland before 1,200 Steelworkers.

At that forum, Biden got a standing ovation when he declared, "If I'm elected...the Steelworkers will have the best friend as president they have ever had in the history of this country." View video highlights from the forum here to see how adding Biden to the Obama ticket adds a strong advocate for working families.

Read the USW's statement on presidential candidate Barack Obama's selection of Biden as his running mate here.

Union Convention Delegates Urged to Pull Out All Stops for Obama, Biden

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

More than a quarter of the delegates in Denver for tonight's opening of the Democratic National Convention are union members and they are pledging to work like never before to elect Barack Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden, as president and vice president.

"We have an opportunity to change things and that's what we intend to do," USW retiree Steve Skvara on Sunday told an auditorium packed with cheering union delegates to the convention. ."Our feet have got to hit the streets to make that happen."

Skvara is known across the country as the retiree who earlier this year tearfully told Democratic candidates on national television that he could not afford to buy health insurance for his wife after his employer went bankrupt. He asked the candidates, "What's wrong with America and what are you going to do to change it?"

The AFL-CIO and the unions that belong to the Change to Win federation jointly kicked off the convention with a massive rally and meeting for union delegates in which a long list of speakers touted Obama as the right candidate to rebuild the economy, provide health care for all and restore workers' free choice to form unions.

International President Leo Gerard reminded the delegates that Republican John McCain voted for every free trade deal that came up for a vote and has promised to negotiate more trade pacts with other countries if elected president. He called for a "new deal" for America's families under Obama's leadership.

Noting that millions of good-paying industrial jobs have evaporated in the 7 ½ years of the Bush Administration, Gerard said the country cannot afford another four years of the same bankrupt policies under Republican McCain

"Everything I have in life is because of my union,'' Gerard said. "I want my children to have the same opportunities as I had. I want my grandkids to have the same shot at life. It's an opportunity we can't afford to miss.

Larry Cohen, president of the Communications Workers of America, said we must defeat McCain if we want to restore the right to form and join labor unions by making the Employee Free Choice Act a reality.

"Who will do it? We must do it," Cohen said. "This is a call to action. We are all here this week so we can march out of this convention united to elect Barrack Obama and Joe Bidden. It's time we helped to change America."

The USW and the AFL-CIO are engaged in the largest mobilizations ever to take back the White House for working people. The faltering economy, the need for health care reform and the right to join unions are in the forefront of campaign issues.

The union movement expects to reach more than 13 million voters who belong to unions or the community affiliate WorkingAmerica in battle ground states this election cycle, and there is more at stake than the presidency. All told, labor will be engaged in more than 510 races nationwide including national and state contests.

The endorsment of Sen. Obama triggered a massive grass roots mobilization campaign to educate and introduce voters to Obama's economic record and proposals. Through Labor Day, union volunteers are expected to go to 300,000 union votes' homes, make over 300,000 phone calls and distribute over 2 million flyers that tout Sen. Obama's record in support of working families.

Particular attention will be devoted to crucial key industrial states including Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania - all of which have suffered because of job losses under the Bush administration.

"We are confident Barack Obama will be elected president when middle class voters know who he is and what he stands for,'' said Karen Ackerman, the AFL-CIO's political director.

Many speakers expressed frustration that Obama is not doing better against McCain in polling given that a wide majority of voters believe the nation is on the wrong track. The current president has an approval rating that is worse than that of Richard Nixon when he resigned from office in disgrace.

Yet the race between Obama and McCain is too close for comfort.

Ackerman said there are more undecided voters than ever before and many of those undecided voters are union members who have an interest in improving trade relations, health care coverage and the ability of unions to organize.

"It is now or it is never,'' Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, told thousands of union members and delegates at the rally.

The election contest, some union leaders admitted, is complicated by race. There has never before been an African-American candidate for president and many voters appear to be undecided for that reason.

Both McEntee and Richard Trumka, the secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, bluntly confronted the issue of race in the election. They said Republicans would inflame the race issue and called it inexcusable to vote against Obama because of his race when he is the only candidate who has pledged to improve the lives of working people.

McEntee used colorful language to make his point. "They area going to say to so many of our white members in Appalachia, you can't vote for him, he's black," McEntee said. "We've got to say to them, that's bullshit."

Trumka repeated his denunciation of race as a reason to vote against Obama. It was an issue he first tackled in a speech before the USW constitution convention earlier this summer in Las Vegas. He urged union members to challenge "bigoted wisecracks" against Obama.

‘We can't afford to shrug our shoulders. We can't afford to look away,'' he said

USW Praises Sen. Biden on Joining Barack Obama's Presidential Campaign

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Leo W. Gerard, International President, United Steelworkers (USW), today praised the announcement by the USW-endorsed Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama in naming U.S. Sen. Joe Biden as his vice presidential running mate ... more

Steelworkers Hail Court Decision Approving $1 Billion Health Care Fund for Goodyear Retirees

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The United Steelworkers (USW) applauded the judgment issued today by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, approving the $1 billion Voluntary Employees' Benefits Association (VEBA) trust fund, established as part of a 2006 contract settlement following an 86-day strike ... more

Studies Show a Continuing Trend of Layoffs and Unemployment

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Layoffs across the United States this July reached the highest level since August, 2003, and 75 percent of those who responded to a new Gallup Poll believe now is a bad time to find a quality job.

Gallup’s chief economist, Dennis Jacobe, predicts that job market conditions will continue to deteriorate in the months ahead as employers adjust to the slowing economy.

Consumers stretched by rising energy prices, the housing market collapse and current credit crunch will continue to face uncertainty and worries about their personal job situations through this year. Sluggish spending will continue.

Jobs declined in July for the seventh consecutive month, according to a just-released report from the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics report. So far this year, a total of 463,000 jobs have been. The 5.5 percent unemployment rate for the month is the highest since March 2004.

Over the 12 months, 1.6 million workers have joined the rolls of the jobless. Underemployment, a key measure of labor market weakness, rose to 10.3 percent, its highest level since 2003.

Rising inflation of between four to five percent and a fallen job market has led to a significant drop in real wages and benefits for many workers, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank.

Average weekly hours worked slipped to 33.6 hours last month, the lowest level since November 2004.

The use of part-time workers, another important indicator of an underutilized work force, is rising. In July, the number of part-time workers who would prefer full-time jobs rose to 5.7 million people, 1.4 million above last year, and the highest since the government began measuring part-time work in 1994.

Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic nominee for president, recently outlined his plans for bolstering the nation’s manufacturing sector to a mixed audience in Martinsville, Va.

Obama told a crowd of about 300 that he would change the laws that encourage employers to send jobs overseas and provide more help and resources to the nation’s laid-off workers.

His message of keeping jobs on U.S. soil and getting rid of tax incentives for companies who chose to go elsewhere hit home in Martinsville, where the once-booming manufacturing industry has been hit as hard by layoffs. They are ready for change.

USW Statement on Passing of U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-11th-OH)

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Pittsburgh, PA (Aug. 21) – Statement by Leo W. Gerard, President, United Steelworkers (USW), on passing of Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones.

“Cleveland Steelworkers and USW members across the nation are saddened by the loss of Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones. No one could stir a crowd quite like Stephanie. Her life force was so strong that she could project it into a weary crowd and get them all on their feet yelling for more.

To read more

VIDEO UPDATE: Obama: 'I believe in unions'

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Weekends, an end to child labor, health care. These are just a few of the benefits unions helped win for the American worker, says presidential candidate Barack Obama. Watch him describe why he supports the Employee Free Choice Act and as he talks about why, "I believe in unions."

USW offering free Obama t-shirts to convention watch party hosts

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

USW members who sign up to host a watch party Aug. 28, when Sen. Barack Obama accepts the nomination for president of the United States, will receive two free Steelworkers for Obama t-shirts. Hosts can sign up online here. You'll also receive a party pack including buttons, placards and other supplies to help you host a meaningful and successful event.

You can download flyers and other info now to get started. And don't forget to check out our new Steelworkers for Obama Web page for the latest news affecting working families everywhere.

Downloadbale PDF files:

Party Tip Sheet

Obama vs. McCain on Health Care

Obama vs. McCain on Workers' Issues

VIDEO UPDATE: USW members help candidates across the nation

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Many USW members are dedicating their time to work for change - contributing more than 6,000 shifts where they pass out flyers, phone bank, block walk and more. They are true warriors in a stand for the working class, and throughout the campaign, we'll feature some of the USW Activist Corps video and photo stories on usw.org. For previous features, go here.

Here are members of USW Local 169 in Mansfield, Ohio, phone banking for Obama with members of OAPSE and AFSCME. The activists were calling fellow union members.In this photo: Danny Miller (USW 8530), Jud Prosser (USW 8530), Diane Dishong (USW 169), Mike Carroll (USW 169), Ron Davis (President, USW 169.)

And here are some USW members in USW's District 9 attending a Parker Griffith for Congress event in Alabama:

Watch USW's Mike Bishop, T.J. Pickerrell, Larry Ray, Gordon Nichols as they meet at American Synthetic Rubber Co. in Louisville, Ky., to leaflet for U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford: