United Steelworkers: News Articles

Workers Uniting - Just the Beginning of a Groundbreaking Fight

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Today, the fight begins for a more prosperous, fairer economy for everyone. Workers Uniting, the global union formed by the United Steelworkers and the United Kingdom and Ireland’s Unite the Union, is hosting its first-ever economic policy conference, Building a Global Agenda for Shared Prosperity.

The conference in Toronto brings together labors and political leaders, economists, think tanks, workers, students and others to work on real solutions to the world’s economic woes. At the end of the meeting, a plan will be put forth offering concrete ideas for getting people back to work and for ending the painful austerity agenda that has been hurting ordinary people around the globe for far too long.

“What makes this gathering truly different is not just the exchange of ideas. What makes it groundbreaking is the idea that today is just the beginning of our fight. That we are not going to be content with just talking about a better way – we are leaving here with a solid plan and we will not stop until it is made reality,” USW International President Leo W. Gerard said in remarks opening the conference.

Click here to learn more about this historic event and to find out how you can join the fight. Then watch our opening video and pass it on. Use the #wubetterworld hash tag on social media and tell us what kind of world you are fighting for!

USW Members Ratify Contracts at ExxonMobil Baytown Complex

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

United Steelworkers (USW) local 13-2001 members tonight ratified three separate agreements with ExxonMobil Baytown for the operations, maintenance and laboratory groups.

The three-year agreements expire May 15, 2016 and cover about 850 workers at the Baytown complex. They met the provisions of the National Oil Bargaining (NOB) policy, and the local 13-2001 bargaining committee recommended them for approval.

ExxonMobil agreed to bargain over the American Petroleum Institute's recommended practice on fatigue, RP 755, and to establish a limit on the number of consecutive days an employee can work. The company also agreed to a full-time union process safety representative position to address process safety concerns. These two issues had been in contention during negotiations ... more

Republicans Prepared to Sacrifice the Economic Well-being of the Nation and its Middle Class

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Progressive talk show host Leslie Marshall recently spoke with United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard about how President Obama is constantly trying to find ways to revive industry and manufacturing and how the Republicans continue to attack him and the people who trying to earn a living wage.

Profits are up, the rich are getting richer. Meanwhile unemployment remains high; wages have been stagnant for decades and more Americans live in poverty. The promise by the Republicans, of jobs, jobs, jobs, has been lost in their disgusting attempts to stall this recovery.

"It's gotten to the point that it should be very, very clear that in order to continue to have a failed President, they're prepared to sacrifice the economic well-being of the nation and it's middle class," said Gerard.

They continued to talk about Elizabeth Warren's push to get reasonable student loan interest rates and a Republican “Comp Time” bill (HR 1406) that will take away opportunities for working people.

To hear the discussion, click the audio below.

Reference Articles

Recovery in U.S. Is Lifting Profits, but Not Adding Jobs

Rich-Poor Gap Widens to Most Since 1967 as Income Falls

USW Praises Senate Support for Strong Buy America Requirements in Water Resources Development Act

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Merkley-Brown Amendment Creates American Manufacturing Jobs through Buy America Provisions

The United Steelworkers (USW) lauded today’s overwhelming support in the Senate, by a 60-36 margin, to pass the Merkley-Brown amendment (#866) to the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). This will ensure that federal taxpayer dollars used to fund water infrastructure projects under WRDA will be spent on goods and materials made here in America by American workers.

This amendment is consistent with previous Buy America provisions that have established the basic principle that when federal taxpayer dollars are spent on public infrastructure projects, Americans get the work.

“The Merkley-Brown amendment will maintain and grow domestic production of manufactured goods,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard. “Buy America rules, backed by an open, competitive market-driven process, create and expand the U.S. manufacturing supply chain and retain and create jobs in the United States ... more

USW Commends Hawaii Legislative Resolution to Expand Refinery Task Force Mandate and Include USW

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

United Steelworkers (USW) commends the Hawaii State Legislature for passing Resolution HCR99/SD1 that urges Governor Neil Abercrombie to add a USW Local 12-591 member to the Hawaii Refinery Task Force and to broaden the issues the task force will review.

“By passing this resolution, the state legislature has affirmed its commitment to working with a potential buyer to operate the Tesoro refinery in Kapolei,” said USW International Vice President Gary Beevers, who heads the union’s oil sector. “We are very appreciative of the legislature’s support to keep this refinery operating.”

The USW sent a letter to Governor Abercrombie on May 6, 2013 that requests the governor abide by the state legislature’s resolution and appoint a Local 12-591 member to his Hawaii Refinery Task Force ... more

American security should be homemade

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

By BRIG. GEN. JOHN ADAMS and SCOTT PAUL, Politico

The quintessential example of American military might in recent years was the nighttime operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. Elite U.S. special operations forces, equipped with night-vision goggles, launched a lightning raid on a moonless night that took down one of America’s most dangerous enemies.

But suppose those troops could not be equipped with nighttime goggles, and were forced to drop in via helicopter in broad daylight?

Now pull back and consider our troops in Afghanistan. Imagine soldiers in the field calling in air support while pinned down by a surprise attack, only to find the responding helicopters had no HELLFIRE missiles in their quill ... more

USW: Manufacturing Essential to Nation's Military Readiness

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The United Steelworkers (USW) released the following statement today from USW International President Leo W. Gerard after the release of the report “Remaking American Security: Supply Chain Vulnerabilities and National Security Risks Across the U.S. Defense Industrial Base.”:

“It has been clear for decades that our national defense needs do not begin and end at the walls of the Pentagon. The health of American manufacturing has always been vital to the health of the American economy. As this study shows, it also is vital to the health of our national defense.

“As the report notes, the contributions that our workers and our soldiers make to national security are inextricably intertwined. Without a solid economic base of manufacturing, we cannot hope to retain our status as a preeminent world power, neither economically nor militarily. American workers, including hundreds of thousands of USW members, make the best and most reliable products in the world, and America’s warfighters deserve no less when they put their lives on the line in protection of our liberty ... more

United Way of Allegheny County Honors USW

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The United Steelworkers International Headquarters and USW Local 3657 were named as this year’s recipients of the United Way of Allegheny County’s Paul Stackhouse Award.

Named after Paul Stackhouse Sr., a labor leader and longtime community advocate, the award is given in recognition of a union group that made significant contributions to the United Way’s Impact Fund while making equally generous contributions of their time volunteering.

“Community building is an essential part of what the USW does,” said International President Leo W. Gerard. “This award acknowledges a long partnership between two organizations that both embrace the philosophy that for any one of us to succeed, we must all succeed together.

I thank all the USW members who donated their time and money to this great cause.”

In 2012, the USW Headquarters staff and Local 3657 members gave nearly $29,000 in charitable contributions to the United Way of Allegheny County, a 67 percent increase over the previous year. The funds will support community programming aimed at helping students, families, and seniors in the Pittsburgh area.

Fourteen members also volunteered through the United Way’s “Be a 6th Grade Mentor” program, helping students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools develop career goals and sharpen their academic focus.

International Vice President Fred Redmond and Local 3657 President Patrick Young will accept the award on behalf of the USW at a United Way banquet on May 28.

Congresswoman Touts Worker Protections That Her Bill Would Weaken

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

By Bryce Covert, ThinkProgress

Today, the House is set to vote on the Working Families Flexibility Act, legislation that would weaken rules requiring businesses to pay employees overtime wages when they work more than 40 hours in a given week and instead give employers the option of providing their workers with “comp time,” or time off from work. The bill is being touted as a Republican response to the need for today’s working parents to balance work and family by allowing them to accrue unpaid overtime hours.

A big worry of opponents of the bill is that employers will have the power to coerce employees into taking comp time instead of having to pay them overtime wages. When confronted with this possibility, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL), told the Sirius radio show The Morning Briefing with Tim Farley that employees will be able to turn to existing worker protections against coercion under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): more

Workers Uniting Statement on Bangladesh

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Workers Uniting shares the global reaction of horror and anger at the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh on April 24 which killed more than 700 workers – with nearly 1,000 still unaccounted for. This is only the latest in a series of fatal industrial ‘accidents’ in the global garment industry.

The reports and worker testimonies we have received from the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights starkly demonstrate the suffering of the survivors and the callousness of many global apparel brands that have sought to distance themselves from the disaster.

Let’s be clear. The companies that flocked to Bangladesh in search of the world’s cheapest labour bear responsibility for this tragedy. The impunity of the multinational apparel brands and government officials and the violation of Bangladeshi workers’ rights must end NOW ... more

USW Paper Workers Ratify New Agreement with KPS to Ensure Their Mills' Future

Fri, 03 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

United Steelworkers (USW) members at Wausau Paper’s Rhinelander, Wis., and Mosinee, Wis., mills and the Thilmany mill in Kaukauna, Wis., today ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with KPS Capital Partners in anticipation of the private equity firm successfully creating the largest specialty paper company in North America.

“We are proud of the leadership that our local unions have shown in bringing their respective memberships together to ratify this important deal in the specialty paper sector,” said USW President Leo W. Gerard. “This particular piece of the industry still has enormous growth potential and has long been in need of a new strategic vision to capitalize on that opportunity.”

USW local 2-00015 and local 01778 represent the workers at the Rhinelander mill. USW local 2-00221 and local 2-00316 represent workers at the Mosinee mill. USW local 2-00020 represents workers at the Kaukauna, Wis., mill. This agreement represents a new beginning for about 1,400 paper workers at these three mills.

“The overwhelming vote makes a powerful statement about how our members are committed to ensuring the long-term viability of these plants,” said USW International Vice President Jon Geenen, who heads the union’s paper sector ... more

President Obama and labor rights in Mexico

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

As President Barack Obama prepares to travel to Mexico Thursday for a meeting with President Enrique Peña Nieto economic growth, immigration and security policies top the agenda. Yet one unmentioned theme – Mexico’s dismal labor rights record – has important consequences for all three of these policy areas.

From 2006-2012, the government of Felipe Calderón mounted a full-scale assault on democratic labor unions in Mexico, combining all the mechanisms of labor control built up during 70 years of one-party rule with full-scale military assaults on striking workers. Although the compensation of Mexican workers relative to U.S. workers in manufacturing was lower in 2010 than in 1975, Calderón was determined to drive wages even lower to attract foreign investment.

It is not yet clear whether Peña Nieto intends to continue Calderón’s repressive policies, or whether he will finally respect Mexican workers’ rights. The message that Obama sends could make a crucial difference.

Recognition of Independent Unions in Mexico

The Calderón government deployed thousands of troops to break strikes by the National Union of Mineworkers (“Los Mineros”), and four union members were killed in these disputes between 2006-2011. The government continues to pursue baseless criminal charges against the union’s leader, Napoleón Gómez, even after these charges were thrown out by five federal appeals courts.

In February another court ordered Peña Nieto’s Attorney General to notify INTERPOL that the charges had been dismissed, and in March Interpol informed Gómez that his file has been deleted because “the information recorded concerning him raised strong doubts concerning its compliance with INTERPOL’s rules” which prohibit governments from using INTERPOL to pursue political opponents.

Gómez received the AFL-CIO’s prestigious Meany-Kirkland Human Rights Award in 2011 – but he was denied a visa to travel to Washington from exile in Canada on the grounds that his visit would have “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”

The Mexican government summarily dismissed 44,000 members of the Mexican Electrical Workers’ Union in October 2009, without due process or negotiations with the union. More than 16,000 workers filed legal cases for reinstatement, but the government has blocked all attempts to reach a solution. In response to a complaint under the NAFTA labor side agreement, both the U.S. and Canadian Labor Departments are now investigating this case.

‘Protection Contracts’ Should be Stopped

The Mexican government is increasingly promoting and facilitating employer-dominated “protection contracts” that deny workers the right to democratically choose their union representatives. Under this system, workers cannot see their union contract and often don’t even know that they have a union.

At PKC, a Finnish company on the U.S. - Mexico border that produces parts for the U.S. auto industry, a company official was recently caught on tape telling workers that a company union was being installed “for their own protection.” PKC has now fired 11 leaders of the Mineworkers union which is seeking to displace the company-dominated union.

Efforts by 10,000 call center workers at Atento to freely elect their union representatives were violently repressed by the company and the company-dominated union, who have worked together to suppress wages through a protection contract. On three separate occasions, the local Labor Board of the Federal District colluded with the company union to block free elections.

Similar practices have been documented by other employers in Mexico, including Japanese automaker Honda and at Excellon, a Canadian mining company.

Mexico’s Labor Rights Practices Violate International Law

In March 2011, the Committee on Freedom of Association of the International Labor Organization (ILO) called on the Mexican government to meet with independent unions to discuss protection contract practices, but the government has refused. Instead, it passed labor law reforms in November 2012 that weaken worker protections while doing nothing to ensure workers’ right to democratically choose their representatives.

These actions violate ILO Conventions and the NAFTA labor side agreement, demonstrating a clear disregard for due process and the rule of law which undermines efforts to promote legal reforms in Mexico. Further, the destruction of democratic unions threatens the economic security of Mexican workers and their families, feeds the cycle of poverty and violence, and forces workers to seek economic opportunity and safety by immigrating to the U.S.

As Mexico enters the negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership and attempts to join the proposed Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union, the rapid deterioration of labor rights raises serious concerns about unfair competition. We hope that the discussion between Obama and Peña Nieto will result in a departure from this destructive path.

Richard Trumka, President, AFL-CIO; Leo W. Gerard, President United Steelworkers; Bob King, President, United Auto Workers; Larry Cohen, President, Communications Workers of America. The AFL-CIO represents more than 12 million workers of affiliated unions in the U.S., while the combined total members represented by the USW, UAW and CWA is about two million.

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USW Comments on Nomination of Michael Froman to be United States Trade Representative

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Leo W. Gerard, International President of the United Steelworkers (USW) issued the following statement today after the announcement by President Obama of his intent to nominate Michael Froman as United States Trade Representative.

"Michael has served this President with distinction, helping to guide the Administration's international economic policy through the difficult shoals created by an economic tempest of historic proportions. The legacy left by President Bush required an enormous effort to keep America afloat and to coordinate economic policies with other nations. Michael has been at the center of those efforts. Click here for the rest of Gerard's statement.

USW's Gerard Urges Caterpillar to Resume Negotiations

Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard today called upon Caterpillar management to resume good faith negotiations with Local 1343 on behalf of 803 workers at the company’s South Milwaukee plant after workers soundly rejected a proposed 6-year labor agreement in a vote yesterday.

Gerard said that the USW is ready to resume bargaining immediately and encouraged negotiators on both sides to find creative solutions and reasonable compromises to resolve issues at the table.

“Steelworkers in South Milwaukee have earned and deserve a fair contract that preserves these family and community-sustaining middle class jobs for the long term,” Gerard said. “We also understand that a strong, healthy company means more security for our employment, earnings and benefits ... more

Workers Memorial Day Reminds Us of Safety Risks, Hazards, Atrocities and Death

Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Progressive talk show host Leslie Marshall and USW International Vice President of Human Affairs Fred Redmond discuss Workers Memorial Day and the recent events in Texas and Bangladesh remind us that safeguards are necessary to protect employees in the workplace. In addition, lack of regulation and compliance also puts communities at-risk as well.

•    14 people killed in a devastating explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas.

•    340 people dead after Bangladesh building collapse.

•    13 Americans killed every day which translates into 4,000 workers killed each year.

•    Millions at risk of a hydrofluoric acid (HF) release

The President Leo Gerard’s Blog addresses these issues: West Blast Obliterates Safety Lie

From the New York Times, an editorial that addresses collective bargaining and health and safety rights while noting the large corporations who benefit from the exploitation: Another Preventable Tragedy in Bangladesh

Here’s a recently concluded study that warns that some 26 million people are at risk of a hydrofluoric acid (HF) release from an oil refining process that could eliminate its use entirely, or at least establish greater safeguards: USW Study Warns Public about Dangers of Hydrofluoric Acid Use in Refinery Alkylation Process to Produce Clean-Burning Gasoline

To hear the discussion, click the audio below.

Mexican Union Leader Vindicated in Court, Launches New Book

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Fresh from a series of resounding legal victories, Mexican mine workers leader Napoleón Gómez has written a book that exposes the Mexican government’s seven-year campaign to destroy democratic unions and drive down workers’ wages. Gómez won the AFL-CIO’s Meany-Kirkland Human Rights Award in 2011.

Endorsing the book, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka stated: “Napoleón is a hero, because every day he fights for the lives and welfare of the Mexican workers and their families.”

Gómez’s book, Collapse of Dignity, opens with the explosion at the Pasta de Conchos mine in 2006 that killed 65 miners. Gómez describes the collaboration between government officials and business leaders to undermine the union with criminal charges, threats and violence. He explains how the mine workers fought back with support from unions around the world.

Collapse of Dignity was launched April 17 during the United Steelworkers (USW) Canadian National Policy Conference in Vancouver, where Gómez has lived in exile since 2006. The book, with a foreword by USW President Leo W. Gerard, can be ordered online at www.CollapseOfDignity.com.

As his book went to press, Gómez received good news that the global police agency Interpol has canceled an international warrant issued in 2006. Interpol found that the Mexican government’s allegation against Gómez “raised strong doubts concerning its compliance with Interpol's rules.” A few weeks earlier, a Mexican court ordered the government to notify Interpol that the government’s charges against him had all been dismissed.

“The Interpol decision shows that Mexico can no longer use international agencies to persecute its political enemies,” said Gerard. “Napoleón’s only crime is making employers in Mexico raise wages so they can no longer undercut workers in the U.S. and Canada. Mexico’s new president should end the persecution of Napoleón and his union and let him go home.”

For how to buy and ship 'Collapse of Dignity,' Click Here.

Click Here to download the conference call.

To hear the conference call, click the audio below.

Steelworkers Reject Contract at Caterpillar South Milwaukee

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that members of Local 1343 rejected a proposed 6-year labor agreement and that the union will resume negotiations with Caterpillar for a new contract.

The USW is instructing all members of Local 1343 to continue reporting for work at Caterpillar as scheduled.

The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in public sector and service occupations.

ExxonMobil Refuses to Agree to Health and Safety Language during Talks for New Contract at Baytown Complex

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Local 13-2001 gives 60-day notice to strike if contract not reached

A possible lockout or strike could occur June 15 at ExxonMobil’s Baytown, Texas, refinery, chemical plant and laboratory if company management continues to reject contract language that would improve health and safety at the largest petroleum and petrochemical complex in the U.S.

United Steelworkers (USW) Local 13-2001 at ExxonMobil’s Baytown, Texas, complex proposed health and safety language from the 2012 National Oil Bargaining agreement during three weeks of negotiations with the company, but management refused to accept it in its last, best and final offer given April 15.

This lack of acceptance of health and safety language prompted Local 13-2001 to issue a required 60-day notice to terminate the contract and go out on strike. The local union agreement contains an “industrial peace” clause that provides a 60-day period where both sides abide by the existing contract while they work to reach an acceptable agreement.

Shortly after Local 13-2001 issued its notice, ExxonMobil issued its required 60-day lockout notice to the local union ... more

Steelworkers Update NLRB Charge against Phillips Manufacturing

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that the union has updated its unfair labor practice charge with Region 8 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Phillips Manufacturing Co. because on Monday, April 22, the company again refused to bargain over the issue of recalling workers from a strike in Niles, Ohio and informed the USW that Phillips, which is headquartered in Omaha, Neb., no longer recognizes the USW as the bargaining representative of its employees.

After the state unemployment officer denied USW members compensation based on the company’s testimony that the striking workers were not permanently replaced and had jobs to go back to if they asked the company, the union ended its strike at Phillips on April 1, 2013, by submitting an unconditional offer to return to work ... more

USW Concludes Initial Bargaining Talks with Goodyear; Talks to Resume in June

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The United Steelworkers (USW) announced today a week of contract talks in Cincinnati with Goodyear have ended and will start up again in June. The current three-year agreement runs until July 27, 2013.

Initial proposals were exchanged and both parties will now begin the process of analyzing the offers and counter-proposals. Wages, health care and pensions top the list of issues set for the bargaining table.

The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed in many industries that embrace metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service and public sectors, including some 8,500 members employed at six Goodyear production locations in the United States.

For more information: http://www.usw.org

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USW's Redmond Honored to Receive NAACP Northeast Region's Civil Rights Advocacy Training Institute Award for Labor Leadership

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that International Vice President Fred Redmond will be honored to accept the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s (NAACP) Dr. Annie B. Martin Labor Leader Award at its annual Northeast Region Civil Rights Advocacy Training Institute on Friday, April 26, 2013, at the Westin Convention Center Hotel.

“No individual can take on the responsibilities of fighting for more and better jobs, improving our children’s education and restoring vitality to our communities by himself or herself, which makes this recognition very humbling,” Redmond said. “I’m very proud of the work we are doing and see no limit to what we can accomplish if we continue to grow as a collective.”

In 2007, Redmond was elected to the board of directors of AFL-CIO community affiliate Working America in May and elected chairman of the A. Philip Randolph Institute board of directors by unanimous assent in August. He is the Region 6 representative of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) and has served on the AFL-CIO Executive Council since 2008. In 2010, Redmond joined the TransAfrica Forum board of directors ... more

Steelworkers Disgusted by Caterpillar CEO's Shameful 2012 Cash Grab

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The United Steelworkers (USW) today denounced Caterpillar Inc. CEO Douglas Oberhelman’s 32 percent compensation increase from $16.9 million in 2011 to $22.4 million in 2012 as shameful and unwarranted.

USW District 2 Director Michael Bolton said that rewarding Oberholman’s job performance by boosting his already lavish compensation by nearly one-third in 2012, despite lower than expected earnings, sends a dangerous message to other CEOs that lining their pockets at the expense of their workers is somehow acceptable.

“In 2012, Caterpillar Inc. put 700 people out of work by shutting down its Electro-Motive Diesel plant in London, Ont. after locking out its workers when they rejected a 50 percent wage cut; then the company bullied almost 800 workers into major wage and benefit concessions after a three-month labor dispute in Joliet, Ill.,” Bolton said ... more

USW Praises Addition of Paper Mills to KPS Capital Partners LP's Specialty Paper Project

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The United Steelworkers (USW) says the addition of Packaging Dynamics’s Thilmany mill in Kaukauna, Wis., and Nicolet mill in DePere, Wis., to KPS Capital Partners LP’s specialty paper project will bring investment and focus to mills and markets in the paper industry that still have untapped growth potential.

This new project will bolster the long-term future of mills in a sector where investment and focus on growth have for too long lagged behind the rest of the sectors of the industry where growth opportunities still exist.

The USW has often noted that there has been a lack of investment and focus in the specialty and technical paper markets and that has led to unnecessary job and market loss to cheap foreign imports.

USW International Vice President Jon Geenen, head of the USW’s paper sector, said: “This project comes in the nick of time. Our union tracks market and trade data and has become increasingly concerned about this sector of the industry suffering the same fate as other markets that did too little too late to bolster their ability to be innovative and competitive in increasingly difficult market conditions ... more

American Trade Policy and Its Impact on Workers

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Colorado Springs-based progressive radio host Tim Danahey and United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard discuss "A U.S. Manufacturing Policy."

They talked about the history of how our current trade policies have devolved from wise Constitutional intent to Congressional failures to uphold the Constitution and how the American worker has been short-changed.

They discussed the need for a higher minimum wage and how this results in subsidizing low-wage employers. Profits are sitting on corporate balance sheets where they are hoarding cash rather than investing. Gazillions of dollars are being held in offshore bank accounts because our tax code is full of loop holes. We have a tax system that pays to move jobs offshore and punishes corporations that are moving back.

"Multinational corporation elite and economic elite are hoarding the money for themselves," said Gerard.

To hear the discussion, click the audio below.

USW: Immigration Reform Would Boost U.S. Economy

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The United Steelworkers (USW) released the following statement today from USW International President Leo W. Gerard in support of immigration reform legislation in the U.S. Senate:

“For far too long, we have needed a comprehensive plan to provide a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants who are already here. Therefore, we welcome these proposals and look forward to closely examining the details. We must provide a clear path for potential citizens, without granting anyone a ‘free pass,’ and without punishing those who came here legally.

“Just as so many immigrants did for generations before us, we expect that these new citizens will work hard, pay taxes and contribute to our nation’s economic growth. It is clear, though, that providing a path to citizenship alone is not enough. We must make certain that any reform effort protects the rights of all workers, immigrants and non-immigrants alike ... more