USW members’ successful contract fights reflect their solidarity, strength and belief in the union.
Thousands of USW members work in mining, smelting, refining, processing, alloying and shaping nonferrous metals like copper, aluminum, and titanium.
These materials are ever more essential to modern life. They’re built into devices such as cell phones and computers and crucial for constructing homes, cars, commercial airplanes, and military helicopters.
As USW members work to sustain these vital industries, they face unfair global competition, greedy multinational employers, fluctuating energy prices and other grave challenges to their livelihoods.
And even though they work in hazardous, demanding environments, they must consistently battle for safer working conditions, fair pay and job security.
USW members’ successful contract fights reflect their solidarity, strength and belief in the union.
“the USW members voted in May 2023 to ratify an agreement covering nearly 900 members of three local unions at Alcoa.”
Alcoa
USW members voted in May 2023 to ratify an agreement covering nearly 900 members of three local unions at Alcoa aluminum facilities in the United States.
The three-year master contract covers workers at Warrick Operations in Indiana and Massena Operations in New York.
In addition, it covers wages and benefits for about 50 members at Alcoa’s calcining facility in Lake Charles, La.
The two sides reached the deal just a few days before the old one was set to expire.
Despite the timely agreement, negotiations proved difficult at the outset. The company came to the bargaining table proposing concessions and smaller wage increases than members had earned.
In the end, member solidarity prevailed, resulting in wage increases of more than 13.5 percent over the life of the deal along with ratification bonuses, improvements to sick and accident coverage, and increased dental benefits.
The agreement also maintained quality, affordable health care coverage, with no changes to contribution rates, deductibles, or co-payments for workers. In addition to the financial gains, the contract updated health, safety and environment practices.
Alcoa also agreed to take reasonable measures—such as by following the hierarchy of controls—to protect workers from hazards, ensure that equipment is maintained in safe condition, and effectively address employee safety and health concerns.
Asarco
In May 2024, members of the USW and other unions ratified a three-year agreement with Asarco, covering workers in the copper mining industry.
This contract included significant wage increases, with members in some job categories seeing pay hikes of up to 27 percent.
It also opened the door to even higher earnings through the acquisition of new skills, such as advanced welding and heavy machinery operating. The contract improved time off, expanded vacation and holiday entitlements, and reduced health care contributions for workers.
In addition, the agreement enhanced safety through fatigue-monitoring systems.
This agreement followed years of extensive negotiations, led by USW District 12 and involving multiple unions representing workers in the Copper Triangle region of Arizona. USW Local 886 served as one of the key units in the bargaining process.
In total, the contract covers around 500 workers at Asarco facilities.
Capstone Copper
Members of the USW and workers from five other international unions voted overwhelmingly in August 2022 to ratify a new contract covering about 420 workers at the Pinto Valley Mine in Miami, Ariz.
The mine, owned by Capstone Copper, employs about 170 members of USW Local 915, as well as members of the Teamsters, Operating Engineers, IBEW, Boilermakers and the UA. The six unions, led by the USW, negotiate their labor agreements jointly with the company.
The four-year contract featured average wage increases of 18 percent, a lump-sum signing bonus, a reduction in members’ health care costs, improved retirement benefits, an increase in paid sick time, and the addition of vision coverage, along with other improvements to contract language.
The Pinto Valley Mine, located about 75 miles east of Phoenix, is one of the largest employers in the area.
Constellium
Members of Local 5668 at Constellium’s Ravenswood, W.Va., plant last year renewed an agreement first ratified in 2017.
The key provisions included significant wage increases that reflect the growing demand for aluminum, particularly in sectors such as aerospace, defense, and transportation. Additionally, the contract included improvements in health care benefits and job security provisions.
Notably, the renewal of this agreement occurred during a period of substantial investment in the Ravenswood area, driven by increased demand for aluminum and USW-backed federal support for industrial expansion.
In spring 2024, the Department of Energy awarded Constellium up to $75 million from the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for a low-carbon furnace conversion project. This initiative will enhance the facility’s viability and deliver long-term stability for workers.
Hecla
Local 5114 members at the Lucky Friday mine in Mullan, Idaho, ratified a six-year contract in January 2023.
The agreement with Hecla Mining Co., covering about 230 workers, kept most work rules from the prior agreement and included wage increases to address inflation and maintain the mine’s competitiveness.
Lucky Friday saw a 24 percent increase in silver production in 2022, and Hecla expects further growth over the next decade.
Howmet
In June 2023, members of Local 2155 and 2155-07 at Howmet’s Niles, Ohio, titanium plant ratified a four-year agreement covering roughly 370 workers.
Besides delivering wage increases of more than 17 percent over its term, the contract limited changes to health insurance premiums and improved vacation provisions.
The bargaining committee also negotiated improvements to the attendance policy and maintained protections and restrictions on contracting out.
Kaiser Aluminum
In May 2023, members of Local 104 ratified a four-year contract that featured economic and language improvements for roughly 850 workers at Kaiser Aluminum’s Warrick Rolling Mill in Evansville, Ind.
Local 338 at Kaiser’s Trentwood plant near Spokane, Wash., and Local 341 at the company’s Newark, Ohio, facility last bargained a new master agreement covering close to 1,200 combined workers in 2020. At the time this report went to press, bargaining for a new contract was underway.
Timet
Locals 5644 and 5644-02, representing roughly 600 workers at Timet’s titanium manufacturing facilities in Toronto, Ohio, ratified a four-year contract in July 2024 with the largest wage increases in memory.
The contract improved pay by 4.5 percent in the first year, with 15 percent increases over the life of the agreement. It also included improvements to health care benefits, an increased 401(k) match, an enhanced defined contribution amount and additional personal days—all without concessions.
