Residents and businesses are the ones ultimately benefiting when empowered, dedicated and skilled union workers provide public services.
The USW’s 30,000 public-sector members plow snow, operate water systems, answer 911 calls, staff schools, maintain parks and provide numerous other services that build safer, more vibrant communities.
They work long hours, with some putting in split shifts, because they live where they work and care about their neighbors.
USW membership helps these workers leverage good pay, decent benefits and a voice on the job. But residents and businesses are the ones ultimately benefiting when empowered, dedicated and skilled union workers provide public services.
After a seven-year break due largely to COVID-19, public-sector workers gathered for a conference in Pittsburgh in December 2024. Moving forward, these union members resolved to meet every two years to grow their sector, share best practices and build solidarity.
“Moving forward, these union members resolved to meet every two years to grow their sector, share best practices and build solidarity.”
City of Groton
USW members who work for the city of Groton, Conn., achieved new contracts providing the pay gains needed to ensure a stable, skilled work force for the public.
About 30 water and wastewater utility workers, represented by Local 9411-00, received immediate wage increases of $4.50 an hour. They will see additional pay upgrades of 11 percent over the life of the five-year agreement.
About 20 Local 9411-01 members in the city’s Department of Public Works received immediate wage increases of $3.50 an hour, with additional increases of 5.5 percent staggered over the three- year contract.
Both units entered bargaining resolved to bring wages in line with those of counterparts in neighboring towns and to deliver meaningful progress for every worker—goals the USW members achieved through unwavering solidarity. Besides wage improvements, the contracts included enhanced vacation benefits.
Etna Township
Etna Township road crew workers in Licking County, Ohio, ratified a first contract in April 2023 that will boost wages by 6 percent over two years and provide a firm foundation for future negotiations.
The new Local 9130 members previously faced changing working conditions with every election cycle. Now, the crew of six has the stability of a contract and the power of the USW to help navigate turnover in municipal leadership.
Fontana Unified School District
Local 8599, representing approximately 2,200 workers in Southern California’s Fontana Unified School District, made widespread gains in a three-year agreement that took effect in July 2024.
The local includes all district workers except managers, administrators and teachers. During difficult negotiations, the USW members received crucial support from the Fontana Teachers Association and the Fontana School Police Officers Association.
The contract increased bereavement leave, payout for unused vacation days and allowances for the work shoes worn by security officers and food-service workers. It also established a fairer process for allocating work assignments.
Local members received a 4 percent salary increase in July 2024 and another 2 percent in January 2025. Additionally, the contract provided members with a 2 percent bonus on base salary for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
Isabella County Transportation Commission
Nearly 60 operations and maintenance workers with the Isabella County Transportation Commission in Mt. Pleasant, Mich., achieved a four-year agreement with substantial wage increases and significant improvements in paid family medical leave.
Local 12934-05 members obtained a wage increase of up to 39 percent for newly hired operators and a 14.5 percent wage increase for new hires in other classifications.
The contract also included annual step increases, added year-over-year percentage increases, and secured a $2.50 hourly rate adjustment for operators working split shifts.
But members are especially proud of the paid family medical leave they bargained.
They will now accumulate two hours for every 30 hours worked, up to 160 hours of paid family medical leave annually. That’s twice the amount of leave mandated by the state of Michigan.
Portage Township Schools
Members of Local 70 at Portage Township Schools in Indiana ratified agreements for each of their four bargaining units in October 2023.
The roughly 330 members serve as custodians, support staff and transportation and food-service workers in a district with 7,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
The two-year contracts included a 9.5 percent wage increase and new language streamlining the bidding process for open positions. Other gains included a private, secure, and sanitary lactation room and a domestic violence leave program, which provides 12 days of paid leave outside of regular vacation and sick time that members may use to get away from abusers.
Local 70 members also made substantial gains for the individual bargaining units, such as eliminating the salary cap for home school advisors and social workers, obtaining uniform and shoe allowances for food-service and custodial workers, and winning time and a half for transportation workers who work on paid holidays.
Town of Bloomsburg
SW members at the Bloomsburg, Pa., public works department and recycling center racked up numerous wins, including historic pay increases, in a three-year agreement ratified in February 2024.
The 15 members of Local 1928 secured 13 percent wage increases, the largest in recent memory, along with their first-ever allowance of $200 annually for boots.
They also stood together and beat back management’s efforts to eliminate an insurance benefit benefiting roughly one-third of the membership. When they retire, members hired before 2011 will continue to receive the same benefit that management provides to itself—an additional $300 a month for Medicare gap insurance.
U.S. Virgin Islands
USW members who serve as government support staff in the U.S. Virgin Islands won a significant round in their 12-year battle for back pay when the territory agreed to a $20.4 million settlement in summer 2024.
The government had refused to provide about 500 workers with pay increases from 2009 to 2013, even though its contracts with the USW required them.
The USW fought back for years with grievances, a lawsuit and worker actions demanding the government honor its obligations to the members of Locals 8249 and 8677 on St. Thomas and Local 8248 on St. Croix.
Changes in governmental leadership, a series of devastating hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic all complicated the union members’ efforts to enforce their contracts.
Despite the frustrating delays, the unity of these District 9 members never faltered. After forcing the government to accept the arbitration settlement last year, they immediately turned their attention to the next step—ensuring the territorial legislature included the back pay in the 2025 budget.
