Decades after leaving the Army, Steve Stanley volunteered for one more mission last year.
Stanley, a member of Local 5696 who works for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, made his first-ever visit to the statehouse to advocate for legislation aimed at helping veterans better leverage the benefits they earned serving the country.
Just a few months later, lawmakers passed the USW-written bill requiring employers to post a notice that not only outlines the services and benefits available to veterans but provides information about how to access them.
The USW’s workplace poster law—enacted in 12 states and counting—shows the growing power, reach and energy of our Veterans of Steel program.
The uSW founded Veterans of Steel to provide a support system for current and former service members.
DRIVING SOLIDARITY
The union founded Vets of Steel to provide a support system for current and former service members, ensure they’re fairly treated on the job and extend other kinds of support to military families.
Delegates to the 2022 convention voted to expand the program by establishing Vets of Steel committees—similar to existing Women of Steel committees—in every local union.
Among those supporting the resolution was Dan LeClair, a Navy veteran who took part in America’s 1989 invasion to depose Panamanian drug lord Manuel Noriega.
LeClair, the Local 649 president who works for Hollingsworth & Vose, a manufacturer of battery separators and filter paper, grasps the importance of affording current and former service members a forum for mutual support.
The New York resident described Vets of Steel as a “brotherhood and sisterhood within a brotherhood and sisterhood,” a place for these union members to share experiences and challenges that people without military backgrounds cannot fathom.
William Cox, an Army veteran and Vets of Steel chair for Local 985L in Ada, Okla., looks forward to helping fellow veterans through his recently formed committee.
But Cox, who works at Flex-N-Gate, an auto parts manufacturer, also views his leadership in Vets of Steel as a way to push himself out of his comfort zone and cope with the effects of the multiple deployments he experienced during nearly three decades of military service.
As more local unions launched Vets of Steel committees on the heels of the last convention, the union began pursuing still other measures to support workers who served or continue to do so.
RAISING AWARENESS
The workplace poster legislation is one such effort to meet a critical need.
Workers with military backgrounds often struggle to readjust to life on the homefront yet go without the services intended to help them thrive after deployment or discharge.
A research team led by Penn State University studied about 10,000 veterans and found that only 11 percent enrolled in social support programs within three months of discharge. Fewer than half took advantage of legal or housing aid, while only 60 percent registered for vocational assistance, according to the study, “Going It Alone,” published in 2019 in the Journal of Social Service Research.
Even more concerning, researchers determined that those most needing support were the least likely to seek it and emphasized that “veterans need clear information about available programs” and “where to locate them.”
Stanley, who served with the 82nd Airborne Division and commanded an armored personnel carrier in Korea, bought a house 30 years ago with federal mortgage assistance provided to veterans.
He remains grateful to friends who told him about the program but wonders how many others miss out on these kinds of opportunities because they never hear about them. He believes the poster law will make a crucial difference.
Vets of Steel works with USW districts, Rapid Response and the Legislative and Policy Department to advance the legislation.
While the exact wording varies from state to state, the law generally requires employers with more than 50 workers to post the notice in conspicuous locations, such as lunchrooms, so veterans are certain to see it. The poster provides a phone number for a mental health crisis line as well as contact information for agencies providing educational, health care, housing, legal and other assistance.
Expanding Outreach
Inspiring Activism
The USW’s commitment to Vets of Steel continues to reverberate through the union.
It’s inspiring some members to find new ways to honor veterans. It’s also providing the additional impetus and structure needed to keep longstanding efforts going.
For years, Local 105 members in Bettendorf, Iowa, raised money and volunteered for Bridging the Gap, a nonprofit whose semiannual “stand down” events provide clothing, housing, furniture and other aid to veterans facing homelessness.
But after the founder died and other board members aged out, the organization teetered on the brink of collapse last year.
Local 105, including its Vets of Steel activists, stepped up to save it.
Local President Pat Stock, a Navy veteran, reached out to other unions in the Quad City Federation of Labor to propose a joint effort. Together, they’re taking over the board and injecting new life into the organization.
Local 105 prioritizes veterans’ issues because many local members have military backgrounds. Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees Chapter 11-4 works with the local to raise funds for the stand downs and other projects.
Supporting Those Still on Duty
Nathan Zonas’ most recent deployment lasted 18 months.
And then, practically overnight, he found himself back in the civilian work force, expected to pick up right where he left off.
It’s a jarring experience.
Now, the 20-year Army Reservist sees Vets of Steel as a framework for helping workers in Reserve and National Guard units make easier transitions from daily jobs to military service and back again.
To Zonas, a unit chair with Local 134L who works for the Catholic Cemeteries Association of Hartford, Conn., that means helping employers better understand why they need to support workers in the military and holding companies accountable when they discriminate against service members.
Federal law prohibits termination or discrimination on the basis of military service. Yet the Department of Labor investigates about 1,000 violations every year, and Zonas, who’s responsible for as many as 160 soldiers as a company first sergeant, finds widespread concerns in the ranks about unfair treatment back home.
He and other Vets of Steel members continue discussing ways to remain vigilant, protect workers’ rights and provide additional safeguards to those experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder or other challenges.
Zonas also envisions a time when Vets of Steel coordinates practical help, such as minor home repairs, for military families during loved ones’ deployment.
Building the Union
While meeting the needs of veterans and service members, Vets of Steel simultaneously helps to build the union.
Solidarity comes naturally to service members, who must entrust their lives to one another. Soldiers, sailors and airmen also learn to persevere, think out of the box and do their part.
Colton Smith, an Army veteran and president of Local 1016, observed that “putting all of that into the union” means “getting a lot done.”
Smith, who works at NLMK in Farrell, Pa., believes that workers with military backgrounds set a good example, encouraging co-workers to show up for meetings, serve on committees and band together.
Workers with combat experience also have special insights to share during a strike, difficult bargaining or other times when workers need to dig in and fight.
Looking Forward
As Vets of Steel grows in strength, it will become an ever more powerful force for veterans and service members in USW communities and across the country.
Future plans include additional fundraising and service projects benefiting veterans in nursing homes as well as increased advocacy around federal, state and local veterans’ programs.