Partners in Prosperity

By David McCall
USW International President

Beetesha Kearney began working at Eos Energy Systems three years ago just to pay the bills while waiting to land the railroad conductor’s job she really wanted.

But Kearney got caught up in the pioneering work of building giant batteries for energy storage and stayed at the plant in Turtle Creek, Pa., eager to have a hand in revolutionizing the global power industry.

Importantly, even as Kearney and fellow members of the United Steelworkers (USW) threw themselves into their work, other key players also did their part to fuel the company’s success. Management ultimately came around to recognizing the work force’s talent, while elected officials at various levels saw the future being blazed at Eos and rendered support.

The shared commitment of workers, employer and government provides the surest path forward in today’s uncertain economy—and it’s a big reason that Eos continues to thrive while other corporations struggle right now. Some suffer from poor management while others reel from Donald Trump’s sabotage, which cost the nation thousands of manufacturing jobs so far.

“We created something that is beautiful. We have an in-depth understanding of how groundbreaking it is to be here,” said Kearney, a machine operator and the unit secretary for USW Local 5852, noting that veteran workers like herself have a special grasp of how far the company has come during a tumultuous period.

Corporate bankruptcies soared to record levels this year, some because of greedy executives who abused cheap credit or took other shortcuts instead of investing in workers and responsible growth.

Other companies try to get by with shoestring staffing or by stiffing workers on wages and benefits, only to pay a heavy toll with their reputation, productivity and bottom line when the short-sightedness eventually catches up with them.

Eos, on the other hand, intends to hire several hundred more workers as a central part of a $353 million expansion announced last month. The new workers will be USW members, like Kearney and her colleagues—a group that a company official recently described as a “great partner in helping us grow and become more professional.”

Overcoming initial pushback from management, the workers at Eos joined the USW last year to secure a fair share of the company’s prosperity and to safeguard the seat at the table that Kearney and her colleagues rightly earned.

“Being part of this whole thing basically intrigued me and interested me and made me want to continue on. Everything was new. Everybody was learning something,” she said of her early days at Eos, recalling the input she and other front-line workers had into company processes.

A sense of ownership still infuses the workers’ efforts, she said, praising “the resilience and the fight and the drive” her colleagues bring to the production floor.

“We not only meet the goal but try to exceed the goal,” Kearney said, noting success also benefits the company’s U.S. suppliers. “We push each other. We push each other to be better every single day. We are our best motivators.”

“I love the people I work with. I have become very good at my job. I want to see where this is going to go,” she said, citing the potential of the Eos battery line. “We are going to build it, and we are going to change the world.”

This kind of buy-in benefits everyone.

Empowered, respected workers help companies boost productivity, customer satisfaction and stock price, among many other benefits.

For example, Eos and the USW pulled together during then-President Joe Biden’s administration to secure federal financial support that’s now undergirding the company’s expansion, which includes new manufacturing lines to be installed in 430,000 square feet of additional leased space.

Along with state and county officials who provided further funding, Biden saw the need to encourage the next generation of manufacturing workers and provide the stable environment crucial for businesses to flourish.

Sadly, Trump does the opposite, undercutting workers at every turn and throwing up roadblocks that imperil huge swaths of the economy.

His mass deportation campaign took essential workers from workplaces, and he foolishly laid off hundreds of thousands of federal workers, decimating local tax bases.

And Trump canceled billions in Biden-era grants intended to help other forward-focused businesses like Eos implement new technology, expand operations, create jobs, build the manufacturing base and compete on the global level.

He rescinded the grants without notice or reason, pulling the rug out from under workers in the cement, glass, steel and numerous other industries. Some companies had already started upgrades with the money the government committed to them, while others depended on the support for their very existence.

“The things that matter the most to the American people are not being considered,” observed Kearney, noting U.S. citizens want to strengthen manufacturing capacity, not see it slip away.

Kearney said she and her colleagues can best help by forging ahead, providing a model for other workers and companies to emulate.

“We stayed the course, and we believed in the product, and we believed in what we were doing,” she said. “Hopefully, this will spread out to where other workers can gain something for themselves as well.”