USW 308 Membership Update 7/11/2025
Brothers and Sisters,
There’s been a lot going on over the past few weeks, and I’m going to try my best to cover it all.
🔹 We have an Expedited Arbitration scheduled for September 22, 2025. This will be the first one we’ve held in a long time, and it’s a process we plan to utilize more often.
🔹 Members of the NextGen Committee recently got out into the community and built a ramp for an elderly shut-in. This was a great cause and allowed the woman to leave her home for the first time in six years. There will be more community events coming up throughout the year. If you’d like to participate, please come to one of the committee meetings or sign up for their GroupMe to receive information as it becomes available.
➡️ The next committee meeting will be on August 6, 2025, at 3:30 PM.
🔹 23 new hires will be starting on August 11, 2025. A posting will go up soon to create the vacancies those new hires will be filling. When the posting goes live, please make sure your transfer requests are updated in the computer system, so you don’t miss any opportunities to move.
🔹 10 employees started the CDP-E Pre-Qualification class on June 30, 2025. This is a six-week class that will end the week of August 4, 2025.
🔹 Over the past couple of weeks we’ve had a rash of unreported incidents. Anytime someone has a mobile equipment incident, you need to STOP immediately and call the foreman. This ensures a proper investigation can be conducted with the correct committees involved. The Company has made it clear: failure to report will result in discipline.
🔹 As most of you know, the evacuation drills at the North Plant went very poorly. During this week’s Labor/Management meeting, we addressed this with the Company, and they’re working to correct the issues. We’ve made it clear that our expectation is for another drill to be scheduled soon with full participation.
🔹 Please continue to STOP when a job is unsafe or there aren’t enough people to complete the task. When these STOPS happen, document the task and all individuals involved—both hourly and salary—and pass the information along to your department chair. This helps us follow up if the same foremen are repeatedly assigning unsafe work.
🔹 The bargaining committee, along with Jennifer Myers and Mike Bivens, will be heading to Pittsburgh on July 21–23, 2025 for a union-only pre-bargaining meeting with the other three locals and international representatives. We’ll be putting together a contract survey for everyone to fill out regarding next year’s negotiations, and we hope to distribute it within the next couple of weeks.
🔹 The next Top Table Labor/Management meeting is scheduled for October 6–8, 2025. These dates are still far off and are subject to change.
🔹 The USW International Election will be held on November 25, 2025, with polls open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. The nomination meeting for this election will take place on September 12, 2025, at 12:00 PM, 3:30 PM, and 7:00 PM.
🔹 Lastly, I want to remind post-2020 hires where they can find information about pensions and healthcare funds:
- Pension details are on Page 190
- Healthcare fund details are on Page 171
Everyone working here has a pension plan in one form or another. Please take some time to review these plans, and if you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
In Solidarity,
Nick McCarter
President, USW Local 309
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