Bargaining
The USW has a proud and long history of negotiating contracts on behalf of its members that address the concerns and the realities of the economic environment.The union has Industry Conferences and Company and Industry Councils that join local unions together to negotiate pattern contracts in industries such as Paper, Steel, Aluminum and Tire.
We can point with pride to many innovations such as the Experimental Negotiating Agreement (ENA) that brought interest arbitration as the final resolution of bargaining issues rather than strikes to the Steel Industry. This approach allowed the employers to assure their customers that there would be an uninterrupted supply of steel. In difficult times, with companies facing bankruptcy or in bankruptcy, we restructured agreements so that the employer would have competitive labor costs but continued to provide good wages and benefits to our members and allowed us to share in the profits when the company regained their financial strength.
In addition to working and preserving industry-wide contract patterns in USW agreements, we also work with other international unions as a way of increasing our negotiating strength. In our agreements we also negotiate worker/union participation language to provide greater input from our members in their working environment.
As a member or retiree of our union, you and your family are eligible for a variety of benefits. Benefits include everything from health, dental and other insurance to pensions, retiree health care and other things.
For exact details of what you're eligible for, please refer to your specific collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that is available from your local union. If you have more questions or need assistance, here is some information that may help you.