CONTACT: R.J. Hufnagel, (412) 562-2450, rhufnagel@usw.org
United Steelworkers (USW) International President Thomas M. Conway today named longtime USW representative Kevin Johnsen to lead the union’s Rubber/Plastic Industry Council (R/PIC).
Johnsen replaces former R/PIC chair Stan Johnson, who retired on July 15 as the union’s secretary-treasurer.
Johnsen joined the union as a member of Local 915L in 1990 when he went to work as a maintenance electrician at Dunlop Tires in Huntsville, Ala. Within a year, he was elected as a shop steward and a member of the safety committee.
He was elected maintenance division chair in 1995 shortly after the merger between the USW and the United Rubber Workers. In addition to maintenance division chair, he served as Rapid Response coordinator and as a delegate to his area labor council.
In 2003, Johnsen was named a union staff representative in District 9, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina and the Virgin Islands. Since then, he has worked with members and locals throughout the district and has served as the coordinator of the USW’s collective bargaining agreement with Goodyear since 2006.
“USW rubber and plastics workers are the hardest-working and most productive in the industry,” Johnsen said. “They make products that are second-to-none. I look forward to continuing to work alongside them in my new role as we fight for better wages and benefits, safer working conditions, a stronger domestic industry, and for just and fair treatment for workers and families everywhere.”
The USW’s R/PIC includes tens of thousands of union members who make vehicle tires and inner tubes, hoses and belts, gaskets, packing and sealing devices, containers and other consumer and commercial products. They work for companies including Goodyear, BF Goodrich, Bridgestone, Cooper, ContiTech, Titan, Poly-Seal, Sumitomo Rubber and Uniroyal.
The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed in many industries that include metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service and public sectors.