Contact: Jess Kamm Broomell, 412-562-2444, jkamm@usw.org
The United Steelworkers union (USW) announced today that it will partner with US Wind as it transforms a portion of the former Sparrows Point steel mill into a manufacturing facility supporting the growth of offshore wind energy.
US Wind plans to use the site to make the monopile foundations needed for their offshore wind developments.
Through the agreement, the USW will work with the company to recruit and train local workers, ensuring the surrounding community shares in the benefits of this investment. The USW and US Wind will also mutually support workers’ rights to unionize and collectively bargain.
USW International President Tom Conway said that the USW and US Wind share a number of goals, including ensuring that the U.S. has strong domestic supply chains for emerging energy industries and creating high-quality manufacturing jobs.
“The loss of the Sparrows Point steel mill, which once employed thousands of workers, was a huge blow to the Baltimore community and to U.S. manufacturing as a whole,” Conway said. “Now, we have a chance to create the jobs of the future right here on this historic site and ensure that they are good, union jobs that will again support families across this region.”
The USW represents 850,000 workers employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in health care, public sector, higher education, tech and service occupations.