Contact: Chelsey Engel, cengel@usw.org, 412-212-8173
United Steelworkers (USW) International President Tom Conway, along with the union’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee, released the following statement today in honor of Pride Month:
“Every person—regardless of their ethnic, national, religious, gender, or romantic identity—deserves health and safety in their workplaces and in their communities. This Pride Month we recognize and recommit to this crucial founding principle of our union.
“The rhetoric and legislation we are seeing and hearing recently against LGBTQ+ people, particularly trans and nonbinary people, is deeply unsettling. It is also dangerous. Words have meaning, and targeting an already vulnerable minority group never leads to positive real-life outcomes.
“We must do everything we can to fight back against this wave of harassment and hate, and not allow it to weaken our collective bargaining power. We encourage our members to visit usw.org/steelpride to download the multiple resources available, including a glossary of terms, model contract language, and a union guide on how to discuss LGBTQ+ issues.
“A rising tide lifts all boats, and our movement will only keep growing if we support and protect all of those who are under attack.”
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.