Steelworker Families Remain Strong as ULP Lockout at ATI Continues into the Holiday Season

As the weather turns colder and Christmas approaches, Steelworker families at all twelve locked-out ATI locations are holding strong. There have been no formal talks with the company since the September 11^th mediation session and the National Labor Relations Board is continuing to investigate the numerous unfair labor practice charges filed by the USW. 

We have been in regular touch with the federal mediator and have repeatedly urged him to try to move ATI off its ‘last, best and final offer.’ ATI has refused. We, however, remain prepared to return to bargaining and, when we do, the company needs to be prepared to actually negotiate.

USW members are preparing for winter by building up the picket shacks and stoves on the picket lines and getting ready for the holidays with light up nights. Support for the lockout continues to grow in our communities, and around the world.

USW Local 1138-6 Rallies on the Picket Line in Latrobe, Families Get Together for a Spaghetti Dinner in Latrobe and New Bedford

More than 100 members and supporters of USW Local 1138-6 gathered for a plant-gate rally in Latrobe on November 18^th.  Locked out workers and supporters rallied on the picket lines for about two hours before heading to the Cooperstown Social Club for a solidarity dinner.  Members of USW Local 1357 also got together for a Spaghetti Dinner on Tuesday, November 17^th.  Hundreds of Steelworkers and community supporters came together for food, fellowship, and an opportunity to raise funds for Local 1357’s lockout defense fund.

Building Global Solidarity at ATI

USW leaders Fran Arabia and Walt Hill traveled to the United Kingdom to share the story of the lockout with members of Unite the Union, the largest union in Great Britain and Ireland.  While in the UK, they met with workers from ATI’s Sheffield facility and spoke at a massive Stand Up for Steel rally. 

A week later, leaders of Unite the Union paid a return visit to the picket lines in the US.  The delegation from Unite took time from a conference they were attending in Pittsburgh to show support for the locked out Steelworkers at the Brackenridge plant. Members of Local 1196 shared stories with their guests about the struggles manufacturing is having in their respective countries.

Steelworkers Continue to Give Back to Our Communities

Members of USW Local 7150 in Albany, OR held a fundraiser for six-year-old picket line hero Keelie Curran on November 21^st.  Keelie was diagnosed with leukemia when she was just three and a half years old.  The fundraiser, which was part of the Local 7150 Gives Back program, brought in $13,294  for Keelie’s family to help defray the costs of treatment and living expenses for her family.

ATI Escalates Attack on Working Families by Canceling Healthcare Coverage

Just in time for the holiday season, ATI management escalated its attack on Steelworker families by terminating health insurance coverage for almost 2,100 USW families. The company had already terminated coverage for members of USW Local 1196-1 in August. In advance of the November 30 termination of healthcare coverage, USW Local Unions at all sites worked with lock out families to sign up for alternative coverage including coverage under the USW Emergency Medical Program, continued healthcare coverage under COBRA, CHIP, plans on the Affordable Care Act Exchange, and other government subsidized healthcare plans. 

Because ATI failed to comply with the notification requirements for terminating healthcare that are laid out in the contract and the program of insurance benefits, the USW filed a grievance challenging the company’s action. USW leaders met with ATI management on December 4^th to present the union’s position during a grievance hearing.  The company did not immediately respond to the union’s grievance.

Allegheny County Labor Council Stuffs the Bus for Locked Out Steelworkers

Local unions from around Allegheny County are helping Santa Claus make sure that locked out Steelworker kids get presents this Christmas. On December 4^th, the Allegheny County Labor Council delivered a Port Authority bus full of presents for locked out Steelworker kids to the USW headquarters. Santa’s helpers are making sure that the presents make it out for kids Christmas parties at each location.

Light Up Night on the Picket Lines

ATI CEO Richard Harshman might be a Scrooge, but USW members are committed to making sure that he can’t steal our Christmas.  To usher in the holiday season, locked out Steelworkers around the country held Light Up Night celebrations on their picket lines, showing off newly decorated picket shacks and union halls.

In Natrona Heights members of Local 1138-1 and 1196-1 warmed hot chocolate and s’mores on a Dutch Oven while competing in an ‘Ugly Sweater’ contest.  Steelworkers in Albany, Vandergrift, Lockport and Louisville invited locked out members and their families out to the line and union halls to help set up Christmas lights and trees. In Midland, USW Local 1212 turned out for the City’s Light Up Parade to thank their neighbors for their continued support through the lockout, projecting their thank you message above the parade. 

Additional light up nights are planned in Brackenridge, Bagdad and Washington.

Elected Leaders Weigh In—ATI: End the Lockout

Oregon Governor Kate Brown joined a growing chorus of local, state and federal elected officials calling on ATI to end the lockout and bargain a fair contract with the Steelworkers. Governor Brown wrote ATI CEO Richard Harshman to encourage the company to get back to the bargaining table and negotiate a fair contract. Brown wrote, “I urge you to get back to the table and continue negotiating a fair contract with the United Steelworkers.”

USW Unveils Billboards Calling on ATI to End the Lockout

The USW unveiled a billboard yesterday calling on ATI to end its nearly four-month lockout of 2,400 workers at 12 locations. The billboard, located at the busy intersection of Grant Street and Boulevard of the Allies in downtown Pittsburgh, is situated only a few blocks from ATI’s headquarters. ATI locked the workers out of their jobs on August 15 after they refused to accept the company’s demands for draconian and unnecessary cuts in pay and benefits.