Uranium enrichment began in the U.S. as part of the World War II Manhattan Project to produce nuclear weapons. The first uranium enrichment operations were set up at what is now the Oak Ridge Nat’l. Laboratory (Tennessee) in 1942. In the 1950’s the U.S. government set up two additional plants in Paducah and in Piketon, Ohio. The major technology used at Oak Ridge for the weapons program was gaseous diffusion. The Paducah and Piketon plants also were gaseous diffusion plants. USW and its predecessor unions have represented workers at all three sites from early on.
Pictured: 2023 Atomic Workers Council Meeting
Anita Bevins is part of five generations of family who have worked at the Portsmouth nuclear site in southern Ohio. Local 689 is one of seven local unions that are part of the USW’s Atomic Energy Workers Council, which represents 3,000 members.
At the Atomic Energy Workers Council biannual meeting, representatives from the United Steelworkers (USW) addressed pressing challenges facing atomic workers, including retention, health and safety concerns, and the upcoming presidential election.
For Paige Cisco of Local 689, fighting for workers’ health and safety is what motivates her every day. She is using that passion to educate her fellow members and be a mentor for the next generation.
USW Atomic Energy Workers Council President Jim Key visited the White House on July 10 to witness President Joe Biden sign into law the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (A.D.V.A.N.C.E.) Act.
The Worker Health Protection Program (WHPP) is a program sponsored by the Dept. of Energy to detect and address health problems of DOE workers.
As of November 2012 Local unions at most USW nuclear sites in the United States are active in USW’s Atomic Energy Workers’ Council (AEWC). Several others are not involved currently.
Uranium enrichment began over 70 years ago in the United States and for most of those years the United Steelworkers and its predecessor unions have represented workers at American sites.
