USW@Work: Volume 15: Issue 4

As they spend their days making glass bottles and jars for beer, wine, soft drinks and other foods and beverages, the members of Local 137M in California can spot the slightest imperfections in their products with just a quick touch or glance. That commitment to meticulous quality control is a hallmark of the work force at Owens-Illinois (O-I), and also one of the factors that set USW glassmakers and their products apart from those that come out of non-union glass plants.

As the COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges for workers in every sector of the economy, it also exposed a very simple but important fact: Without unions to collectively fight for health and safety protections, most American workers have been forced to confront those challenges on their own.

USW members in Ohio and across the United States were quick to denounce President Donald Trump in August after the president called for a boycott of Goodyear tires.

Workers at Kumho Tire in Macon, Ga., won their battle to join the USW this August after withstanding the company’s relentless, illegal campaign to thwart their organizing rights.