Feed aggregator

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Atlantic Theater Workers Vote to Join IATSE

Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

The 178 crew members of the Atlantic Theater Company voted to join the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), becoming the first group to form a union with IATSE at a major nonprofit theater off-Broadway. The workers include crew members in carpentry, electrics, scenic, props, audio, video, hair and makeup, and wardrobe.

“This is a monumental step forward towards improving pay, conditions, and stability for freelance theatre workers in New York City and across the country,” said Stage Carpenter Michael Stevens. “I’m immensely grateful to my fellow workers for supporting the effort to unionize the Atlantic, as well as to the organizing committee for our shared, tireless commitment to this campaign. We look forward to bargaining for the benefits—such as healthcare—that we all deserve!”

Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 02/22/2024 - 10:06

Labor Unions Build the Middle Class: The Working People Weekly List

Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List.

Labor Leaders Condemn GOP Fiscal Commission as Anti-Worker 'Power Grab': “A coalition of U.S. labor leaders spoke out forcefully on Thursday against the Republican-led push for a ‘fiscal commission,’ denouncing the proposal as an attack on Social Security, Medicare, and other programs that tens of millions of current and retired workers depend on to meet basic needs. Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, said in a statement that a fiscal commission is a ‘terrible idea that would push older Americans into poverty, take away people's healthcare, and end up costing the government more.’”

Kamala Harris Touts Strength of Labor Unions to Build the Middle Class: “Unions boost pay 10% to 15% for members and improve fringe benefits, bolstering the middle class and economy, a U.S. Department of the Treasury report released Monday said. ‘Union workers make our middle class and our entire economy more strong,’ Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday on a call outlining the administration's efforts to support unions. ‘During this summer of worker strikes and organizing, we're seeing unprecedented public support for unions as a critical pathway to grow the middle class and provide opportunities for working people to thrive,’ Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, told CNBC.”

USW International President David McCall Issues Statement After Cleveland Cliff Facility Goes Idle: “The United Steelworkers (USW) has issued a statement from International President David McCall after Cleveland Cliffs announced an indefinite idling of operations at its Weirton tin plate facility: ‘Weirton Steelworkers can compete with anyone on a level playing field, but the ITC’s recent negative determination continues to leave our markets vulnerable to foreign dumping. The current market for tin mill products has already been decimated by over 50% penetration of illegally dumped foreign tinplate. Now, with the idling of tinplate production in Weirton, unfair trade is one step closer to choking out our domestic industry entirely. The USW will work with Cleveland-Cliffs to provide as many options to our members as possible, as well as continue our fight against the unfair trade practices that continue to cost good, community-sustaining jobs and threaten our economy.’”

Number of Striking U.S. Workers More Than Doubled Last Year, Study Shows: “The number of striking workers in the U.S. more than doubled last year due to massive work stoppages carried out by autoworkers, nurses and Hollywood writers and actors, according to a study released by Cornell University on Thursday. The total number of striking workers climbed 141% in 2023, amounting to nearly 540,000 workers who walked off the job, the report found.”

UFCW Local Leads Fight to Win Washington's Strongest Tenant Protections: “Grocery and retail workers helped win the strongest tenant protections in Washington state last November for the 100,000 renters in the city of Tacoma. First we had to beat the mayor’s and city council’s attempt to bring a competing watered-down ballot measure. And then we had to overcome a vicious and deceptive landlord opposition that smashed all previous political spending records in Tacoma. ‘We’ve created incredible goodwill in the community just as we gear up for a tough contract fight,’ said Michael Whalen, who helped initiate the campaign as a dairy clerk and shop steward at Fred Meyer.”

Here’s Why Thousands of Flight Attendants Are Threatening to Strike: “With a participation rate of roughly 93%, Alaska flight attendants represented by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) voted 99.48% in favor of authorizing a strike, amid the flight attendants’ negotiations with Alaska Airlines for a new contract.”

No Matter What Happens Next, Unionizing at ZeniMax Worked: “Not very long ago, I was one of the thousands of video game workers feeling gnawed on by this competitive, volatile industry. It felt like things were quickly becoming unsustainable. But something happened. During this round of layoffs, I felt something in addition to the familiar sadness and dread: I felt empowered. When I first joined ZeniMax in 2022 as a part-time QA contractor, it was immediately apparent that there were cultural and systemic issues in the department and in the industry. The pay was scandalously low, and there were no clear pathways to professional development or promotion.”

Coalition of Black Trade Unionists President: Choice Is Democracy or Dictatorship: “The choice in the 2024 general election is between democracy and dictatorship, not just between Democratic President Joe Biden and presumed Republican nominee Donald Trump, the White House denizen whom Biden beat four years ago. So says Terry Melvin, president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists and the most outspoken speaker to address the Government Employees (AFGE) Legislative Conference in D.C. on Feb. 12. The key issue for attendees at the legislative conference was a 7.4% pay raise for federal workers in fiscal 2025, which begins October 1. All the speakers, led by union President Everett Kelley, pushed that cause. Delegates planned a Feb. 13 rally plus lobbying on Capitol Hill about that. The outlook for it is murky. ‘It’s getting really impossible to determine what this Congress would do,’ Kelley admitted. ‘Now we’re listening to these little echoes’ of Trump and Trumpite goals. Biden seeks a 5.2% hike.”

New Orleans Nurses Fight for a New Union as Hospitals Merge and Revenues Soar: “Last fall, Tujague and her colleagues had finally had enough of what they described as persistent undersupplying and short-staffing. In October, nurses at University Medical Center filed for a union election. Two months later, on Dec. 9, over 80% voted to join the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU), the country’s largest nurses’ union. The election was Louisiana’s largest National Labor Relations Board election in nearly 30 years. With the vote, University Medical Center became Louisiana’s first unionized private-sector hospital. About 4% of Louisiana’s workers are unionized, compared to about 10% nationwide.”

Disneyland's Character Performers Look to Form Union Under Actors' Equity Association: “Workers who bring Disneyland’s beloved characters to life—including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Cinderella—are looking to unionize. Labor organizers announced the campaign Tuesday, saying performers want better safety conditions and scheduling policies to help keep the magic alive for visitors.  While most of the more than 35,000 workers at the Disneyland Resort already have labor unions, about 1,700 performers and character actors do not.”

DreamWorks Animation, Flying Bark Productions Workers Take Steps Toward Unionizing: “The Animation Guild is organizing production workers at DreamWorks Animation and at Flying Bark Productions. The guild (IATSE Local 839) sent a letter to DreamWorks Animation on Feb. 7 and filed for recognition with the National Labor Relations Board on Feb. 9 to represent 162 production workers at the studio.”

Why Workers and Employers Both Need Paid Family Leave: “Workers across the country need the same peace of mind while recovering from surgery or sickness. They need time to care for ill loved ones, bond with infants, or welcome other new family members without risking their jobs or forfeiting the income needed to keep their households afloat. And they need to be empowered to escape domestic violence, ensure family stability during a service member’s deployment, or confront other emergencies without throwing themselves at the mercy of employers.”

Striking Hotel Workers Reach Contract Agreements with 5 More Hotels in Months-Long Fight: “Five more Southern California hotels have reached tentative labor agreements covering about 650 workers, the latest settlements in a months-long strike that at times has been marked by violence. In all, Unite Here Local 11 has signed tentative agreements with 34 out of some 60 properties in Los Angeles and Orange counties initially targeted by intermittent walkouts beginning in July. The union has said it is the largest hotel strike in modern U.S. history, involving some 15,000 cooks, housekeepers, dishwashers, servers, porters and front desk agents.”

Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 02/21/2024 - 15:16

Black History Month Profiles: Quenell Jones

This year, for Black History Month, we're taking a look at a group of leaders who are currently active making Black history across the labor movement. Check back daily for a new profile and meet some of the people working to improve not only their community, but also to improve conditions for working people across the country. Today's profile is Quenell Jones of the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).

In 2019, Quenell Jones was selected as a mentee for the American Society of Cinematographers, a program designed for working professionals with an interest in pursuing a career as a cinematographer. He is the eastern region diversity committee chair and a member of the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG) National Inclusion Committee. "With a grandmother a part of the teachers union, I had a visual representation of what it meant to be in a union. Being in IATSE, I am able to transform my life in a positive way." He is a New York-based camera operator and has been a proud ICG member for 18 years.

Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 02/21/2024 - 10:35

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: UMWA Welcomes Logan County Commission Office Staff as Newest Members

Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

The Mine Workers (UMWA) announced that the workers at the Logan County Commission voted to be represented by the UMWA.

“I want to welcome the newest members of the UMWA and congratulate them for their decision to join our union,” said International President Cecil Roberts. “Their decision places them on a path toward enhanced job security and the fair representation they deserve on the job.”

Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 02/21/2024 - 10:23

Black History Month Profiles: Jerry T. Jordan

This year, for Black History Month, we're taking a look at a group of leaders who are currently active making Black history across the labor movement. Check back daily for a new profile and meet some of the people working to improve not only their community, but also to improve conditions for working people across the country. Today's profile is Jerry T. Jordan of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

Jerry T. Jordan is president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT), AFT Local 3. Jordan received his degree in education and Spanish from Temple University and began teaching high school Spanish and English as a Second Language in the Philadelphia school district. In 1987, he joined PFT as a district staff representative, representing teachers and support staff in 50 schools and school district offices. He was elected legislative representative for PFT’s executive board and, in 1989, was appointed special assistant to the PFT president and was elected general vice president by the members. He was first elected to a four-year term as PFT president in February 2008. He is a vice president of the Philadelphia Central Labor Council and the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO.

Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 02/20/2024 - 10:31

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Houston Landing Workers Form Union After Editor, Star Reporter Fired

Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

An overwhelming majority of workers at the nonprofit publication Houston Landing voted to join The NewsGuild-CWA. The workers were proud to have met and even exceeded company targets for impact, page views and engagement time, among others, just eight months after launch. Management’s shock decision to terminate the Landing’s founding editor-in-chief and sole investigative reporter exposed the lack of protections Landing workers have. Some 75% of eligible workers signed union authorization cards, signaling their desire to form the Houston Landing News Guild.

“We will fight to maintain a workplace culture that reflects our core values of transparency, inclusivity and accountability. We will champion editorial representation at the highest levels of company leadership and decision-making,” the Houston Landing News Guild's mission statement said. “Finally, we will uphold the mission of the Landing: to advance democracy through journalism and improve the lives of all Houstonians one story at a time.”

Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 02/20/2024 - 10:08

Black History Month Profiles: Timothy A. Williams

This year, for Black History Month, we're taking a look at a group of leaders who are currently active making Black history across the labor movement. Check back daily for a new profile and meet some of the people working to improve not only their community, but also to improve conditions for working people across the country. Today's profile is Timothy A. Williams of the Heat and Frost Insulators.

Timothy Williams started his career in the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in 1978. He was also a company owner in Virgina. He became a member of HFIU Local 30 when he relocated to the Syracuse, N.Y., area. He was a proud and dedicated member of the local until he retired in May 2019. In December 2019, Williams' services were called upon once again. He was asked to serve the local as an organizer, a position that he still works in to this day. He is currently taking classes to become an MC3 certified instructor, so that he can better help serve the local and its apprentices. 

Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 02/19/2024 - 10:26

Black History Month Profiles: Faye Brooks

This year, for Black History Month, we're taking a look at a group of leaders who are currently active making Black history across the labor movement. Check back daily for a new profile and meet some of the people working to improve not only their community, but also to improve conditions for working people across the country. Today's profile is Faye Brooks of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS).

A 24-year veteran of the Federal Aviation Administration, Faye Brooks specializes in aircraft cabin safety, ensuring that regulations are followed to keep passengers safe onboard. She has been a PASS member for just as long, which has allowed her to invest in her future. Now a union contract representative, she has more of a voice and protects her fellow bargaining unit employees.

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 02/16/2024 - 09:55

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Howard County (Maryland) Public Library Employees Vote to Form Union

Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

Workers for the Howard County Library System in Maryland voted overwhelmingly to join AFSCME. The vote was 151 to 19 in favor of the union. More than 200 workers will be represented by the new unit. The workers are seeking a voice in the decision-making process and for fair wages, better job protection, reasonable schedules, adequate staffing, paths to promotion and a safe work environment.

“To me, one of the biggest impacts I’m hoping the union will have is improving communication,” said Eliana Holgate, a children’s instructor and research specialist in the library system. “It feels like there’s a disconnect between our leadership and the staff facing the community in the branches. We want our voices to be heard in the decision-making process and better understand decisions made that aren’t explained to staff. We want all staff to be safe and supported.”

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 02/16/2024 - 09:49

Black History Month Profiles: Sheria Smith

This year, for Black History Month, we're taking a look at a group of leaders who are currently active making Black history across the labor movement. Check back daily for a new profile and meet some of the people working to improve not only their community, but also to improve conditions for working people across the country. Today's profile is Sheria Smith of AFGE.

Sheria Smith is the president and chief negotiator of AFGE Local 252, which represents approximately 3,000 employees at the Department of Education. She serves on several AFGE committees, including the District 10 Advisory Committee, the Unity Committee and AFGE B.L.A.C.K. Smith is a recipient of AFGE's Woman of Labor award and a 2019 graduate of the Texas AFL-CIO Ruth Ellinger Labor Leaders class.

Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 02/15/2024 - 10:38

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: University of the Arts Faculty in Pennsylvania Ratify First Contract in School’s History

Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

Faculty at the University of the Arts (UArts) ratified a new contract with a near-unanimous vote. It’s the first contract for faculty in the school’s nearly 150-year history and runs through June 2026. The faculty are represented by United Academics of Philadelphia (UAP), American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 9608. The contract includes, on average, 11% wage increases for full-time faculty in the first year and part-time faculty raises of 13%.

“This contract will realize double-digit raises for most faculty at UArts,” said Daniel Pieczkolon, president of the union. “Eighty-five percent of UArts faculty are part-time and have worked at rates well below nearby schools, without benefits or long-term contracts. This is a step in the right direction after three years of stalling from UArts administrators.”

Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 02/15/2024 - 10:19

Contact: Tony Montana – (412) 562-2592 or tmontana@usw.org

PITTSBURGH — The United Steelworkers (USW) today issued the following statement from International President David McCall after Cleveland-Cliffs announced an indefinite idling of operations at its Weirton tin plate facility:

“Weirton Steelworkers can compete with anyone on a level playing field, but the ITC’s recent negative determination continues to leave our markets vulnerable to foreign dumping. 

“The current market for tin mill products has already been decimated by over 50 percent penetration of illegally dumped foreign tinplate. Now, with the idling of tinplate production in Weirton, unfair trade is one step closer to choking out our domestic industry entirely.

“The short-term thinking of American tinplate consumers, who sided with the foreign cheaters to oppose our petition, will eventually lead to long-term regrets.

“It should be obvious that foreign suppliers are destroying our domestic supply chain so that American consumers of tin mill products become dependent on foreign producers and have no options when their subsidized and dumped products are no longer available at cheap prices. 

“The USW will work with Cleveland-Cliffs to provide as many options to our members as possible, as well as continue our fight against the unfair trade practices that continue to cost good, community-sustaining jobs and threaten our economy.”

The USW (www.usw.org) represents 850,000 workers employed in manufacturing, metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in tech, public sector and service occupations.

Black History Month Profiles: James Allrich

This year, for Black History Month, we're taking a look at a group of leaders who are currently active making Black history across the labor movement. Check back daily for a new profile and meet some of the people working to improve not only their community, but also to improve conditions for working people across the country. Today's profile is James Allrich of the American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA).

It took James Allrich 15 attempts to be appointed a principal, but in the end, he was named Maryland’s Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and a Washington Post Principal of the Year finalist. His leadership skills had been long on display. Still, “it was hard to become a principal because of my looks,” he says, referring to his hair locs and his overall style.

Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 02/14/2024 - 10:30

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Restaurant Workers in Kentucky Join UFCW Local 227

Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

Workers at two restaurants in Louisville, Kentucky, recently joined United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 227. More than 20 workers at Feast BBQ and more than 15 workers at Royals Hot Chicken are employed as front and back of house service crew, dishwashers, cooks and shift leaders. The workers are concerned about insufficient wages and scheduling, and poor treatment by management.

“We are excited to welcome workers from Feast BBQ and Royals Hot Chicken to the labor movement,” said Local 227 President Bob Blair. “Despite stall tactics from their employer, these workers stood together and won their union. Together, we will negotiate a great union contract that will help to raise restaurant industry standards for workers in our city.”

Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 02/14/2024 - 10:02

USW leaders and lawmakers across the political spectrum were united in voicing their disapproval when U.S. Steel announced in December that Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. was planning to purchase the iconic American company for $15 billion.

“To say we’re disappointed in the announced deal between U.S. Steel and Nippon is an understatement,” International President David McCall said when the bid was announced on Dec. 18. “It demonstrates the same greedy, shortsighted attitude that has guided U.S. Steel for far too long.”

Fighting for Jobs, Benefits

While the union voiced its strong objections to the planned acquisition, McCall assured members and retirees that the union would fight with every tool at its disposal to protect good jobs, benefits and retirement plans.

“Our union intends to exercise the full measure of our contract to ensure that whatever happens next with U.S. Steel, we protect the good, family-sustaining jobs we bargained,” McCall said. “We also will urge government regulators to carefully scrutinize this acquisition.”

Nippon Steel is Japan’s largest, and the world’s fourth-largest, steel company, with an annual output of more than 44 million metric tons. By comparison, U.S. Steel’s output in 2022 was about 14.5 million metric tons. 

Supporting Cliffs Bid

McCall pointed out that U.S. Steel management failed to consult with USW members before moving ahead with its plans.

“Neither U.S. Steel nor Nippon reached out to our union regarding the deal, which is in itself a violation of our partnership agreement that requires U.S. Steel to notify us of a change in control or business conditions,” McCall said. “We remained open throughout this process to working with U.S. Steel to keep this iconic American company domestically owned and operated, but instead, it chose to push aside the concerns of its dedicated work force and sell to a foreign-owned company.”

In January, less than a month after U.S. Steel announced the planned sale, the USW filed grievances against the company, in part because of management’s failure to live up to its obligation to notify the union.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio agreed and said that if U.S. Steel must be sold, the winning bid should go to Ohio-based Cleveland Cliffs, which announced an effort, with the strong support of the USW, to purchase U.S. Steel after the 123-year-old company announced in August that it was on the market.

“Nippon and U.S. Steel have insulted American steelworkers by refusing to give them a seat at the table and raised grave concerns about their commitment to the future of the American steel industry,” Brown said.

In a letter to members at U.S. Steel, McCall and District 7 Director Mike Millsap noted that the company has a history of broken commitments, including shutting down steelmaking and other operations at Great Lakes and Granite City. U.S. Steel also broke a promise of more than $1 billion in new and updated technology in Western Pennsylvania, and instead purchased Big River Steel. 

USS has shut down the East Chicago Tin Mill, the UPI Tin Mill and idled tin operations at the Gary plant. In addition, the company shut down Lone Star Steel, the Lorain, Ohio, plant and coke batteries in Clairton, Pa.

Rather than changing course, Nippon intends to follow the current U.S. Steel business plan, McCall said.

National Security Concerns

In addition to the issue of jobs, shifting ownership of U.S. Steel, once the world’s most valuable company, outside the United States raises national security concerns, given the need for steel in infrastructure, military and defense applications.

For their part, many government officials reacted with similar skepticism when they learned of U.S. Steel’s plans, echoing the USW’s concerns about jobs as well as economic and national security.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a longtime USW ally whose home sits across the street from the entrance to U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thompson Works in Braddock, Pa., said he would work vigorously to prevent the sale.

“It’s absolutely outrageous that U.S. Steel has agreed to sell themselves to a foreign company. Steel is always about security — both our national security and the economic security of our steel communities,” Fetterman said. “I am committed to doing anything I can do, using my platform and my position, to block this foreign sale.”

Fetterman’s fellow Pennsylvanian, Sen. Bob Casey, also voiced strong objections to the sale, as did a group of Republican lawmakers who wrote a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen asking her to actively oppose the acquisition.

The government “can and should block the acquisition of U.S. Steel by NSC, a company whose allegiances clearly lie with a foreign state and whose record in the United States is deeply flawed,” a group of three conservative Republican senators wrote to Yellen.

Dan Simmons, president of Local 1899 at U.S. Steel’s Granite City Works in Illinois, said he initially hoped the potential sale would bring a “fresh vision” to the company, but the Nippon acquisition did not present that opportunity.

“This entire process was not conducted as it should have been, but rather in typical USS fashion of keeping the union in the dark,” Simmons said. “We now find ourselves facing a new owner with the same USS leadership and business plan that, frankly, got us here in the first place.”

In addition, McCall said, trusting an iconic U.S. company to overseas control raises concerns about fair trade. The United States currently imposes 12 different anti-dumping tariffs on Japanese steel, McCall said. 

U.S. Steel, he said, “has been an active participant in these anti-dumping cases. We should question if Nippon Steel gets control of U.S. Steel, it could use its status as a ‘domestic producer’ to work against the trade cases from the inside,” he said. “Nippon Steel could order U.S. Steel to change its longstanding position.”

Regulatory Review

Still, the agreement between U.S. Steel and Nippon is not yet a done deal. Federal regulators, including the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which includes leaders from the Departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security and Justice, will review the bid, as will President Joe Biden.

Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council, said the president “believes the purchase of this iconic American-owned company by a foreign entity — even one from a close ally — appears to deserve serious scrutiny in terms of its potential impact on national security and supply chain reliability.”

Regardless of what the future holds for the company, McCall vowed that the USW will continue to fight to make sure that its owners live up to their obligations to workers and retirees.

“This includes not just the day-to-day commitments of our labor agreement but also significant obligations to fund pension and retiree insurance benefits that are the most extensive in the domestic steel industry,” he said. “No union has actively engaged in more acquisitions in its core industries than the USW, and rest assured, our union will hold management at U.S. Steel accountable to every letter of our collective bargaining and other existing agreements.”

Members at more than four dozen WestRock locations across 24 states voted in December to ratify a new four-year master agreement covering more than 5,500 USW members.

The agreement, which members ratified by a more than 3-to-1 margin through mail-in ballots, covers paperworkers at 15 mills and 36 converter plants.

Aggressive Agenda

International Vice President Luis Mendoza, who leads bargaining in the union’s paper sector, credited members for setting an aggressive bargaining agenda and demonstrating unwavering solidarity despite challenging circumstances.

“This bargaining team was determined to win a contract that would create stability and security for members now and into the future,” Mendoza said. “And they achieved that goal by working together.”

The new master agreement went into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, and covers contracts with scheduled expirations through the end of 2027. The first year of the agreement includes a 3.25percent wage increase, with a 3 percent wage increase in each subsequent year.

The master agreement covers workers at WestRock mills and converter plants in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Best Deal in Years

Member Tim Cooks, chief steward for Local 819 in Fresno, Calif., has worked for WestRock for 17 years and said it was the best agreement he’s seen during his tenure with the company.

“All in all, we are moving in the right direction,” said Cooks.

In addition to raising wages, the contract held the line on health care costs and provided members with significant improvements to retirement contributions and vacation.

“In this environment, this was as good a deal as we could have gotten,” said Billy Smith, president of Local 9-0425 in Roanoke Rapids, N.C.

In addition to the across-the-board financial gains, the contract contained no concessions and eliminated a two-tier wage system that members had made it a priority to abolish.

The agreement also improved life insurance and short-term disability benefits, while accelerating benefits for new hires.

Smith said that eliminating two-tier wages and improving benefits – particularly for newer workers – would improve members’ lives while also strengthening the union.

“That’s a big deal,” Smith said. “We brought a lot of people up, and that’s what we’re here to do.”

New Ownership

An added challenge that members faced as negotiations got underway was the announcement of a proposed merger of WestRock with Smurfit Kappa, one of the largest producers of containerboard in Europe, with additional operations in Mexico, Central America and South America.

Smurfit Kappa announced in September that it had reached an agreement to acquire WestRock, with a plan to close the transaction in mid-2024.

Mendoza said that the union still has concerns about the planned merger, which would make the new company one of the largest, if not the largest paper and packaging company in the world by revenue.

“This transaction raises questions for workers, including who will be leading the combined company into the future, how they will manage their work force, and how the results could affect USW members,” Mendoza said.

The USW’s agreement with WestRock does include a successorship clause that requires any new owners to act in accordance with the terms of the union’s existing collective bargaining agreements.

SAVE THE DATE: PAPER CONFERENCE

The USW will hold the 2024 National Paper Bargaining Conference from Aug. 5 to Aug. 8 in Austin, Texas. The conference marks the first time in six years that USW paperworkers will gather in person to network, learn, build solidarity and, importantly, set the union’s National Paper Bargaining Policy. For more about the conference, including registration, hotel and travel information, visit usw.org/events.

Customers who purchase beer from Minnesota’s August Schell Brewing are getting far more than just a high-quality, union-crafted beverage.

In each case, buyers get a package of top-to-bottom USW-made products, including the beer, the boxes, the bottles – even the sand used to make the glass. Down the line, USW members ensure customers receive the highest quality merchandise on the market.

“It all starts in the brew hall, and we follow it right on through to the package on the dock,” Eric Stade, president of Local 11-118, said of the brewery workers’ dedication to making top-of-the-line suds.

Stade’s local, which represents the approximately 25 hourly workers at the Schell brewing site in New Ulm, is one of four USW units involved in producing the contents of those cases of Schell beer. The others include Local 1259, which makes boxes for PCA, Local 129M, which produces bottles for Anchor Glass, and Local 460G, which supplies the sand used in the glassmaking process. All four are located in Minnesota.

Historic Location

The Schell brewery, which sits along the Cottonwood River in the small, picturesque town of New Ulm, is the oldest brewery in the Midwest, and the second-oldest in the country. The company, founded by German immigrant August Schell in 1860, is still owned and operated by Schell’s descendants. The charming 22-acre worksite resembles a Victorian-era German village, giving visitors the feeling they’ve been transported back in time.

The company regularly celebrates that heritage with annual Bock Fest and Oktoberfest events, while maintaining an on-site museum, open to the public, that tells the colorful story of the brewery’s history.

Inside the production facility, the beer-making process is far from old-fashioned. USW members combine old-school recipes with new technologies to create an award-winning lineup of beers. The Schell brand is a legacy that workers hope to uphold for generations to come.

Stade, who has worked at the brewery for more than 20 years, said he takes pride in knowing that he’s contributing a chapter to that story.

“This is my little thumbprint on the continuation of something,” he said. “That’s kind of neat.”

Dedicated to Quality

Like Stade, the other two dozen or so USW members at the Schell site take similar pride in their work, whether their role is in brewing, maintenance, bottling, distribution or the warehouse.

“The pride runs far deeper than just the family,” said company Vice President Kyle Marti, a sixth-generation descendant of founder August Schell. “We are very lucky to have the employees we have here.”

The family puts their company's future directly in those dedicated workers’ hands, entrusting them with century-old recipes and encouraging them to develop new beer flavors of their own creation.

Brewer Jordan Walls, who started working at Schell in September of 2022, created the company’s peanut butter porter, one of the brewery’s more popular limited-edition flavors.

Extensive Lineup

Walls and the other USW members at Schell put in five- or six-day weeks, producing between 6,500 and 7,500 cases per day, as well as kegs. During a recent USW@Work visit to the site, the brewery had 19 varieties of beer available in the public tap house, along with two non-alcoholic sodas. One of those, the 1919 draft root beer, is a throwback to when the company had to survive Prohibition by selling root beer and other non-alcoholic beverages.

Schell’s offerings are available for purchase in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and North and South Dakota.

Many of the workers at Schell are also regular customers, sometimes stopping in the tap house at the end of their shifts to socialize with co-workers before heading home. The large room, resembling an old German beer hall, is also where Local 11-118 members gather for their union meetings.

On weekends, the taproom, and the adjacent outdoor beer garden, are packed with locals and tourists sampling Schell’s craft brews and soaking in the atmosphere, which includes peacocks, deer and other wildlife roaming the grounds.

One of Schell’s products, its Nordeast amber lager, has become so popular locally that local distributors once had two- to three-week waiting lists for customers. The company eventually ramped up production to catch up with the growing demand.     

Partners with USW

Marti said he was proud of the fact that the family-owned company has a strong partnership with its small USW work force, pointing out that negotiations for their most recent contract took 45 minutes, with only two proposals passing across the table between the two sides before they reached a tentative agreement.

“These are great people,” he said, gesturing toward USW members at work. “People come here with the idea that it’s a lifetime job.”

Many of the workers at Schell express a similar level of respect for their employers. Production worker and soon-to-be brewer David Widner said the good wages and benefits at Schell allowed him to buy a home, and his union contract provides him with a sense of security.

“I’ve always wanted to work for a company that’s morally sound,” said Widner. “There’s a lot of honor and pride in working here.”

District 11 Director Cathy Drummond said that USW members should be proud of their history at Schell as they look forward to continuing the tradition of brewing the highest quality products for the next generation.

“Our union has a proud history of bargaining with employers to improve working conditions for members without compromising the viability of the company and sacrificing job security,” Drummond said. “August Schell is clearly committed to keep brewing and providing good, union jobs in New Ulm, and USW members are excited to be part of continuing the tradition.”

In addition to the pride they feel, the small, close-knit work force at Schell also genuinely seems to enjoy their jobs. 

As Slade, the local president, put it, “there’s a lot worse things you could be doing than making beer.”

Nurses who work at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Jersey voted overwhelmingly in December to ratify a new contract that ended a four-month unfair labor practice strike and established staffing standards to protect workers and patients.

Local 4-200 President Judy Danella credited the solidarity of the local union’s 1,700 members, as well as the support of other union members and the New Brunswick community, with helping to bring about the groundbreaking agreement that ended the nurses’ unfair labor practice strike.

“This contract would not have been possible if the nurses hadn’t stood together and demanded what our patients deserve,” said Danella. “This campaign has always been about safety and quality care, and we are ready to get back to work doing what we love.”

Return to Work

Nurses began returning to work in early January under new staffing rules and enforcement mechanisms to help ensure that the hospital maintains safe nurse-to-patient levels, as well as infrastructure to facilitate greater communication between front-line nurses and the hospital administration.

“We are very excited to go back to work with those rules,” Danella said. “It’s a start. We are the only contract that I know of in the state of New Jersey with these staffing ratios.”

Under the agreement, the hospital also will add 70 registered nurse positions, effective May 1, 2024. Those positions will be a mixture of full-time and part-time employees.

“We are particularly proud that this contract includes accountability and communication, which will ensure that staffing will remain a top priority moving forward,” Danella said.

International Visit

The nurses got a lift in their fight from workers across the world. In late August, USW members who were attending the Congress of UNI Global Union in Philadelphia led a delegation of 38 workers from 16 countries to join the Local 4-200 picket line. 

In addition, the RWJ nurses received strong support from their fellow USW members across the country as well as workers in their own backyard. Students and unionized faculty members at Rutgers University offered continuous support, as did members of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), which includes workers who live just a short drive or train ride from the RWJ New Brunswick facility.

“We should not have to strike to win common sense solutions to protect our patients and communities,” said Nancy Hagans NYSNA president. “It is the responsibility of our government to enact policies that will protect us.”

New York nurses successfully pushed their state legislators to enact such policies, which went into effect in January 2023. Members of Local 4-200 have long been advocating for New Jersey to adopt similar safe staffing rules.

Staffing Fight

Last spring, before the strike began, USW members joined hundreds of other health care workers for a large rally in Trenton urging state lawmakers to pass measures similar to the New York law.

“Quite simply, safe staffing is good for patients and good for workers,” said International Vice President Kevin Mapp, who oversees the USW’s health care sector, which includes more than 50,000 workers across North America. “Health care workers put themselves on the line every day because they love what they do. Safe staffing improves patient outcomes and reduces burnout and turnover for nurses.”

Danella promised that, following the victory at RWJ, the fight would continue for safe staffing across New Jersey and the United States.

“Now we’ll take safe staffing to the next level,” she said. “We will continue to try to get the state of New Jersey to pass the safe staffing bill.”

As the strike neared the three-month mark in late October, USW members and other health care workers packed a nearby Rutgers University auditorium as U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont led a Senate committee hearing on safe hospital staffing.

“Nurses at Robert Wood Johnson and workers all over this country want better wages and better benefits, but that is not the primary reason for the strike,” said Sanders, chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. “What nurses have told me, and I’ve had the opportunity on several occasions to sit down and talk with these nurses, is that what this strike has everything to do with is the safety of their patients.”

Strong Contract

In addition to delivering on the nurses’ safe staffing priorities, the new three-year agreement includes annual wage increases, limits health care costs and boosts retirement benefits.

Though the fight was a difficult one for members, it also brought them together like never before, Danella said.

“People that you would never know, people you met on the picket line, we formed little families along the way,” she said. “Some days, being on the picket line, it gave people the boost they needed to continue.”

Now, Local 4-200 will shift the fight for safe staffing from the picket lines in New Brunswick to the halls of New Jersey government.

“It just kind of started a movement,” Danella said. “It has been 20 years in the making, but I’m hopeful that it’s taken to the next level. Every nurse and every patient in the state of New Jersey deserves safe staffing.”

Miguel Cruz spent 31 years as a union worker with Puerto Rico’s electric power authority.

Although he reached an age at which he could retire for good, Cruz still serves as president of his unit and continues to champion the labor movement on the island of 3.3 million citizens, working alongside other USW members and prospective members to build worker power.

“This is my passion,” Cruz said of his union work. “It isn’t about money. It’s about representation.”

Stronger Together

The representation that Cruz fights for – what he calls “the power of our union” – is essential for the 1,000 USW members across Puerto Rico. That’s a number Cruz believes could more than double in the next few years as multiple organizing drives begin to bear fruit on the island, an area about twice the size of the state of Delaware.

Sharon Pérez, Local 6135 president and journalist for GFR Media, said that extending the benefits of collective action to more workers in Puerto Rico will benefit everyone.

“When you’re at the table, you’re negotiating the future for our families,” Pérez said. “There’s no turning back.”

With an amalgamated local that includes workers at Puerto Rico’s largest newspaper as well as more industrial workplaces, Pérez faces the challenge of a diverse membership that is spread out geographically across the island.

For pressroom worker Agustín Santiago and many of his 120 USW siblings at GFR, the topics they typically discuss at the bargaining table – wages, benefits, health and safety, work-life balance – are the same as at other bargaining sessions. Other issues, however, are unique to a work force with a growing number of young, tech-savvy communicators in an ever-changing media landscape.

“We have to get more young members involved,” Pérez said, “so they know the union work is worth it for them.”

Organizing Efforts

Helping more workers – of all ages and industries – gain the benefits of unionism has been part of the USW’s mission in Puerto Rico for more than five decades. However, that work has taken on a greater urgency in recent years.

Before becoming international secretary-treasurer in 2019, John Shinn served for seven and a half years as director of District 4, which includes Puerto Rico and nine northeastern U.S. states. As director, he began to shift more USW resources toward servicing and organizing members on the island, an effort that continued under his successors, including current Director David Wasiura.

“It’s been clear for a long time that more workers in Puerto Rico want and deserve the benefits of unionism,” Shinn said. “With only about three percent of the private sector represented, the situation there offers tremendous opportunities for the labor movement to lift up the voices of working families across all sectors of the economy. Organizing more workers in Puerto Rico is good news for everyone on the island and beyond.”

Strengthening Bonds

Shinn and Wasiura recently joined International President David McCall, along with International Vice President Luis Mendoza, District 10 Director Bernie Hall and a handful of other USW leaders, on a weeklong trip to Puerto Rico to meet with members, visit workplaces, learn about workers’ issues, and strengthen the bond between members on the island and those on the mainland.

As part of that effort, Wasiura said, members in District 4 want to be attentive not just to the needs of workers, but those of people throughout the communities where they live.

“If we truly want to make a difference in people’s lives, that work can’t end when we walk out the door at the end of the day,” Wasiura said. “We must be invested in the communities where workers live and focus on their well-being day in and day out.”

It was that approach that led Wasiura and other District 4 leaders to become supporters of the GoGo Foundation, an organization named in honor of a childhood cancer patient who passed away. The organization founded a clinic that provides comprehensive pediatric medical care to families in need.

Mayra Rivera, president of Local 8198, which represents municipal employees in Ponce, received a 2021 Multiplying Good award for her tireless activism on behalf of Puerto Rico’s workers and families, particularly in the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Maria six years ago, when she created a community alliance to bring supplies, support and hazard education to residents.

Rivera chose to donate her $500 Multiplying Good prize to the GoGo Foundation, a decision that caught the attention of other leaders in her district and led them to get involved in the foundation’s fundraising.

“It was Mayra’s dedication and generosity that got the ball rolling,” said Wasiura, who joined USW leaders for a tour of the GoGo Pediatric Institute facility last fall. “We hope that the USW’s partnership with the foundation continues for many years to come.”

Series of Setbacks

Despite the hard work of Rivera and many others across the island, some parts of Puerto Rico still have not fully recovered from the devastating effects of Maria, a Category 5 storm that tore through the area in September 2017. It was the region’s worst storm in more than 100 years, killing 3,000 and inflicting more than $90 billion in damage.

Maria destroyed entire neighborhoods and laid waste to much of the island’s electrical grid. A lack of resources and a woefully inadequate federal relief effort only intensified those problems. Five years later, Hurricane Fiona, though not as deadly, brought with it days of massive flooding and more power outages.

For much of the time between those two storms, Puerto Ricans faced a series of earthquakes as well as another deadly crisis – the COVID-19 pandemic. 

While that series of setbacks dealt devastating blows to the people of Puerto Rico, the island’s significant financial and infrastructure problems pre-dated those disasters. More than a decade of debt-related austerity, a 2017 bankruptcy and widespread poverty also made the island’s population vulnerable.

So far, the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has earmarked nearly $700 million in funding for projects in Puerto Rico over 10 years, with more to come.

“Ensuring a strong future for the people of Puerto Rico depends on modernizing infrastructure, providing more strong, family-supporting jobs, and making sure the island is better prepared the next time a disaster strikes,” said Mendoza, the first USW international vice president of Puerto Rican descent. “These investments also will provide a significant economic boost to Puerto Rico’s working families and ultimately benefit every resident.”

Mendoza was one of about 20 USW leaders and activists whose stories were included in a USW-produced Spanish-language book “De Acero” (or “Of Steel”) – United Steelworkers En Puerto Rico.”

The publication – meant to be circulated widely to members on the island – was just one part of an effort by USW leaders and activists to educate themselves and other workers in Puerto Rico about the USW’s history and to ensure that the voices of Steelworkers are leading the way in strengthening the union’s presence on the island.

Mariel Cruz, who recently became the first woman president of Local 6871, was one member who shared her story in the book.

Cruz, also District 4 Women of Steel coordinator, said the most important thing union members can do is learn about their rights and how to fight for them. 

“You have to educate,” she said. “That is the key to everything, to educate and sow the seed for just causes, if we want to have a broad and powerful trade union movement.”

Another story was that of Ernesto Sepulveda Rivera of Local 6588, who produces luxury hand-made carpets for V’Soske Inc.

Those USW-made carpets can be found in the White House, the Vatican, and in the homes of some of the wealthiest people on the planet.

Before he went to work at V’Soske, Rivera already knew the collective power of the USW through stories from his father and grandfather, both of whom made carpets for V’Soske and were proud USW members.

Union Proud

USW members who work at Peerless Oil & Chemicals, Inc., outside of Ponce, express similar pride in the work they do, and in their USW connection. The workers there manufacture and distribute Castrol brand lubricants, detergents, and other petrochemical products at a sprawling site on the southern coast of the island.

Laborer Vladimir Salcedo, who has been a USW member at Peerless for more than 12 years, said he is thankful the union is there to ensure that he and other workers earn fair wages and benefits that allow them to take care of their families, and that they have the equipment necessary to make them safer at work.

“Thanks to the union, we have the PPE we need,” Salcedo said.

Knowing that he and his co-workers have a voice on the job is the most important reason to support the union, said mechanic Esteban Acevedo.

“We have a stable salary that we can count on,” Acevedo said. “And we have someone to stand up for us.”

The USW has a long history of standing up for workers on the island, despite the relatively small number of members there compared to other parts of the United States. That is a situation that members hope they can improve in the coming years as the political climate shifts in favor of unions, and the USW organizes across a number of sectors, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, paper, and other manufacturing sites.

Over the past year, USW members have held training sessions for rank-and-file organizers and launched an effort to reinforce to workers what it means to be a Steelworker by convening focus groups, seminars, meetings and other educational efforts.

“The working people of Puerto Rico have such a rich history, and the USW is proud to be a part of that,” said International President David McCall. “As we build on that success and continue to organize, workers will have an even brighter future.”

‘The Fight is Coming’

The fallout from Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy led to a push to privatize utilities such as power generation and distribution. That was part of what led Miguel Cruz’s former union, Unión de Empleados Profesionales Independiente (UEPI), to affiliate with the USW in March 2023.

Former UEPI members serve various roles as instrument technicians, construction inspectors and civil engineers.

Miguel Cruz said the USW’s effective representation of thousands of workers in energy and municipal government drove the decision to join the USW.

“We knew about the work they achieved representing thousands of workers in the energy sector,” he said.

He said the USW was attractive to the members of the formerly independent union because workers were able to maintain their identity and autonomy, while also growing their power by seeking out others to join the fight.

Puerto Rico’s effort to modernize its electrical grid to make it less vulnerable to weather makes the energy sector a hot spot for union organizing.

“As the transition to the private sector happens, the fight is coming,” Cruz said.

Black History Month Profiles: Javonta Gatson

This year, for Black History Month, we're taking a look at a group of leaders who are currently active making Black history across the labor movement. Check back daily for a new profile and meet some of the people working to improve not only their community, but also to improve conditions for working people across the country. Today's profile is Javonta Gatson of the Bricklayers and Allied Crafts (BAC).

Javonta Gatson of BAC Local 4 joined the union in April 2017, when his second daughter had just been born. “I was struggling before joining the BAC. The union apprenticeship program taught me tile setting skills, helping me pay my bills and made a down payment for my house—not to mention the pension and health care for me and my family,” Gatson said. “The amount of BAC signatory contractors gave me opportunities to work on different jobs. I hope more high school graduates will consider trades jobs as their careers.”

Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 02/13/2024 - 10:25