Women paper workers talk shop, empowerment in USW webinar

The USW Paper Bargaining Conference hosted an inspiring and informative online discussion on Tues., July 20, about what it means to be a woman in the traditionally male-dominated paper industry.

USW Vice President Leeann Foster moderated the virtual town hall along with American Forest & Paper Association President (AF&PA) Heidi Brock. Foster grew up a paper worker’s kid and paid her way through college by working at the same plant that employed her father.

“I couldn’t have worked in the industry without the union, and I never forgot that,” said Foster.

The panelists consisted of six USW sisters who work at various paper mills and plants across the United States, including Cindy Moss, who works at the Essity Barton Mill in Cherokee, Ala. Moss, who is a new member of Local 9-1535, said that the stereotypical masculine veneer of manufacturing can be misleading to many young women looking for a career.

“There’s nothing out here a woman could not do,” said Moss.

Moss and others expressed a desire to do more community outreach via job fairs and plant tours specifically for women, who make up less than 12 percent of the sector.

Amy McGuire, who has worked at Essity for 18 years, said her life was as a young woman was made exponentially better because of the industry.

“It’s meant economic security,” said McGuire, who was also attending college at the time she started at Essity. “It provided a way for us to raise our family.”

Gwin Booker, who works at International Paper in Rome, Ga., also found her life uplifted by her union experience. Now a USW staff representative, Booker has been at International Paper for 20 years. 

“I’ve met people and been places I’ve never dreamed of because of the union and because of the industry,” said Booker.

The panel also featured Teresa Cassady, Assistant to District 1 Director Donnie Blatt, who talked about the union’s plan to bargain domestic violence leave and support language in future paper contracts.

She shared her own personal, harrowing experience of surviving domestic abuse and how it can impact both the victim’s life and their workplace.

“Domestic violence is not limited to women, but it does impact women at an alarming rate,” said Cassady. “I know this language will be life-changing for so many of our sisters, brothers and siblings.”

All in all, the panelists wanted the world to know that women need only to be given the opportunity to show they can rise to any task.

“We are listeners, we are leaders,” said Booker. “And we don’t like to be disregarded.

Watch the full online town hall below.

David McCall discusses domestic manufacturing policy, potential on the Leslie Marshall Show

USW International Vice President David McCall appeared on the Leslie Marshall Show last week to discuss the importance of American manufacturing to meaningful economic growth and the union’s upcoming We Supply America bus tour that will highlight jobs potential in a robust infrastructure investment.

“Manufacturing supplies all the critical goods we need and want,” said McCall. “It also provides good-paying jobs and good, family-sustaining jobs for the American workforce.”

McCall mentioned a shortage of computer chips in the auto industry as a glaring example of the country’s weakened supply chains. He also pointed to dependence on foreign producers for steel, aluminum and other essential goods as a national security threat.

“It's really time that people wake up and understand that the manufacturing sector has been weakened over the years and over the decades by bad trade policy and lack of attention to meaningful and sound economic growth,” said McCall.

A bipartisan, comprehensive infrastructure bill from Congress would help to strengthen those supply chains by boosting American manufacturing, while also making communities safer and more resilient. 

The USW is undertaking We Supply America bus tours in August to highlight the goods and services Steelworkers are already providing that can intersect with a modern infrastructure initiative. 

“It really is our opportunity to communicate with not only people in the communities where we live and work, but also with the general public and with the administration,” McCall said of the USW’s upcoming bus tour. 

“We need the support of Congress and continuing support from the administration to bring back our economy and bring back our jobs.”

Click below to listen to the full interview with David McCall about the importance of domestic manufacturing:

Negotiations heat up in Southern California for Local 7600

Things are heating up at Kaiser Permanente in Southern California, where members of Local 7600 have held a summer series of solidarity actions, including button and sticker days, as a show of strength during what has proven to be a difficult start to their negotiations.

The union’s contract with Kaiser, which Steelworkers in Local 7600 negotiate as part of the 21-member Alliance of Health Care Unions, is set to expire in October. The USW represents about 7,500 workers across dozens of Kaiser Permanente locations.

While the union has proposed wage increases, expanded benefits and strengthened standards, Kaiser management has stressed “affordability,” making no mention of quality care. They have even suggested worker pay is too high.

The company made $16.3 billion in net profits between 2018 and 2020.

“It’s been frustrating to see the company place a higher value on their bottom line than they do on the people who are working every day to provide top-quality care,” said Michael Barnett, president of Local 7600.

Click here to follow the local’s #BestJobsBestCare campaign on Facebook.

USW’s Tentative First Contract with Tech Firm HCL Improves Wages, Job Security

Contact: Tony Montana, 412-562-2592, tmontana@usw.org

The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that the union has reached tentative agreement on a first contract with Google contractor HCL America, Inc., on behalf of about 65 employees who are based in Pittsburgh.

USW International President Tom Conway said the tentative agreement represents the hope of a bright future for workers seeking to organize unions to negotiate for better pay, benefits and working conditions, no matter what industry or occupation.

“Nearly two years ago, HCL’s employees voted to organize and bargain collectively for a fair contract, and the company fought viciously against it for as long as it could,” Conway said. “Thanks to the solidarity and determination of these workers and the leadership of our committee, we have reached this important milestone of a first tentative agreement.”

Amanda Parks, a member of the USW bargaining committee who works for HCL, said that over its three-year term, the proposed contract addresses pay parity and includes meaningful wage increases. It provides additional paid time off and includes important contract language safeguards to provide job security.

“In spite of the company’s best efforts to discourage participating in the union and to avoid negotiating in good faith, we remained united to make our voices heard and demand a fair contract,” said Renata Nelson, also a member of the committee. “We work hard, and we deserve what all workers deserve, an agreement that reflects our important contributions to the company’s success.”

Beginning in October 2020, Region 6 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a series of four amended, consolidated complaints against the company which outlined in detail the company’s failure to bargain in good faith.

Among other illegal actions, the NLRB alleged that HCL had outsourced work from Pittsburgh to Krakow, Poland, in retaliation for workers voting for union representation, and the board sought to order the company to restore the work to bargaining unit members.

A ratification vote for the membership is scheduled for July 30, 2021. If ratified, the proposed contract would take effect immediately.

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.