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OObbaammaa SSuuppppoorrttss MMiilliittaarryy VVeettssJohn McCain often expresses how

deeply engrained the military is in hislife, which makes it difficult to under-stand why he was one of only 13Republicans who didn’t vote for a newGI Bill, but instead remained AWOLfrom the Senate vote.

The bill, which eventually passed bya veto-proof majority in the House,ensures tuition and other expenses at afour-year public university for anyonewho has served in the military for atleast three years since the 2001 terroristattacks.

Barack Obama has come to know thestories of people from all walks of life,including our men and women in uni-form and that is why he voted YES tothe GI Bill which will help provide abetter life for our 250,000 homeless vet-erans.

McCain talks about supporting ourtroops and veterans on the campaigntrail, yet his indifference to this bill is asign of disrespect and negligence to thewishes of the men and women of armedservice.

We need to elect Senator BarackObama as commander-in-chief to ensurethose veterans get the support andopportunity they deserve. Jerry Laycak, Local 1557 Former U.S. MarineWest Mifflin, Pa.

IImmppoorrttaannccee ooff RReegguullaattiioonnssUnion people are victims of the later

stages of capitalism without rules. Thesolution to our country’s crisis is aneconomy that follows sound rules, socialmorality and the natural and revealedlaw. Just as vehicular traffic on ourroads must have enforced rules and lawsto avoid disaster, our economy and soci-ety needs rules to avoid an even greaterdisaster. Joe KretschmerRetired, Local 12775Fort Wayne, Ind.

FFrreeee UUss ffrroomm FFoorreeiiggnn OOiillIn this election, remember that in

order for us to produce steel and supportour families, we need an abundance ofoil, coal and natural gas.

We are now seeing the effects ofdependence on foreign oil. The utilitycompanies say natural gas prices coulddouble this winter. Gasoline is beyond$4 a gallon, and using our food as a gassubstitute is no answer to the immediateproblem.

We hear that we have more oil, coal,and natural gas reserves in the UnitedStates than all of the Middle East com-bined. We also have the ability toretrieve these resources, with no adverseeffects on the planet.

I’m sure we will eventually find alter-native energy sources and solve globalwarming. But in the meantime we, steel-workers, will need oil, coal and naturalgas to produce our steel.

We have the resources, the knowl-edge and the workers to make us inde-pendent of foreign oil. Step aside andlet the American worker solve this prob-lem.Daniel E. Kelly IILocal 1014Gary, Ind.

SSaadd SSttaattee ooff DDiissrreeppaaiirrWhy a working man, especially a

union working man, would ever voteRepublican is beyond me. It is a sadstate of affairs when a steelworker singlemother must decide between feeding herchildren breakfast and putting gas in hercar to go to work. I’m retired. I have achoice, at times, about whether I want orhave to go out for groceries, appoint-ments or any other engagements. Youstill have to go to work every day, andyou still have to take your kids to prac-tices and events. As long as this wargoes on, the economy is going to stay ina state of disrepair.

General Motors is closing four plants– one in Mexico!

Watch out, fellow Americans, youmay be next! There’s an old saying thatI grew up with, “After me, you comefirst!” Don’t be the one who can’t seethe forest for the trees.George M. C. Thompson Retired, Local 2603Lackawanna, N.Y.

CCrruucciiaall BBaattttlleeWe must defeat the Republicans at

the polls, or they will continue to hurtworking people and poor seniors. Let’swake up and get involved before it’s toolate. Surely we should know that mostRepublicans favor and appease the rich.Will they send more jobs across thepond? Can we afford more leaders likewe have now?Clyde RushMunford, Tenn.

NNoo RReessppeecctt ffoorr WWoorrkkiinngg CCllaassssThere is much talk about how foreign

countries are buying up American busi-nesses. But what about American com-panies buying up other assets in theUnited States, including the paper indus-try.

We’re being set up to fail. Theseinvestors don’t give a hoot about whoselives they play with and change forever,mostly for the worse. People are just anumber. There is no respect for theworking class in America.

We need to clean up the “good oldboy” network that we call our govern-ment and stand up for all workingAmericans, even though it is a little latefor papermakers whose lives have beenaltered forever. Are we next?Joe DeGrootLocal 2-009Appleton, Wis.

2 l a b o r d a y 2 0 0 8 • U S W @ W o r k U S W @ W o r k • l a b o r d a y 2 0 0 8 3

USW@Work (ISSN 0883-3141) is published five times a year by the United Steelworkers AFL-CIO•CLC Five Gateway Center, Pittsburgh, PA15222. Subscriptions to non-members: $12 for one year; $20 for two years. Periodicals postage paid at Pittsburgh, PA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: USW@Work, USW Membership Department, 3340 Perimeter Hill Drive, Nashville, TN 37211

Copyright 2008 by United Steelworkers, AFL-CIO•CLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the United Steelworkers.

Direct Inquiries and articles for USW@Work to:United Steelworkers

Communications DepartmentFive Gateway CenterPittsburgh, PA 15222phone 412-562-2400fax 412-562-2445online: www.usw.org

Communications Staff: Marco Trbovich, Assistant to the PresidentGary Hubbard, Director of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.Wayne Ranick, Director of CommunicationsJim McKay, EditorAaron Hudson and Kenny Carlisle, Designers Lynne Baker, Kelly Barr, Jim Coleman, Deb Davidek, Gerald Dickey,Connie Mabin, Tony Montana, Joanne Powers, Frank Romano, Scott Weaver, Barbara White StackContributors: Christopher Diana, Meghan McClincy, Kristen Strickland, Bill Yund

INSIDEUSW@WORK

Official publication of the United SteelworkersVolume 03/No.4 Labor Day 2008

22000088 CCoonnvveennttiioonnThe 2008 Constitutional Convention takes bold steps to chal-lenge the global assault on workers and their families.0044

WWhheenn ffeewweerr wwoorrkkeerrsshhaavvee uunniioonnss,, tthhee ssttaannddaarrddooff lliivviinngg ffaallllss ffoorr eevveerryyoonneeaanndd tthhee ggaapp bbeettwweeeenn tthheerriicchh aanndd ppoooorr ggrroowwss..

“”John Sweeney

AFL-CIO President

FFEEAATTUURREESS::Speaking OutTrade WatchCAPITOL LETTERSNews Bytes

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USW active and retired members and their families are invited to “speak out” on these pages. Letters should be short and to the point. Wereserve the right to edit for length. Mail to USW@Work, Five Gateway

Center, Pittsburgh PA 15222 or e-mail to [email protected].

Speaking OutSpeaking Out

Leo W. GerardInternational President

James D. EnglishInt’l. Secretary-Treasurer

Thomas M. ConwayInt’l. Vice President(Administration)

Fred RedmondInt’l. Vice President(Human Affairs)

Ken NeumannNat’l. Dir. for Canada

Carol LandryVice President at Large

Jon GeenenInt’l. Vice President

Gary BeeversInt’l. Vice President

James H. DunnAssociate Secretary-Treasurer

Ron HooverExec. Vice President (R/PIC)

Lewis PeacockVice President (Organizing)

James K. Phillips, Jr.Vice President at Large

DirectorsDavid R. McCall, District 1Michael Bolton, District 2Stephen Hunt, District 3William J. Pienta, District 4Daniel Roy, District 5Wayne Fraser, District 6Jim Robinson, District 7

Ernest R. “Billy” Thompson, District 8Stan Johnson, District 9John DeFazio, District 10Robert Bratulich, District 11Terry L. Bonds, District 12

J.M. “Mickey” Breaux, District 13

Co-DirectorsGerald P. Johnston, District 1Lloyd Walters, District 9

Kenneth O. Test

STEELWORKER STORE

TThhee SStteeeellwwoorrkkeerr SSttoorree iiss OOPPEENN!! Visit the USW online store! Ourinventory contains union-made products from the U.S. and Canada.Purchase shirts, hats, jackets, gifts and miscellaneous items showing yourSteelworker pride.

Visit the USW web siteand select the

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Order online, downloadan order form to mail in

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Check for new items!

InternationalExecutive Board

GGlloobbaall UUnniioonnUSW officers sign agreement creating the world’s first trulyinternational labor union. 0088

DDaannggeerrss ooff RRaacciiaall PPrreejjuuddiicceeAFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Richard Trumka challenges thelabor movement to reject the divisive politics of race and supportBarack Obama for president.

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LLaannddrryy NNaammeedd IInntteerrnnaattiioonnaall VViiccee PPrreessiiddeennttCanadian activist Carol Landry is named International VicePresident at Large. She is the first woman to serve on theUSW’s International Executive Board.

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GGeett CCoonnnneecctteeddThe USW unveils a redesigned Web site and launches a newprogram to spread the word directly to cell phones.1166

ONTHECOVERDemocrat Barack Obama speaks by satellite tothe 2008 Constitutional Convention whileInternational President Leo W. Gerard applauds.Photo by Steve Dietz.

financiers in New York, London andToronto will have no choice but to reckonwith,” Gerard said. “And that’s a reckoningthat’s long overdue.”

Gerard called globalization the drivingforce behind a New Age of Robber Barons,Wall Street and Bay Street financiers whoexport jobs, gut health care coverage and robus of pensions.

“Now is the time for us to go on theoffensive,” Gerard said. “It’s time to takeback every job they’ve contracted out, everyjob they’ve outsourced. It’s time to restoreevery right they’ve managed to diminish.”

It’s time, he said, to challenge the newglobal system of finance and trade, to devel-op a trade agenda that is fair and to fight foran Employee Free Choice Act that restores aworker’s right to choose a union and bargainwith employers.

“Globalization has given financierslicense to exploit workers in developingcountries at the expense of our members inthe developed world,” Gerard said. “Onlyglobal solidarity among workers can over-come this sort of exploitation wherever itoccurs.”

Building the kind of power to prevail inthe global economy means fighting on morefronts than just bargaining.

“It means taking the fight wherever wemust to protect our members and grow ournumbers,’’ Gerard said. “It means

challenging rotten trade deals at every turn,in more and more innovative ways.”

Edwards backs ObamaDelegates also heard from prominent

politicians including former U.S. SenatorJohn Edwards, our union’s first endorsedcandidate for president. Edwards urged dele-gates to reject John McCain’s bid for a thirdGeorge Bush term and to support the pre-sumed Democratic nominee, Barack Obama.

Obama, speaking to the convention bysatellite feed, pledged support to labor andcondemned the Bush administration for itsblatantly anti-worker values.

In 2006, the USW’s activists helpedDemocrats take back the Congress with winsin both the House and the Senate. Our workhelped to wipe out 22 Republican incum-bents in the House and eight more in theSenate.

If we help to elect Obama president,Gerard predicted that, at some point nextyear, we’ll be able to feel the world is finallychanging, moving toward a better society forour children.

“This is no longer about us. This is aboutthe kind of future our generation wants topass on,” Gerard told the delegates duringimpromptu comments made on the conven-tion’s last day. “We cannot fail. We cannotfalter. Your kids, your community and yourplanet are counting on you.”

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he convention attracted3,178 registered delegatesfrom local unions all across

the United States and Canada.All told, the event drew 4,500delegates and observers, includ-ing 77 international guests frommore than 20 countries.

The final day of the conven-tion started with a few unusualmoments of silence as delegatesposed for a panoramic photo-graph of the huge conventionhall in Las Vegas. (See page 35for details on how to order acopy.)

Delegates also stood insilence as they watched a videoscroll of the names of our broth-ers and sisters killed on the jobsince the last convention threeyears earlier.

Rank-and-file speakers told ofshop floor accidents and the life-long impact these losses have onco-workers and family members.Heartfelt thanks were offered toour Emergency Response Teamfor their help with accidentinvestigations and aid to the fam-ilies of members injured orkilled.

A fund-raising raffle of aHarley Davidson motorcycleowned by late InternationalPresident George Becker raised$350,000 to benefit the GeorgeBecker Leadership DevelopmentFund.

rged by International PresidentLeo W. Gerard to “seize themoment” to secure better lives

for our children and grandchildren, dele-gates to the USW’s 2008 ConstitutionalConvention took bold steps to challengethe global assault on workers and theirfamilies.

Top among the achievementsof a convention filled withhistoric firsts was the sign-ing of an agreement tocreate the world’s firstglobal union to faceoff against the unreg-ulated multinationalcorporations that

exploit labor worldwide.The convention also passed a modest

increase in dues to build the union’sStrike and Defense Fund to provide bet-ter bargaining clout with employers andbetter benefits to members on strike or incontract struggles.

New Vice PresidentDelegates alsoapproved the creationof a new executiveposition ofInternationalVice President atLarge, whichwas filled, for

the first time in the union’s history, by awoman, Canadian activist Carol Landry.

Together, the USW and the London-based Unite the Union will represent 3.2million workers and retirees in theUnited States, Canada, the UnitedKingdom and Ireland. The new organi-zation, Workers Uniting – the GlobalUnion, is expected to attract other indus-trial unions from other countries to itsmembership.

“United in global solidar-ity – three million strong– we’ll be a forcethat globalcorporationsand their

UUTT

International President Leo W. Gerard addresses convention delegates.Photos by Steve Dietz

U S W @ W o r k • l a b o r d a y 2 0 0 8 7

aying President Bush has been adisaster for workers and we can’tlet John McCain serve out his

third term, Democrat Barack Obamaasked for and received support from del-egates to the USW’s 2008 ConstitutionalConvention.

Speaking to the convention by satel-lite broadcast, Obama said McCain, thepresumptive Republican nominee, hasbeen in virtual lockstep with PresidentBush.

“It’s not change,” Obama asserted,“when John McCain decides to stand forGeorge Bush 95 percent of the time ashe did last year.

“Let me tell you what change is. It isunderstanding the struggles of workingpeople. It means giving the middle classa tax cut and putting a college degreewithin reach,” he said.

Supports right to unionizeObama promised to support the

Employee Free Choice Act, whichwould help restore to workers the free-dom to choose for themselves whetherto join a union without employer inter-ference.

“Change is a president who wel-comes you into the White House, who’swalked with you on that picket line, whodoesn’t choke on the word ‘union’ andlets unions do what they do best andorganize our workers,” he said.

Following his speech, delegatesadopted a resolution vowing to play akey role in electing Obama and a strongpro-labor majority in the House and afilibuster-proof majority in the Senate.Delegates pledged to turn out more than10,000 union volunteers to help getworkers to vote in the upcomingNovember election.

Obama was again greeted with thun-dering applause when he said flatly:“This is the most anti-labor administra-tion in our memory.”

He condemned President Bush’s callfor an “ownership society,” declaringthe president really meant: “You’re onyour own. If you lose your job, toughluck, you’re on your own. If you loseyour pension, tough luck, you’re onyour own.”

“They don’t believe in unions, theydon’t believe in organizing, and theypadded the labor board with their corpo-rate buddies. Well, we have news for

them,’’ he said. “It’s not the Departmentof Management; it’s the Department ofLabor, and we’re going to take it back.”

Obama said he would be a presidentwho “wakes up every day thinkingabout you, determined to make life bet-ter for working people in this country.”

He concluded by declaring that heand the Steelworkers share a commonvision for our nation; the belief that werise and fall together, and that we mustseize this moment to build a betterfuture for working people and allAmericans.

Edwards supports ObamaObama was introduced to the con-

vention by former Senator JohnEdwards of North Carolina, whoreceived the union’s first endorsementduring the early stages of the primaries.

“There’s a wall around Washington,”Edwards said. “The American peopleare on the outside and on the inside arethe big corporations, the lobbyists, andthe special interests that want to protecta broken system that works for them.

“Our job come January 2009 is totear that wall down and give this government back to the American

people. Make no mistake about it. Thiselection is about tearing down thesewalls and ending this war on workingpeople.

“McCain with every fiber of hisbeing will let that wall grow taller. It isour responsibility, our responsibility toour children, our responsibility to ourgrandchildren, to take that wall down.Barack Obama will take it down.

“Barack Obama understands this tohis core,” Edwards explained. “He’slived it. He knows what it’s like to fightfor everything in his life. Sometimeswhen times were tough, his motherneeded food stamps to get by.”

Edwards asked rhetorically, “Whyhas this war on workers gone on for solong? It’s not an accident. It is bydesign.

“This is what happens when theleader in the Oval Office doesn’t know athing about how regular people go abouttheir lives. This is what happens whenour leaders don’t respect and honor hardwork. This is what happens when corpo-rate profits come at the expense of peo-ple who work for a living every day.”

It really is time for change.

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SS

Barack Obama speaks to theconvention by satellite feed.Photo by Steve Dietz John Edwards endorses

Barack Obama.Photo by Steve Dietz

Sending strong messageGerard said the name of the new union, Workers

Uniting – the Global Union, “sends a very strong messagethat really we’re tired of taking it and we’re now puttingthe tools in place to fight back.”

The agreement was the first step in creating a structurethat can grow to accommodate the inclusion of otherunions around the globe. Unions from Australia, EasternEurope and Latin America have already expressed interest.

“It could well be the start of a much wider developmentinvolving unions around the world because at the end ofthe day that’s got to be the objective – how we fight backagainst global capital, multinational global companies,”Simpson said.

Gerard added: “We’re taking the steps to create theworld’s first global response that can be action orientedand I believe if we succeed, it will be like the Field ofDreams, others will come.”

Recounting his own experience as an activist, stewardand local officer, doing work that often puts trade union-ists “between the devil and the deep blue sea” tryingsimultaneously to combat employers and satisfy members,Simpson asked: “Why do we do it?

“It’s not just what’s in it for us. It’s what’s in it for usas workers, for us as a class. It isn’t for the money. Youwant to make a difference. You want to make things betterfor you, for your wife, your kids, and your grand kids.

“Make a difference,” he declared. “Workers Uniting!”


t was an electric moment when more than 4,000 delegatesand observers to the 2008 Constitutional Convention jumpedto their feet and roundly applauded the birth of the world’s

first truly international union.The applause grew to a roar as International President Leo

W. Gerard and other International Officers signed an agreementcombining the USW, the largest private sector union in NorthAmerica, with Unite the Union, the largest trade union in theUnited Kingdom and Ireland.

The new union, Workers Uniting – the Global Union, willinitially draw on the energies of more than three million activeand retired workers from the United States, Canada, GreatBritain and the Republic of Ireland who work in virtually everysector of the economy including manufacturing, service, miningand transportation.

Confronting global capitalThe rationale behind creating such a super union is the need

to confront out-of-control global capital. It’s more difficult thanever for workers to take on multinational corporations with no

boundaries and no national allegiance.“In the last 20 years more and more of the

global economy has moved beyond borders,beyond loyalty to any country,” Gerard said. “So,if we don’t create an institution that can respondto that, that carries loyalty to workers and to theirdreams and aspirations, then we’ll get run over.”

Globalization, he said, has given financierslicense to exploit workers in developing countriesat the expense of our members in the developedworld.

“It’s well past time to challenge the power oftoday’s global capitol – before it does any moredamage to the lives of working people," Gerardsaid.

Derek Simpson, general secretary of Unite theUnion (Amicus section), repeatedly brought dele-

gates to their feet with ringing denunciations of globalization.“Globalization is not a hurricane,’’ he declared. “It’s not a

typhoon. It’s not a natural disaster. It’s a disaster forged in theboard rooms to exploit the rest of us.”

Multinational companies have formidable political and eco-nomic power and are able to play off one nation’s workersagainst another to maximize profits, Simpson said.

“They do the same with governments, hence the growinggap between the rich and the rest of us,’’ he said. “With thisagreement, we can finally begin the process of closing thatgap.”

He called the United States and the United Kingdom the“two most unregulated labor markets in the world, run by themost experienced capitalist exploiters that the world has everseen.

“What we need to tackle is not the immigrants, it’s not theChinese workers,” he said. “What we have to fight are themultinational companies that are using them to destroy ourlives.”


he genesis of Workers Uniting came in April 2007 whenthe USW, Amicus, the largest manufacturing union in theUnited Kingdom, and the U.K.’s Transport and General

Workers’ Union (T&G), agreed to set up joint committees tomove toward forming a global union. In May 2007, Amicus andT&G merged to form Unite.

The USW and Unite will remain largely autonomous entities,but the new organization will be directed by an umbrella leader-ship that will coordinate common policy and actions.

Workers Uniting will be a fully functional and registered labororganization in the United Kingdom, the United States, Irelandand Canada, with the ability to fully represent all of the membersof its founding unions. It will be governed by a steering commit-tee with equal membership from each participating union.

An executive director will oversee an initial budget of severalmillion dollars, and a staff that includes research, internationalaffairs and communications specialists.

Both participating unions have pledged to have WorkersUniting "challenge exploitation anywhere in the global economy,since it is fundamentally unjust and is destructive of decent livingstandards everywhere."

Toward this end, the new union, in conjunction with the NewYork-based National Labor Committee, is creating a GlobalLabor Rights Network that will have allied staff on the ground inCentral America, the Middle East, Asia, Eastern Europe, Africaand other regions.

Tony Woodley, general secretary of Unite's T&G section, saidWorkers Uniting will "match our words with action andresources, utilizing our collective expertise and knowledgethrough collective bargaining, organizing, global political actionand international solidarity."

Joint efforts underwayDuring the past year while discussions about the creation of a

new global union have been ongoing, the two unions have beenactively engaged in joint efforts to advance global union

activism, including:• Extensive discussions about strategies that each of the

unions has adopted for saving manufacturing capacity intheir respective countries.• Joint collective bargaining efforts with common

employers in the paper, chemical and titanium industries.• International solidarity projects, such as efforts to pro-tect the rights and safety of trade unionists in Colombiaand Mexico.

• Participation by rank-and-file delegations ofactivists in each other's education, rapid response,health and safety, civil rights and women's con-ferences.

• Exposure to the political processes ineach other's countries, including DemocraticParty primaries in the United States andLabour Party conferences in the UnitedKingdom.

II

TT

The new alliance, you have to recognize, is a brand new initiative and a bold decision. It’ssomething that’s never been tried before. I think it’s important it’s being done now because

when you look at the issues facing workers in the world today, the need for something like thishas never been greater. The situation is deteriorating across the globe. Both unions are strong

unions and I think it can make an impact on the way workers are treated.

Just imagine having a union that can speak on behalf of all workers around the world for the samecompany. I dare to dream, but I would love to see Steelworkers in Australia, Brazil and Canada allnegotiate the same contract at the same time. Imagine all of the power we would have as a union.

The company where I work has now gone global. It’s one of the biggest mining companiesin the world, so it’s certainly inspiring to know that we as a union have gone global.

RRoobb JJoohhnnssoonnDirector of Steel and Non-Ferrous Metals, International Metalworkers Federation

MMaarrcc AAyyootttteeLocal Union 2020, Unit 13, District 6

LLeess EEllllsswwoorrtthhLocal Union 6166, District 3

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” Leo W. Gerard and DerekSimpson sign accord.Photo by Steve Dietz

he appointment of Canadianactivist Carol Landry as the firstwoman to serve on the USW’s

International Executive Board was metwith wide acclaim from convention del-egates.

“I think it’s a wonderful thing,’’ dele-gate Andrew Harkulich, of Local 1660in District 10, said of Landry’s appoint-ment as the new International VicePresident at Large.

“Our union’s going in different direc-tions. We need young people. We needwomen. We need people of color,” hesaid.

Kim Smith, an activist with Local508 in District 9, said she is pleased thatLandry got her start in the union as anactivist and officer of her local union ata Canadian copper mine.

“What makes it important to me isshe is rank and file,” Smith said ofLandry. “So, she knows where we comefrom as women out there in the workforce. She’s going to be a voice for us atevery level in the International.”

Committed union activistA totally committed union activist,

Landry held virtually every position inLocal 7619 at Highland Valley Copper– shop steward, treasurer, vice presidentand president. She is battle-tested intough strikes and bargaining situations.

Elizabeth Shymko, of Local 898 inDistrict 3, has watched Landry come upthrough the ranks of the union.

“Every job that she took on, she didvery well,” Shymko said. “She workshard. She has a tremendous amount ofcredibility and a lot of support.”

While the promotion of a woman is awelcome sign of progress, InternationalPresident Leo W. Gerard said Landry’sappointment is more a result of her dedi-cation to the cause than her gender.

“While she will become the firstwoman International USW officer,Carol is becoming a vice president notbecause of gender, but because of herpassion, skills and dedication to eco-nomic and social justice for workingpeople everywhere,” Gerard said.

In 1989, when she was the onlywoman on a 13-member bargainingcommittee, Landry helped lead a 107-day strike that did away with inferiorwages and opportunities for women.

Prior to that strike, women were

mostly clerical workers with a separatewage scale lower than men, different jobclassifications and lines of career pro-gression. The new agreement containedone wage scale and gave every workerthe right to bid on all jobs.

Standing firmA decade later, Landry led negotia-

tions as the local union president andstood firm against company demandsfor massive concessions and a threat ofpermanent closure. The contract shewon tied wages to the price of copper,producing five years of stellar wage andpension increases for her co-workers.

Appointed to the USW’s Canadianstaff in 1999, Landry serviced more than90 collective bargaining agreements inthe lower mainland of British Columbiaand led negotiations in a variety ofindustries. She has served as educationcoordinator for the USW’s District 3 inWestern Canada.

Her international experience startedwith a local union exchange programwith miners in Chile. Today she sits onthe board of directors of theInternational Metalworkers Federation.


n one of the most important speechesof the 2008 presidential campaign,AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer

Richard Trumka challengedSteelworkers at the 2008 ConstitutionalConvention to reject the divisive politicsof race.

“There’s no evil that has inflictedmore pain and more suffering thanracism – and it’s something we in thelabor movement have a special responsi-bility to challenge,’’ Trumka said in aspeech that moved a packed hall of dele-gates to rise, shout and applaud.

In a fiery style of oratory he honed aspresident of the United Mine Workers ofAmerica, Trumka cautioned that tradeunionists cannot afford to “tap dancearound the fact that there are a lot offolks out there” who may not vote forDemocrat Barack Obama because he isAfrican-American.

“A lot of them are good union peo-ple,” he averred. “They just can’t getpast this idea that there’s something‘wrong’ with voting for a black man.

“Well, those of us who know bet-ter can’t afford to look the otherway,” he asserted, quoting 18thcentury British political leaderEdmund Burke who said: “Allthat is necessary for evil to tri-umph is for good people to donothing.”

Union principlesTrumka reminded delegates that

the Steel Workers OrganizingCommittee, the forerunner to our union,was founded on the principle of organiz-ing all workers without regard to race.

He is aware, however, that there arepeople who are committed to the labormovement but cautious about backing aperson of color for president.

“I don’t think we should be pointingfingers in people’s faces and callingthem racist,” he cautioned. “Instead, weneed to educate [working people] that ifthey care about holding on to their jobs,their health care, their pensions, and

their homes; if they care about creatinggood jobs with clean energy, child care,pay equity for women workers, there’sonly one candidate who’s going to standup for their families, and his name isBarack Obama.”

Trumka experienced the effects ofracism during the Pennsylvania primarywhen he went back home to Nemacolin,a small mining community, to vote.

A woman who was active inDemocratic politics when Trumka wasin grade school told him she couldn’tbring herself to vote for Obama. Shewent through a litany of excuses includ-ing religion and patriotism before admit-ting the real reason was race.

“Look around,”Trumka told her.

“Nemacolin is a dying town. There areno jobs here. Kids are moving awaybecause there’s no future here. Andhere’s a man, Barack Obama, who’sgoing to fight for people like us and youwon’t vote for him because of the colorof his skin.”

Challenge racismUnion activists, Trumka said, must be

in the forefront of fighting againstefforts to divide working Americansagainst themselves in this election.

It’s our special responsibility to chal-lenge the use of racism as a dividing tac-tic, he said, because union membersknow better than anyone else howracism is used to divide working people.

“We’ve seen how companies setworker against worker – how they throwwhites a few extra crumbs off the table

and how we all end up losing,’’ hesaid. “But we’ve seen some-thing else too... when wecross that color line andstand together no one cankeep us down.”


Trumka said Obama, as a Senatorfrom Illinois, has voted with labor 98percent of the time, is committed torestoring the right to collective bargain-ing, and, when his career first started,worked full time helping laid-offSteelworkers in Chicago.

Contrast that, Trumka said, with therecord of Republican John McCain, who“helped pass the trade laws that resultedin laid-off steelworkers in Chicago” andhas promised to promote more free tradeagreements if elected.

Hanging by fingernailsIncome inequality – the gap between

the rich and the rest of us – is at a levelunseen since the 1870s. Corporate prof-its are surging. Worker productivity isgrowing but wages are not, leavingworkers hanging by their fingernails.

“We see men and women who’vespent their entire working lives doingexactly what they were supposed to.Working hard. Bringing home a pay-check. Trying to put a little aside fortheir kids. Paying the mortgage. Hopingthat, maybe someday, they could retireand move to Florida.

“What do they do when their compa-ny tanks? Or packs up and leaves? Whatare they supposed to do for health insur-ance if they’re too young for Medicare?How are they supposed to get by whenthe pensions they were counting on areworth pennies on the dollar?”

Why then did the media criticizeObama for saying that working peoplein America are angry?

“I don’t know about you,” Trumkatold the delegates, “but I happen to thinkthat was one of the most honest thingsI’ve heard a presidential candidate say ina long time.

“And come November we’re going toelect him President,” he concluded tothunderous applause. Then, “we’ll beable to say that 2008 was the year wetook our country back from the corpora-tions and had a government thatbelieved in unions again!”

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Richard Trumka addresses convention.Photo by Steve Dietz

Carol LandryPhoto by Steve Dietz

Medical benefitsEmergency medical benefits for

members and their families will beimproved to provide coverage at alower price with no deductibles andno pre-existing medical conditionexclusions.

“We will show multinationalemployers that they can’t push you orme or any of our members around,”International President Leo W.Gerard said.

Since its creation 40 years ago, theStrike and Defense Fund has paid$1.1 billion to local unions to helpmembers during labor struggles. Overthe last decade, some 115,000 mem-bers have shared in more than $300million in benefits.

The constitutional change willraise dues by either fifteen-hundredths of one percent (0.15 per-cent) of a member’s total monthlyearnings, or, by local union option,three cents per hour until Dec. 31,2012, and thereafter 0.15 percent.

The vote came as strikes are get-ting harder and longer – an averageof 26 weeks.

The fund, created at a special con-vention in 1968, provides locals withweekly cash to be used to help mem-bers in time of need. It provides

emergency medical coverage formembers and their families to avoidcatastrophic losses during strikes.

The fund also enables ourStrategic Campaign Department tobetter prepare the membership forcontract campaigns, significantlyincreasing the likelihood of reachingsatisfactory settlements without workstoppages. Its Building Power train-ing programs helps to develop effec-tive communication networks amongour membership and our allies as wellsupporting effective public informa-tion and corporate campaigns againstdifficult employers.

Legal representationFor those who can’t legally strike,

such as public sector employees, thefund helps to provide legal help forinterest arbitration, mediation andlabor board hearings. It also pays forlegal representation in lawsuits,including those that attempt torestrain our right to picket.

“Even though we have a no-strikeclause, the Strike and Defense Fundis beneficial to us as it makes us astronger union, a stronger local,” saidIlene Buzin, an LPN at a New Jerseynursing home and delegate represent-ing Local 10-1426.

Cinda Six, an Indspec Chemical

worker and Local 6346-25 delegate,said her daughter, a former PACEmember, was on strike two years ago.

“If it hadn’t been for the Strikeand Defense Fund, a lot of themwould have been in dire straits as faras paying their bills. And (the fund)strengthens our union when we helpour brothers and sisters wheneverthey are on strike,” Six said.

Robert Lofton of Local 7-001agreed. He’s been through severalstrikes and said the fund is invalu-able.

“Strikes are traumatic becausewhen you don’t have income andyou’re out there walking the picketline you still have to pay your utili-ties, your house note,” he said. “Youhave to have some sort of kitty andthe only one we know is the Strikeand Defense Fund.”

Richard Thomas, a District 9 staffrepresentative, said delegates under-stood that it wasn’t a question ofwhether members could afford toboost the fund. They couldn’t affordnot to do it.

“It’s time to turn the tables and geta fair shake when you go into bar-gaining - to stop begging, and startbargaining for our benefits,” Thomassaid.


aking on the tough fights.Having the financial strengthto stand up to big, multina-

tional corporations. Being able totake care of our brothers and sis-ters in their toughest times andhaving peace of mind becausefuture generations of Steelworkerswill be able to do the same.

These are just a few of the goalsaccomplished when delegates atthe USW’s 2008 ConstitutionalConvention overwhelminglyapproved a resolution to bolster theStrike and Defense Fund.

A 3 cents-an-hour dues increasepassed by a strong margin afterdelegates from around the countrystood in support of the proposal.

“We have to fight the battlesthat employers force upon us,’’said International Vice PresidentFred Redmond, who chaired thefloor discussion. “We have nooption but to give our members onthe picket lines the resources theyneed so employers will never beable to starve us out.”

With the approval, the weeklystrike payments to locals willincrease from the current maxi-mum of $115 per striker to $150.In two years, the benefit will riseto a maximum of $200 per week.


housands of USW members turnedup the heat in Las Vegas to sup-port union taxi-cab drivers who

have been working without a labor con-tract since late last year.

Waving placards and chanting “NoJustice, No Peace,” delegates lined LasVegas Boulevard outside the conventionhall to show support for the 4,500 mem-ber Alliance for Taxi and LimousineDrivers in Las Vegas and to turn up thepressure in stalled contract negotiations.

“We think it is vitally important thatwe show our brothers and sisters that wesupport them in getting a fair contract,”said delegate Edwin Francis, of Local8248 in District 9.

The alliance was formed in 2005 as apartnership between the USW and theOffice and Professional EmployeesInternational Union (OPEIU) to buildmembership bargaining power with thenumerous taxi companies that serve LasVegas.

The USW and OPEIU together repre-sent 4,500 drivers at 11 organized taxicompanies. The goal of the alliance is toorganize another 3,000 drivers who workfor six non-union companies.

“We are coming together to show themembership what solidarity stands for,’’said T. Ruthie Jones, vice president ofITPE Local 4873, an affiliate of OPEIU.“If we all stand together there are nolosers, we are all winners.”

About 2,200 ITPE members atYellow, Checker and Star Cabs havebeen working without a new labor con-tract since December. Their issuesinclude livable wages, long hours andtargeted terminations of union drivers.The USW represents 2,800 drivers inseven other cab companies with con-tracts expiring next year.

“Everybody has to have a good wageso they can afford a family without hav-ing two or three jobs,’’ said Dario Llano,of Local 2003 in District 7.

Working families visiting Las Vegasexpect the corporate owners of these cabcompanies to provide drivers a fairagreement with paycheck equity,International President Leo W. Gerardsaid.

“Driving a taxi is one of the most dan-gerous jobs in America,’’ Gerard said.“They deserve a decent contract withdecent pay and decent benefits.”

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Delegates support uniontaxi drivers in Las Vegas.Photo by Steve Dietz

Secretary-Treasurer James D. Englishdescribes Strike and Defense Fund options.Photo by Steve Dietz

On one of his first visits to Liberiato conduct training and other supportactivities, the USW’s Mike Zielinskisaid a plantation manager erupted ina string of curses when he found outthe USW was there to assist the plan-tation workers – a display that onlyraised the union’s stature in the eyesof the plantation employees.

Workers have already begun tosee positive gains. Redmond said theUSW is proud to have contributed tothe establishment of a democraticunion in Liberia.

After a year of recognition battlesand four months of intense negotia-tions, the Liberian rubber workersunion achieved a landmark tentativeagreement with Firestone manage-ment.

The agreement reached in lateJuly reduces the daily quota of rubbertrees a worker must tap by 20 per-cent, or 150 trees, and providesmechanized transportation to weighstations, eliminating the need forworkers to carry the latex long dis-tances in heavy metal buckets bal-anced on their shoulders.

The agreement includes a 24 per-cent wage increase for rubber tappersand a 21 percent increase for all otherworkers, with the increases retroac-tive to January 2007. The agreementmust be ratified by the membershipof the Firestone Agricultural WorkersUnion of Liberia (FAWUL) and sub-mitted to the Ministry of Laborbefore it becomes official.


ne of the most movingmoments of the 2008Constitutional Convention

came when the AFL-CIO awarded its2007 George Meany-Lane KirklandHuman Rights Award to the FirestoneAgricultural Workers Union of Liberia.

The convention’s 4,500 delegates andobservers rose to their feet and gave asustained standing ovation to a smallgroup of Liberian leaders who brought aDemocratically-elected labor union tomore than 4,000 workers at theFirestone Rubber Plantation, Liberia’slargest employer.

The Liberians, who were among alarge contingent of 77 internationalguests from more than 20 countriesattending the convention, appeared to bestunned by the attention and grateful for

the outpouring of support. Winning the award gives hope to all

Liberian workers, said Austin Natee,president of the Firestone AgriculturalWorkers Union of Liberia (FAWUL).

“From here to Africa is 5,000 miles,”he said. “For you to care about workerson a farm so many miles away is amaz-ing. We will take the message back toworkers that we are not alone.”

The convention again erupted inapplause when the Liberians said solidarity is a two-way street and thatthey would take collective action, if evernecessary, to support their brothers andsisters at tire factories in the UnitedStates and Canada.

Thanks to help from the USW andthe AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center, the4,000 workers at Liberia’s largest rubber

plantation are running their own unionfor the first time in 82 years.

International Vice President FredRedmond, who supported the plantationworkers in their struggle to gain a union,called the men and women he met inLiberia “some of the bravest people Ihave ever known.”

Workers on the plantation typicallywork from dawn to dusk tapping treesfor latex, which they carry in two 70-pound buckets yoked to their shoulders.In order to meet steep daily quotas, chil-dren are often conscripted to help theirparents.

To gain an independent voice on thejob, plantation workers staged severalstrikes, which succeeded in getting thegovernment of Liberia to require newelections at the plantation. During thestrikes, workers were intimidated andbeaten. Several, tragically, were killed.

Election ruled legitimateLast December, in a huge victory for

the union, the Liberian Supreme Courtruled that a July election that threw outofficials of the long time company-con-trolled union was a legitimate election.

The USW, which represents some5,000 Bridgestone-Firestone workers inthe United States, did not take sides inthe election but took up gate collectionsto support the Liberian workers.Redmond, along with USW staff andlocal union volunteers, traveled toLiberia to offer assistance. Union-building training was conducted forFAWUL leadership and shop stewards.


When he was 11 years old and grow-ing up in an African slum, Samuel KofiWoods organized other children into anassociation to clean up their neighbor-hood.

“I was challenged by the conditionsaround me,” Woods recalled. “I lived ina zinc shack. When it rained, the waterwould come into it. The mosquitoeswould swarm up. It was a ghetto.”

Organizing the Logantown YouthDevelopment Association cleanup wasthe start of a distinguished career as aLiberian human rights activist, journal-ist, politician and academic.

Over the years, as a student and laterfull-time activist, Woods’ crusade forhuman rights put him at odds with bru-tal dictators and led to repeated arrestsand forced exile from his homeland.

In 1994, Woods founded theForefront Organization, which docu-mented many human rights abuses dur-ing the Second Liberian Civil War. He

won the Reebok Human Rights Awardand received the Pope's human rightsmedal.

Today, Woods is working for justiceinside Liberia’s establishment as LaborMinister in the government of LiberianPresident Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf,Africa’s first female president.

As Minister of Labor, Woods snuckinto the Firestone rubber plantation inLiberia to document the company’sabuses against workers. He accompa-nied union leaders from Liberia to theUSW convention in Las Vegas.

Woods called the establishment ofthe Firestone Agricultural WorkersUnion of Liberia (FAWUL) a landmarkachievement for his country and theUSW, which is supporting the workers.

“It is a remarkable success becausenow we have an African workers unionthat has visibility and a big partner-ship,’’ he said. “It is a practical achieve-ment, a response to globalization.”OO

n the same day the agreementwas signed to create the newglobal union, delegates to the

Constitutional Convention heard first

hand how our international solidarity canmake a difference.

Napoleon Urrutia Gomez, president ofthe Los Mineros, the Mexican steel and

mineworkers union, expressed his deep-est gratitude to the USW for our demandthat he be returned to his legitimate roleas the elected president of his union.

Gomez was illegally removed fromoffice more than three years ago ontrumped up charges after accusing thegovernment of colluding with GrupoMexico in committing what he called“industrial homicide,” after it shut downa mine only six days after 65 minerswere trapped below ground following a

deadly explosion. Their bodies were leftbehind.

In his address, Gomez said that fol-lowing his remarks about the explosion,the union’s financial accounts werefrozen. The government assassinated,kidnapped and beat union members.

Gomez, who is being given asylumby the USW in Vancouver, Canada,called the assault on his union “one ofthe worst political persecutions andabuses of powers.

“We have resisted them all, becausewe have committed no crime,” he said.

Noting that some 2,000 of his mem-bers have been on strike for nearly ayear at Grupo Mexico’s Cananea mine,Gomez asked the USW to support theMexican miners morally and financially.

International President Leo W.Gerard said he would ask a number ofglobal labor organizations, as well asUSW members, each to adopt one fami-ly until the strike is won.

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Liberian union leaders react to applause from convention delegates.Photo by Steve Dietz

Samuel Kofi Woods at the convention.Photo by Steve Dietz

Napoleon Urrutia Gomez expresses gratitude to the USW.Photo by Steve Dietz

elegates to the 2008Constitutional Convention votedto play a key role in electing

Barack Obama as president of theUnited States and vowed to lead thefight for a publicly funded health careplan that would cover all Americans.

Over the four days of the convention,delegates debated and passed resolutionson a wide variety of topics that essen-tially reflect the union’s challenges andgoals for the future.

Their work touched on importantpublic issues of fair trade, the embattledright to join a labor union, health andsafety, the 2008 elections and buildingworker power for bargaining and politi-cal action.

Delegates committed all of theUSW’s locals to participating in theelection through member-to-memberwalks, phone banks, work-site leafletingand other communication efforts.

Recognizing that Republican candi-date John McCain would continue thefailed economic policies of the Bushadministration, delegates voted for theUSW to lead the labor movement’sefforts to get out the vote among work-ing Americans, including turning outover 10,000 union volunteers.

Declaring that the U.S. health caresystem is broken, delegates passed a res-

olution renewing the union’s commit-ment to reforming a system that has leftmillions of Americans with no healthcare coverage and no access to neces-sary prescription drugs.

In the same resolution, delegates alsovowed to lead the fight in Canada tomaintain and expand its public healthcare system, which is now under attack.

Challenges, goals for the futureIn one key resolution, the USW

renewed its commitment to fight forpassage of the Employee Free ChoiceAct (EFCA) in the United States and topreserve laws in Canada that facilitateorganizing and collective bargaining.

The delegates vowed to engage allmembers of the union to work for pas-sage of EFCA, which would, amongother things, require employers to recog-nize unions if a majority of employeessign authorization cards.

In addition, they voted to refuse toendorse any candidate for public officewho does not support EFCA or any can-didate who supports right-to-work legis-lation.

On trade, the union reaffirmed itscommitment to leading the fight againstthe unfair trade policies and agreementsthat have harmed workers in NorthAmerica and around the globe.

Fair trade standardsDelegates pledged the union would

continue to advocate for fair trade stan-dards around the world that include pro-tections for human rights, labor rightsand environmental values with the goalof reducing the incentives corporationshave to move production to countrieswhere labor standards are the lowest.

Following a video presentation listingmore than 135 USW members whohave been killed on the job since the lastconvention in 2005, delegates approveda resolution pledging to campaign andvote for political candidates who supportthe cause of health and safety and whowill insist that government agenciesserve the best interests of workers.

Delegates vowed to oppose corporateand legislative efforts that weaken occu-pational health and safety laws, regula-tion and enforcement and work for pas-sage of legislation to better protectworkers on the job.

In addition, the union plans to contin-ue its efforts to negotiate new languageand improve existing language in collec-tive bargaining agreements, includingthe right to refuse unsafe work, immedi-ate arbitration of health and safety dis-putes and an increased role for unionhealth and safety committees.


hen John Edwards made asurprise appearance at the2008 USW Constitutional

Convention, members around the worldwere able to watch live onwww.usw.org.

When the Steelworkers lost a brotherin an unfortunate workplace accident ear-lier this summer, the union was able tolet the world know by posting an imme-diate tribute online.

When International President Leo W.Gerard had something to say about aBush administration gathering of lobby-ists who have ignored

the real problems in the toxic trade crisis,he blogged about it. The blog was quick-ly picked up by other Web sites, spread-ing the union’s important point of view.

Our new site, designed and developedby Chicago-based Articulated Man andthe USW Communications staff, bringsthe United Steelworkers into the age ofWeb 2.0. That’s the term used todescribe the latest online tools thatengage Internet users and help communi-cate quickly and effectively.

The redesigned www.usw.org stream-lines and enhances the union’s

Web presence while also using the latesttechnology to help spread our message –tools such as blogging, photo slideshows,videos and RSS feeds showcasing thelatest news important to working familiesand much more.

A hallmark of the new site is interac-tivity. It invites members and others tobecome involved and to help us tell theUSW story. Social networking sites suchas Facebook, myspace and flickr aresome examples, all of which can be easi-ly reached by clicking on the appropriateicon on the home page. In the memberssection, accessed at the very top of thehome page, you’ll find instructions onhow to use these exciting tools.

Another popular feature is the multi-media section, where videos, podcasts,back issues of USW@Work and otherinformation are showcased.

SW members can now receive updatesanytime, anyplace with a new programthat sends notifications directly to cell

phones.The Mobile Activist Corps, also known as

MAC, will send text message alerts no more thantwice a month to participating members, inform-ing them of news and events that are related to

local and state politicians. A text message could, for example,

alert members about a political campaignevent if it is close to his or her area.

The program, first announced at the USW2008 Convention, has a survey feature thatallows the USW political team to better under-stand members’ concerns. These survey/pollingfeatures can be used at district meetings andother events.

Faster than e-mail and telephone, the textmessaging program is available for all areas ofthe United States and Canada. To gain access tothe latest USW news via cell phone, text yourstate abbreviation and name (example NY JoeSmith) to 412-427-8430.

UU

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Delegates during an open-mike session atthe 2008 Constitutional Convention.Photo by Steve Dietz

Photos by Scott Weaver


oeing has received a secondchance to win a controversial $35billion military contract to build

the next generation of aerial refuelingtankers that had been awarded inFebruary to a consortium led by theEuropean parent of Airbus.

The earlier decision to award the con-tract to the European AeronauticDefence and Space Co. (EADS) andNorthrop Grumman led to widespreadcalls for congressional action on behalfof many American workers whose jobsat Boeing were put in jeopardy.

In July, Defense Secretary Robert M.Gates said the contract bidding would bereopened, giving Boeing and its U.S.work force a chance to wrest back thebusiness from the EADS-led group.

Hanging in the balance are 44,000American jobs that could be outsourcedif the work goes to the EADS consor-tium. The contract is the largest ever tobe awarded by the Air Force and couldgrow to $100 billion over time.

McCain a central playerOne of the central players in the

tanker contract is Senator John McCain,the presumptive Republican presidentialnominee. Several years ago McCainstopped the contract from being grantedto Boeing after the terms of a tankerlease arrangement between the Air Forceand Boeing were publicized.

Under pressure from McCain, the AirForce made changes to the originalrequest for proposal that allowed EADSto use billions in anti-competitive subsi-dies from the European Union to financethe development of their tanker aircraft.

The U.S. Trade Representative hasfiled the largest lawsuit ever before theWorld Trade Organization, claiming thesubsidies violate international trade laws.

“Why the Air Force changed its own

contracting rules to give this illegallysubsidized foreign company unfairadvantages, handing it a plum U.S.defense contract funded by Americantaxpayers, and outsourcing 44,000 goodmanufacturing jobs in the process, isbeyond any American’s comprehen-sion,’’ said Paul Shearon, secretary trea-surer of the International Federation ofProfessional & Technical Engineers(IFPTE).

The IFPTE, which is engaged in apolitical alliance with the USW, theUnited Auto Workers and the Com-munications Workers of America, repre-sents more than 20,000 Boeing workers.

McCain, a proponent of free tradeagreements, was seen by many as favor-ing a European company over anAmerican firm. That impression was bol-stered by the fact that several of his topcampaign advisers had worked as lobby-ists for Airbus.

In letters to Undersecretary ofDefense Gordon England and Secretaryof Defense Gates, McCain also pushedfor modifications and exemptions to thecontract that allowed EADS to bypassrestrictions that prevent domestic compa-nies including Boeing from selling mili-tary technologies like missile defensesystems to enemy states such as Iran.

We need every job“Especially now, with the economy in

a slowdown, we need every good job wecan get, and these are very good jobs,’’said Robert Scott, an economist with theEconomic Policy Institute, a Washingtonthink tank.

Scott analyzed the employmentimpact of the two proposals and con-cluded that awarding the contract toBoeing would generate at least twice asmuch job growth in the United States asthe EADS proposal.

“The economic impact of this con-tract on employment and job growthshould be a major consideration in theU.S., as it would be for any country con-templating a contract of this magnitude,”Scott said.

Boeing, a U.S. company that hassupplied the Air Force with refuelingtankers for nearly 50 years, filed a for-mal protest with the GovernmentAccountability Office (GAO). The GAOfound that the Air Force’s decision-making process was flawed and said thetanker contract should be reopened.

Air Force rebukedGates’ announcement was a rebuke of

the Air Force. He said a special commit-tee operating out of his office and head-ed by the Pentagon AcquisitionsUndersecretary John J. Young Jr., wouldmake the final contract selection, not theAir Force.

“I’ve concluded that the contract can-not be awarded at present,’’ said Gates,who cited “significant issues” outlined inthe GAO study.

In its first phase alone, the contractwould provide for 179 aerial refuelingtankers to replace the Air Force’s agingfleet. The fleet, which includes someEisenhower-era planes, is currentlystrained by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Buy America” sentiment fueled out-rage in Congress at the initial selectionof Airbus. But that was tempered by afierce political battle on behalf of theEuropean supplier by delegations fromAlabama and Mississippi, where EADSpromised to do final assembly on planesthat would mostly be built in Europe.

The Pentagon will not reopen theentire contracting process, but will focuson eight problem areas cited in theG.A.O. report. Gates said the final deci-sion might be made by December.

BB

he United Steelworkers PressAssociation closed its 22nd BiennialConference with an awards presenta-

tion honoring the best work of local unionnewsletter editors, webmasters and com-municators.

Highlights were presentations of awardshonoring Raymond W. Pasnick, the formerUSW public relations director who con-vened the first USPA conference, andMichael R. Enos, the union’s first Webdesigner.

The Pasnick award is presented for edi-torial excellence in three circulation cate-gories.

The Steeldrum, published by Local1998 in District 6, won the Pasnick awardfor publications with circulation over2,000. The Warren Steelworker, publishedby Local 1375 in District 1, won for the1,000 to 2,000 circulation category. ThePasnick award for circulations less than1,000 went to 3657 Borders to Borders,published by Local 3657 in District 10.

Local 3657 also won the Michael EnosAward for its Web site,www.uswlocal3657.org. The award recog-nizes outstanding achievement in localunion Web site design.

Visit www. uspainfonet.org for moreinformation on other awards and theUnited Steelworkers Press Association.

Pasholk Wins McCartney AwardThe USPA presented the 2008 Howard

J. McCartney Award to Shirley Pasholk ofLocal 979 in Cleveland, Ohio, for herwork in encouraging and inspiring mem-bers and activists.

Pasholk, a Steelworker for 32 years, is atireless and dedicated local union leaderand an important voice in District 1. She isthe local union recording secretary, chair-person of the local’s Women of Steel com-mittee and editor of the local’s member-ship publication, “She’s 100 percent unionand 100 percent committed to our mem-bers and their families,’’ said Dan Boone,the local’s vice president.

Howard McCartney, one of the firstjournalists employed by the Steel WorkersOrganizing Committee (SWOC), played akey role in the advancement of labor jour-nalism and in helping develop local unionpublications.

Tenpenny Re-electedDelegates to the USPA Conference re-

elected Van Tenpenny from Local 1155Lin District 9 to a second term as the associ-ation’s president. The three-day conferenceis held every two years to provide trainingto USPA and USW members who wish toenhance their communication skills.

Guest speakers at this year’s conferenceincluded Robert Borosage, president of theInstitute for Americas Future; CelindaLake, president of Lake Research Partners;Michael Byrne, senior advisor for TricomAssociates and Charles Kernaghan, execu-tive director of the National LaborCommittee.

“This year the delegates presented uswith a mandate to improve services forlocal union communicators,” Tenpennysaid. “The goals they have set may betough to meet but we’re confident thisexecutive board will be able to provide it.”

Tenpenny and the six elected communi-cation coordinators will work to providetools and training to the 800 editors, web-masters and communicators.

Tenpenny

Pasholk

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2008 USPA Executive Board (l-r) Jason Miller,Ucinda Sims, PC Choo, Andrew Harkulich, JimColeman, Van Tenpenny, Tim Sweeney, Jeff Fuhrer


ince George W. Bush is a Ronald Reagan devotee, itseems fair to ask the question “The Gipper” did duringthe 1980 presidential election: Are you better off today

than you were four years ago? How about eight years ago, when George W. Bush took

over? Remember those halcyon days, when Democrat BillClinton was leaving office, giving Bush a budget surplus toplay with, unemployment at a record low, job creation at recordhigh, the Dow Jones Industrial Average booming?

In Bush’s two terms, he has converted that surplus into arecord deficit. His administration destroyed jobs instead of

creating them. Inflation and unemploy-ment are rising. Consumer confidenceand the stock market are falling.

In step with BushThe president and the policies that

put us in this economic pre-cession –since the experts refuse to call it arecession – have been supported 100percent this year by Republican pre-sumptive nominee Sen. JohnMcCain. Last year, according to aCongressional Quarterly votingstudy, this candidate who wants toframe himself as a “maverick”voted in lock step with the president95 percent of the time.

McCain, without a doubt, servedthis country valiantly 40 years agoas a Navy pilot in Vietnam. Buthe’s the first to admit he’s noexpert on the economy. This is theway he put it last December: “Theissue of economics is somethingthat I’ve really never understoodas well as I should.”

The question every workingAmerican must ask then is this:Can we afford John McCain aspresident for the next four years?

The economic legacy Bushwill leave will be daunting. Thenews this summer providedsome disquieting examples.Frightened depositors lined upfor days in July aroundIndyMac Bankcorp in

Pasadena, Calif., trying to withdrawtheir savings after the second largest bank failure in U.S. histo-ry. Bush’s Treasury secretary and Federal Reserve chairmanscrambled over a weekend to recommend to Congress a $25billion rescue package for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, insti-tutions that own or guarantee nearly half of the nation’s $12trillion in outstanding mortgages.

Home evictions soar On a more personal level, tens of thousands of families con-

tinued to face foreclosure or eviction because of the subprimemortgage crisis. Only in July did the Federal Reserve adoptregulations to bar abusive and deceptive mortgage lendingpractices.

Inflation, fueled by gas prices that have jumped 35 percentin the past year, rose 1.1 percent in June, a rate seen by someexperts as threatening the stability of the U.S. economy. TheLabor Department’s Consumer Price Index, the government’sprimary inflation yardstick, has risen five percent, the largestannual increase since May 1991.

Inflation, of course, bites into wages, which for the bottom80 percent of the blue collar work force grew at only 3.4 per-cent since January of 2006.

Bush’s solution for difficult economic times was to sustainhis tax breaks for the rich. McCain, who initially opposedthose breaks, changed his mind, supported them, and nowwants to make permanent cuts in taxes for the richestAmericans while millions of other Americans face foreclosure,unemployment and lack of health insurance.

In addition, McCain wants to cut corporate taxes. Thosethat would benefit include oil companies making windfallprofits on historic gas prices and the banks that the FederalReserve says engaged in “deceptive mortgage lending prac-tices.”

For regular Americans, McCain has something significantlyless valuable in mind: a holiday from federal gas taxes fromMemorial Day to Labor Day. For the average driver it adds upto $30.

For years, McCain has depended on former Senator PhilGramm of Texas for economic advice. Gramm, who left theSenate to become a vice president of the Swiss bank UBS,served as co-chairman of McCain’s presidential campaignuntil resigning in mid-July after a series of remarks about thetroubled economy being nothing but a “mental recession.”

McCain tried to disavow these remarks. But he never saidthat he would throw out the economic plans Gramm outlinedfor his campaign. The multimillionaire banker was the princi-pal author of the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which brokedown the walls among banking, insurance and securities, leav-ing them largely unregulated and, many believe, setting thestage for the subprime mortgage crisis, among other bankingfiascos.

Stimulate the economyBy contrast, Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive

Democratic nominee, does not support the gas tax holiday,extension of the tax breaks for the rich or corporate tax breaks.Instead, his proposals for stimulating the economy include a$50 billion package with $30 billion in tax rebates for the mid-dle class and the poor, $10 billion to help families stave off theloss of their homes to foreclosure and $10 billion in aid tostates. The state money could finance infrastructure projectsthat would create new jobs, and thus further stimulate theeconomy.

Sen. McCain does not support this plan. And that’s interest-ing because another of McCain’s economic advisers, MarkZandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com., deter-mined it is fiscally sound. Earlier this year, Zandi wrote apaper that concluded that increasing infrastructure spending –like the $10 billion Obama is proposing for the states – wouldgenerate roughly four times as much economic growth asMcCain’s proposals – cutting corporate taxes or institutingthose tax cuts for the rich.

“Everyone agrees that we need jobs, and everyone alsoagrees that infrastructure is one of our most pressing needs,”Zandi told The New York Times in July. “If we can combinestimulus with infrastructure, I think that’s great.” And that’sMcCain’s fiscal advisor talking. Too bad the Republican is notlistening.

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The issue of economicsis something that I’vereally never understoodas well as I should.

“John McCain”

teelmaking is hazardous no matterwhere it is done. Yet safety equip-ment and standards for workers

who put their lives on the line vary wide-ly even within a single employer likeArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel-maker.

“The work is dangerous everywhere,’’said Al Long, the USW’s representativeon ArcelorMittal’s U.S. safety program.“The equipment is big and hot metal isexplosive. When something happens, it’snever nice, it’s never pretty.”

Long and fellow union activists TomHargrove and Sherman Crowder haveseen ArcelorMittal plants around theworld where workers do their jobs with-out the safety protections typically takenfor granted in the United States and someEuropean countries.

That should change with implementa-tion of an unprecedented internationalsafety agreement negotiated withArcelorMittal by the USW and two inter-national labor organizations – theInternational Metalworkers Federation(IMF) and the European MetalworkersFederation (EMF).

“It’s really about giving the workers onthe floor a voice in safety issues,” saidLong, who is also the contract coordinator

for Local 6787 in Burns Harbor, Ind.“Some places have never had any inputfrom the work force, the hourly people,and now that’s going to happen.”

Rank-and-file representationHargrove, Long and Crowder repre-

sented USW rank-and-file leadership innegotiating the agreement, which estab-lishes minimum safety standards and jointsafety committees at ArcelorMittal facili-ties worldwide.

“We are really proud to be part of this

because raising the standards around theworld will help ensure that our standardshere are kept,’’ said Hargrove, presidentof Local 1010 in South Chicago.

Crowder, contract coordinator forLocal 979 in Cleveland, Ohio, saw theneed for standards during visits to facili-ties in North America, South America,Europe and Africa.

In Mexico, Crowder said employeeshad trouble getting safety glasses, respira-tors and other basics. Coke plant contrac-tors wore short sleeve shirts and had evenless protective equipment than regularemployees.

“Romania was pretty bad, Macedoniatoo. Poland was decent,” said Crowder. “Icouldn’t believe the difficulty in getting

gloves and safety glasses. The companyclaims that they buy them but some ofthese countries are so crooked that theyget sold on the black market or stolenbefore they get to the employees.”

The need for the agreement was clear-ly articulated last year in Montreal duringthe first ArcelorMittal World Conference,hosted by the USW and the IMF atInternational President Leo W. Gerard’surging.

Complainers are firedUnion officers from dozens of loca-

tions discussed safety conditions at theirrespective plants including a representa-tive from Macedonia, who decried thelack of minimum standards around theworld. When workers in his Balkan coun-try complain, he said, they are fired.

In 2006, the most recent year forwhich data is available, there were 5,480fatal workplace injuries in the UnitedStates. Each year, 30 USW members onaverage die at work while trying to makea living. Last year’s preliminary countwas 42.

The reasons vary, but there’s no dis-pute that fewer workers are putting inmore hours and longer shifts in a relent-less push for higher productivity.

“The truth of the matter is as much aswe try, we still have problems,” Longadded. “Safety is an everyday thing, 24/7,and you can’t let up. Accidents happen ina split second.”

It took less than a year to complete thenegotiations and get approvals from theparticipating unions including IMF andEMF sections and chapters in Europe.

The next big task is setting up safetycommittees at both the local and interna-tional levels and making the agreementwork to the benefit of the company’semployees. A grievance procedure wasincluded to deal with problems.

Long gave credit to Gerard for beingthe catalyst behind the precedent-settingagreement and he acknowledged theinvolvement of company CEO LakshmiMittal.

“Mittal came into the meeting inMontreal, took the tough questions, saidhe was going to do this and held to it,”Long said. “I don’t know how manyCEOs around the world would do that. Sogive him credit, too.”


he USW and trade union federa-tions representing workers aroundthe globe have signed a unique

agreement with ArcelorMittal toimprove health and safety conditions atthe world’s largest steel company.

A first in the international steelindustry, the agreement recognizes thevital role trade unions play in improvingsafety and health conditions for workerson the job. “Signing this agreementshould act as a signal to other compa-nies in the industry that unions are thesolution to health and safety concerns,not the cause,’’ said InternationalPresident Leo W. Gerard.

“Health and safety is the single mostimportant issue for workers,” Gerardadded. “It is satisfying that we havedelivered this approach in the world’snumber one steel company.”

The agreement’s unprecedented pro-visions include the establishment of uni-versal minimum safety standards atevery site the company operates.ArcelorMittal employs 310,000 peoplein more than 60 countries around theworld.

Safety measures standardizedMany safety improvement measures

are standardized in the agreement,including the establishment of jointmanagement and union health and safe-ty committees at each individual plant.

A global joint management andunion health and safety committee willtarget plants in the group for dramaticimprovement. Training and educationprograms will be introduced to immedi-ately address current health and safetyissues in North America and elsewhere.

In addition to the 850,000-memberUSW, the agreement was signed by theEuropean Metalworkers’ Federation(EMF), an umbrella organization of 72unions with 6.5 million members, andthe International Metalworkers’Federation (IMF), a 25 million-memberfederation of more than 200 unions in100 countries worldwide.

“We look forward to turning this

agreement into a reality,’’ Peter Scherrer, the EMF’s general secre-tary, said. “Social dialogue and mutualrespect are the foundations to any suc-cessful initiative and this agreementcontains those principles.”

Signing ceremonies were held simul-taneously on June 3 at locations aroundthe world. Gerard signed the internation-al agreement in Washington D.C. withCEO Lakshmi N. Mittal sitting inLuxembourg, where ArcelorMittal isbased. Other signatories included EMFDeputy General Secretary Bart Samynand Rob Johnston, the IMF’s director ofSteel, Shipbuilding, Non-ferrous Metals,and Health and Safety.

The agreement signals labor’s com-mitment to make a meaningful impacton the health and safety standards atArcelorMittal, said MarcelloMalentacchi, the IMF’s general secre-tary.

“The success or failure of the agree-ment will depend on our continuingefforts to achieve our goal of everyworker, whatever their position in thecompany, returning home safely at theend of each day,” he said.

The agreement covering NorthAmerican operations was signed inPittsburgh by District 1 Director DavidMcCall, who leads the union’s bargain-ing with the company, and Dennis

Arouca, vice president of labor relationsfor ArcelorMittal USA.

Mittal, the owner and president ofArcelorMittal, said the agreement willbuild on work already underway withthe company’s union partners toimprove safety conditions.

“Health and safety is our number onepriority and in signing this agreementwe hope to set a new benchmark for theindustry,’’ Mittal said.

The agreement had its origins at a2007 global conference in Montreal,Canada, that was organized by Gerardand hosted jointly by the USW and theInternational Metalworkers’ Federation.

At that conference, participatingunions from the United States, Canadaand 21 other countries committed to ajoint program of education and trainingto raise health and safety standardsthroughout the company.

Created in 2006 through the mergerof Mittal Steel and Arcelor, the compa-ny reported revenues last year of $105.2billion. Its crude steel production totaled116 million tons, or about 10 percent ofthe world output.

“ArcelorMittal is one of the world’smost profitable steel companies,’’Gerard said, “but the true test of anygreat company is not only on the bal-ance sheet but the way it treats its workers.”


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International President Leo W. Gerard signs safety agreementwith Lakshmi N. Mittal, shown in monitor from Luxembourg.Page One Photo

(right to left sitting) Jerry Fernandez, Tom Hargrove, Al Long, David McCall of the USW, and Dennis Arouca of ArcelorMittal(right to left standing) Sherman Crowder and Jim Frederick of the USW; Jim Michaud and Bill Boehler of ArcelorMittal

trong. Courageous. Focused. Articulate.Passionate.

This is how Women of Steel membersdescribed the women of Cananea, Mexico who aresupporting their men – miners who have been onstrike for one year at a Grupo Mexico coppermine.

At press time, Grupo Mexico, the world’s third-largest copper producer, was in bankruptcy courttrying to regain control of the U.S. companyASARCO, where the USW represents workers inArizona and Texas.

Women of Steel representatives from Districts4, 6, 7 and 12 traveled across the border in May tosupport the strikers and meet the women who havetaken the lead in providing support to the strike.

The miners began their strike July 30, 2007over poor health and safety conditions, the survivalof their independent union and the reopening oftheir health clinic.

Strong and outspokenOnce in Cananea, the Women of Steel sat down

with the Mexican women and miners to discussthe challenges confronting them and their families.


orkers and state politicians incopper mining regions areurging a federal bankruptcy

court to reject efforts by Grupo Mexico toreacquire the U.S. company ASARCO.

“We don’t want Grupo back,’’ saidCelestino Flores, who has worked atASARCO’s Ray mine near Kearny,Ariz., for some 30 years. “It’s not goodfor the company. It’s not good for theworkers, and it’s not good for Arizona.”

Workers demonstrated at four of the

copper producer’s locations in Arizona inJuly in response to visits by representa-tives of Grupo Mexico.

For the six years that Grupo Mexicocontrolled ASARCO beginning in 1999through 2005, labor relations weremarked by almost constant strife.

Grupo Mexico, pushed aside duringthe bankruptcy process, is seeking toregain control of ASARCO by submitting to the bankruptcy court itsown plan to reorganize the business.

The USW and many local politiciansare, however, supporting an alternativeacquisition bid by Sterlite Industries, oneof India’s largest mining companies anda subsidiary of Vedanta Resources PLC.

The AFL-CIO urged the JusticeDepartment and attorneys general from22 states to select the Vedanta Resourcesbid over Grupo Mexico. “There are twocompeting business plans to bring coppercompany ASARCO out of bankruptcy,but only one of them serves the interestof the company’s many employees andtheir families,’’ said AFL-CIO PresidentJohn Sweeney.

Headquartered in London, VedantaResources is a diversified and integratedmetals and mining group with its princi-pal operations located in India.

Sterlite and the USW have agreed ona three-year contract extension should thecompany succeed in its $2.6 billion bidfor the bankrupt copper producer.

A July ruling by the bankruptcy courtallows Sterlite and Grupo Mexico tocompete against one another to resolve

“As I sat there and listened to themany stories and struggles these womenhave gone through to support their lovedones and the cause they strongly believein, I realized that we were talking tovery strong women,” said District 12Women of Steel Coordinator RosieGonzalez.

When Martha Villeda, an El Salvadornative and Local 8694 member inCanada’s District 6, asked what couldthey do to help, a woman stood up andsaid, “All we really want is for you totell the world what is happening inCananea, what they’re doing to us. Tellthem we need our jobs back. These peo-ple are killing us slowly.”

Intimidation tacticsThe visitors were told that miners’

children are being discriminated againstin their school because they are chargedmore for school supplies than theirpeers. The town water supply is alsomanipulated.

“They have gone as much as 12 dayswithout running water and are forced tocollect water sometimes as early as 4:30a.m. Then the water is cut off,” saidLocal 1010 member Rosa MariaRodriguez.

Grupo Mexico closed the Ronquillohospital in Cananea on May 10, leavingthe miners, retirees and their familieswithout health care. In 1999, the com-pany stopped funding a clinic that theworkers built even though their contractrequired the company to pay its costs.

The Cananean women have alsoreceived verbal threats.

“There was talk of the ‘policia’ com-ing into homes to intimidate and threatenthem while helicopters shined theirlights into their windows,” Rodriguezsaid.

Frente Femenil CananenseThe Cananea women organized

Frente Femenil Cananense, the CananeaWomen’s Front, in response to violenceperpetrated by 1,000 police and soldiersagainst the miners and their familieswhile picketing in January. Police andsoldiers used tear gas and pellet guns tobreak up a worker blockade of theCananea mine.

In the seven months since, the women

have contacted each miner’s spouse toexplain the importance of not pressuringtheir partner to return to work. Theirmany other actions included distributinginformational flyers to the entire town,shutting down the schools with teachersupport and taking their message to localradio stations, neighboring communitiesand even to the United States.

Future activitiesThe Women of Steel committed to

getting the word out about the miners’struggle. At the convention, memberssold T-shirts and buttons to raise fundsand asked delegates to sign a petition ofsupport for the miners.

“Coming back just left me with adeep feeling of responsibility towardthese people that motivates me to contin-ue bringing this message to our localunion meetings, Internet friends and bywriting letters,” said Local 1210 memberMaria Moreno.

Added Gonzalez: “Even though thereis so much distance between both coun-tries and unions, we must do best whatunions do and that is to support ourbrothers and sisters in the struggles weall fight for every day.”

the bankruptcy that began in 2005when ASARCO was sued overenvironmental cleanup and asbestosclaims.

When ASARCO was controlled byGrupo Mexico, the company unilaterallycut health care benefits for hundreds ofretirees, imposing changes which causedsubstantial hardship for many hard-working people who had given the com-pany long and loyal service.

ASARCO also halted disability bene-fits for over 100 current and formeremployees, threatening their eligibility forcontinued health care benefits.

In addition, Grupo Mexico strippedASARCO of its most valuable assets inorder to favor other Grupo Mexico minesin other countries and starved ASARCOof the cash needed to maintain equipmentlike haul trucks that were essential to con-tinued operations.

The USW-represented copper minershad no choice but to strike the company in2005. They returned to work after the courtremoved Grupo Mexico from control.

Arizona State Rep. PeteRios was among a group oflocal legislators who com-plained that Grupo Mexciofailed to pay its taxes when itoperated ASARCO.

“I clearly know Grupo Mexico,” Riostold reporters. “I don’t want them back inthe community. I would rather take mychances with an unknown commodity.

Now that Grupo Mexico is seeking toregain control of ASARCO, the USW hasreleased a report and created a web pageto educate the public about Grupo Mexicoand the potential impact on workers andtheir communities in the United Stateswere Grupo Mexico to succeed.

For more information visit:www.therecordspeaksforitself.com

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Women of Steel meet the women of Cananea, Mexico

ix U.S. pipe makers and the USWcommended the U.S. InternationalTrade Commission (ITC) for its

affirmative June 20 decision againstunfair imports of circular welded steelpipe from China.

International President Leo W.Gerard called the final order againstgovernment subsidized standard pipeimports from China “a tremendous vic-tory.”

It was the first time a countervailingduty (CVD), or anti-subsidy tariff hasbeen imposed on a steel product fromChina following a 2006 change in U.S.government policy allowing such inves-tigations.

“More than 20 percent of the USWwork force producing standard pipe has

been permanently eliminated, whileChina pipe imports have skyrocketedfrom 10,000 tons in 2002 to more than750,000 tons,” Gerard said.

In the ITC order imposing an anti-dumping duty on Chinese exports of cir-cular welded steel pipe, tariffs will rangefrom 69.20 to 85.55 percent. The orderwill also impose anti-subsidy dutiesranging from 29.57 to 615.92 percent,meaning most China pipe imports willno longer be able to illegally under-cutdomestic products with unfair pricing.

The trade case was filed June 7, 2007by the USW and a coalition of six pipecompanies: Allied Tube & Conduit,IPSCO Tubulars Inc., Northwest PipeCo., Sharon Tube Co., Western Tube &Conduit Corp. and Wheatland Tube Co.

Standard pipe or circular welded steelpipe is used in plumbing applications,HVAC systems, sprinkler systems, fenc-ing and construction.

The union’s trade counsel, Roger B.Schagrin, said the welded steel pipe caseis the first of four cases involving steelpipe and tube.

“The evidence demonstrates howChina has become the largest pipe andtube exporter to the U.S. at a volume ofnearly 3 million tons in 2007 throughgovernment subsidies,” Schagrin said.

Bill Alston, Sr., unit chair at USWLocal 9777 representing about 400workers at Allied Tube & Conduit inHarvey, Ill., spoke plainly about theaffirmative pipe import order:

“Now maybe we can get our laid offU S W @ W o r k • l a b o r d a y 2 0 0 8 27

WWoorrrriieess AAbboouutt GGlloobbaalliizzaattiioonn JJuussttiiffiieeddoters are increasingly anxious about globalization and itseffect on their jobs and neighborhoods. Yet economists,

policy makers and pundits frequently dismiss those concernsas misguided and argue that all trade is good for the economy.

Who is right? Is it the man on the street or the economistsand talking heads who believe globalization is good for thevast majority of American workers?

L. Josh Bivens, an economist and international tradeexpert with the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), comesdown on the side of the average man in this debate. In arecent briefing paper, he considered whether the generalpublic’s worries about globalization are justified and con-cluded that they are.

There are two issues that should worry American workersabout globalization: job losses stemming from trade deficitsand downward pressure on wages for tens of millions ofAmerican workers.

“American workers are perfectly rational to worry aboutwhat globalization means for their living standards, andactually have a much better grasp of the underlying econom-ics than the elite policy-making class who routinely tell themotherwise,’’ Bivens said.

Taken simply, trade can create new jobs in exportingindustries and it destroys jobs when imports in the market-place replace products made by domestic firms.

But because trade deficits have risen over the pastdecade, more jobs have been displaced by imports than havebeen created by exports. U.S. manufacturing industries haveshed 3.5 million jobs, or one in five, in the nearly eight yearssince the Bush administration has been in power.


TradeWatchTradeWatch

pipe workers recalled so we can deliverpipe at fair prices at the cost of produc-tion. Future customers will no longer beable to buy pipe imports illegally subsi-dized by the Chinese communist govern-ment.”

The USW is aggressively supportingother trade cases filed against China forunfairly traded imports including off-the-road (OTR) tires, thermal paper, weldedstainless steel pipe and circular weldedcarbon steel line pipe. All of those casesimpact union jobs.

Executive Vice President Ron Hoover,who leads the Rubber/Plastic IndustryConference, testified before the ITC onJuly 8. He was joined by 24 USW mem-bers from off-the-road (OTR) productionfacilities.

“Imports of dumped and subsidizedOTR tires from China have increasedrapidly over recent years, and haveentered at prices far below U.S. producers’ OTR prices,” Hoover said.

Even though the markets haveseen strong demand, Hoover said,“Our members have not been ableto reap the benefits of that strongdemand, such as an increase inemployment.”

The USW represents about 3,800workers employed at eight OTR tirelocations of Titan Tire, Bridgestone-Firestone, Goodyear Tire and DenmanTires.

The ITC is expected to make a deci-sion on the OTR case by Aug. 15.

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SW members and community activists demonstratedoutside the Occidental Petroleum headquarters in Los

Angeles on July 22 to support a people's tribunal inBogota, Colombia, that is reviewing evidence of murdersand death threats against union activists.

The Permanent Peoples Tribunal is exposing transna-tional corporations like Occidental, British Petroleum,Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Chiquita Brands International fortheir alleged participation with the Colombian securityforces and right-wing paramilitary groups in silencing andsometimes killing trade unionists and community activists.

Protests were also held at the corporate headquarters ofCoca-Cola in Atlanta and Chiquita Brands in Cincinnati.

In Los Angeles, demonstrators held picket signs and chant-ed slogans including “Enough Violence.” They collected sig-natures for a petition to Congress and delivered a letter to Dr.Ray R. Irani, chairman, president and CEO of OccidentalPetroleum.

In the letter, the USW expressed concern over Occidental’salleged complicity in human rights abuses in Colombia.

The union expressed concern about Occidental’s reportedfinancial and logistical support for the Colombian 18th ArmyBrigade, which has committed numerous human rights abusesincluding the August 2004 murder of three union leaders.

Over 2,300 trade unionists have been murdered inColombia since 1991. The lack of prosecution of those respon-sible is one reason why Democratic congressional leaders haveheld up a vote on the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

FFrreeee TTrraaddee EExxppoosseedd iinn SSttrreeeett TThheeaatteerr o visually illustrate the dangers of unrestrained trade, theUSW’s gigantic “Toxic Trader” puppet has appeared this year

in Pittsburgh, Portland, Ore., Washington, D.C. and Fort Wayne,Ind.

The oversized puppet appears in a street theater performancedesigned to bring attention to how so-called free trade agree-ments have destroyed jobs and poisoned American families andthe environment.

In Washington, D.C., it appeared at the Bush administration-backed Import Safety Summit where corporate lobbyists, CEOsand Bush administration officials met to discuss eliminating tradebarriers and implementing voluntary standards for safety insteadof instituting governmentinspections for consumer pro-tection against unsafe imports.

On that same day, theUSW released the report,“The Toxic Truth: UnfairTrade Kills,” showing exactlyhow toxic trade kills andinjures American consumers,workers, communities, securi-ty and the environment.

The “Toxic Trader” pup-pet, created by artist Tavia LaFolette, also has protested atthe offices of free tradersU.S. Rep. Mark Souder inFort Wayne and U.S. Sen.Gordon Smith in Portland,Ore.

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Demonstrators protest outside OccidentalPetroleum headquarters in Los Angeles.Photo by Maria Somma

U.S. made pipe at Wheatland Tube.Photo by Sharon Herald/ Michael Roknick


“Battle in Seattle,” a dramatized account ofthe 1999 protests that paralyzed the WorldTrade Organization and rocked the world, is amovie major Hollywood studios didn’t wantto make.

Starring Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, Ray Liotta,Michele Rodriguez, Martin Henderson, Andre Benjamin andChanning Tatum, the film is a rare celebration of how ordi-nary people, union members and activists can trounce theworld’s largest corporations.

“The film is riveting – worth seeing just for entertainmentpurposes. But it is more than a great movie,’’ saidInternational President Leo W. Gerard.

Making a differenceBased on the historic events of nearly a decade ago, the

full-length drama tells the story of a group of fictional charac-ters over the five days of protests conducted against the WTOas it tried to hold its first ministerial conference ever onUnited States soil.

Both entertaining and informative, the movie reminds usthat when working people unite, we can successfully stand upagainst greedy corporate interests and change our world.

Stuart Townsend, an actor and first-time director, blendedfiction with actual film footage from 1999, when a deluge ofpeople converged on Seattle including union activists, stu-dents, environmentalists and consumer advocates.

“The film transports you right back to those historic days:our signs, our chants and the power of so many people com-ing together from across the nation and around the world,”Gerard added.

“And then there is our victory; we shut down that WTOexpansion. The WTO still has not recovered from the damagewe inflicted.”

Protestors filled streetsOver the period of a week, as many as 75,000 people turned

out on the streets of Seattle to protest the WTO meeting, theresult of months of planning and organization.

The USW contingent, swelled by 1,100 Rapid Responseactivists and led by former International President GeorgeBecker and Gerard, was a formidable presence on the streets.

“I was never more proud of our union than I was at Seattle,’’said Rapid Response Director Tim Waters. “The streets ofSeattle really hurt the WTO. It was like lifting the rock up.”

On the morning of Nov. 30, demonstrators did what few hadthought possible. They shut down the WTO proceedings withcivil disobedience.

Several thousand union members continued to demonstratefor days, marching along side environmentalists and others forthe right to protest in the face of police assaults. Many unionmembers were tear-gassed and some were among the 500-plusprotestors who were arrested and jailed for taking part in peace-ful demonstrations.

The demonstrations had a profound impact on public opinionand awareness of the WTO, a forum for governments around theworld to negotiate and settle trade agreements and disputes.

Like many of us, Townsend watched the events in Seattleunfold across the globe from his home in Ireland. It sparked hisinterest in the anti-globalization movement and started himthinking about Seattle as a subject for a film.

Townsend said one reason he wanted to make the movie wasbecause he felt the “anti-globalization movement… had theirhand on the pulse of what was going wrong in this world.

“And what they were against was the corporatization of theworld, and I could see that happening,” he said. “And when Istarted to bring to light these institutions like the WTO, the IMF(International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank, I started …to realize they were really behind a lot of the misery that existson this planet.”

Six years in the making, the movie got rave reviews at ascreening in Toronto, but there were no distribution offers frommajor film companies. Ultimately, Townsend decided to distrib-ute the film independently.

“None of the corporations wanted to buy. It’s a movie withstars. It’s a movie they normally would buy in a heart beat,’’Townsend said in a telephone interview. “Not to get too conspir-atorial, but it hasn’t been an easy ride making a movie like this.I’d have been better off making a comedy.”

“Battle in Seattle” will be released in select cities nationwidebeginning Sept. 19. For ticket and group sales information call(866) 758-1258, e-mail: [email protected] orvisit www.battleinseattlemovie.com.

How the movie fares in its first two weeks of limited distribu-tion will determine whether or not the film – and our story –goes to full national distribution.

“That is where we can help,” said Gerard, who did a post-production interview with Townsend for the publicity effort.“Just like we organized turnout at the Seattle protests –telling our friends, posting information in our unionhalls, sending out e-mails and flyers – we can createanother Seattle surprise!”

“Battle in Seattle” will be released in selectcities nationwide beginning Sept. 19. For

tickets and group sales information call (866) 758-1258,

e-mail: [email protected] visit www.battleinseattlemovie.com.

Connie Nielsen

Andre Benjamin and Michele Rodriquez

Charlize Theron

AP Photo


OOvveerrrriiddiinngg BBuusshh vveettooeessFinally, this past spring, after eight

long years of submission, Congressreasserted its rightful role in the govern-ment process based on checks-and-bal-ances. Twice, within two months,Congress overrode George W. Bushvetoes. And a third time it passed a billwith a veto-proof margin.

In May, Congress overrode Bushwithin hours after he vetoed the FarmBill. Bush contended the bill violated hisduty to be a steward of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars. This from a presidentwho sent billions in no-bid contracts inIraq to the former corporation of his vicepresident, which then turned around andcheated the American people – accord-ing to the U.S. Government Account-ability Office.

Like Bush, the presumptiveRepublican nominee for President, JohnMcCain, also objected to the Farm Bill,calling it wasteful.

The vast majority in Congress dis-agreed, however, including lots ofRepublicans. “The principal purpose ofagriculture policy in the United States isto guarantee we’re not as dependent onother countries for our food as we are forour fuel,” said House RepublicanConference Chairman Adam H. Putnamof Florida.

Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptiveDemocratic nominee, supported the bill,which in addition to farm subsidies pro-vides billions of dollars for anti-hunger,conservation, biofuels, food stamps andschool nutrition programs.

MMeeddiiccaarree vveettoo fflliippppeeddThe second override came two

months later in July when Congress easi-ly flipped Bush’s veto of a Medicarebill. Again, Republicans broke and ranfrom the White House. A total of 153House and 21 Senate Repubicans votedfor the bill that shifts costs from doctorsto insurers.

The bill was designed to deal with a10.6 percent reduction in Medicare doc-tors’ fees that were originally to take

effect July 1. Congress decided to reducethe reimbursement to insurance compa-nies that serve Medicare beneficiariesunder its managed-care program instead.That will cost the insurers $14 billionover five years and postpone the pay cutfor the doctors by 18 months.

Bush opposed the switch, calling itfiscally irresponsible. He also said hevetoed it because “taking choices awayfrom seniors to pay physicians iswrong.”

Democrats said, however, that mov-ing the costs to insurers would preventdoctors from fleeing the traditional treat-ment practices that are used by morethan 80 percent of Medicare patients,who are mostly elderly. House SpeakerNancy Pelosi said Bush was standingwith big-business insurers, not with thenation’s elderly, when he vetoed the bill.

RReeppuubblliiccaannss sswwiittcchh ssiiddeessSen. Edward M. Kennedy, the

Massachusetts Democrat, recuperatingfrom surgery to remove a cancerousbrain tumor, left Boston after a morningtreatment of chemotherapy and radia-tion, to be present. Once his vote assuredthat there would be the crucial 60 essen-tial for passage, nine Republicansswitched sides and joined the majority tooverride Bush.

Sen. Obama accompanied Kennedyonto the Senate floor and voted with himfor the Medicare measure.

The only senator to miss the vote thatday was McCain, who, like Bush, hadexpressed opposition to the bill.

In between those two overrides,Congress passed a veto-proof bill inJune extending unemployment benefits13 weeks and providing new higher edu-cation benefits for veterans. These twobenefits were attached to the bill contin-uing funding for the wars in Iraq andAfghanistan. Bush had demanded a warfunding bill with no attachments.Instead, Congress used this year’s bill tosecure other measures it wanted, namely,the veterans and unemployment benefits.

MMccCCaaiinn ddiiddnn’’tt sshhoowwSo many Republicans voted with the

Democrats that there was no point inBush vetoing the measure. What’s inter-esting, however, is that again a keyRepublican, John McCain, didn’t botherto show up for the vote. Though he isrunning his campaign on his support forthe war in Iraq, he failed to vote for thefunding necessary to sustain it.

By contrast, Obama, who has said hewill pull out the troops as soon as it ispractical and safe and focus instead onAfghanistan, where the Taliban is resur-gent and more troops have died in recentmonths, voted in favor of the bill.

If those three votes – Medicare, warfunding, and the Farm Bill – are anyindication, the Democrats in Congresshave finally realized they are in themajority.

That being the case, let’s hope theytake some action on the TradeEnforcement Act of 2008, which is areasonable first step forward on importregulation. This legislation would applythe anti-subsidy law to Chinese importsimproperly subsidized by the govern-ment. It would require the U.S. presidentto provide relief from surging Chineseimports under a special safeguard provi-sion. And it would give Congress powerto reverse decisions by the White Housethat China is not a non-market economy.

Clearly more needs to be done, butthis bill would be a first step in protect-ing American families against unsafeimports and American workers againstunfair global trade practices.

CAPITOL LETTERSCAPITOL LETTERSThe inside scoop on what's going down in D.C.

ometimes a small fish can lead to a big surprise.A couple of trout caught separately by USW members Terry

Davidek and Pat Kowalski on Pennsylvania’s Clarion Riverwere too small to keep but were winners nonetheless.

Both Steelworkers had hooked tagged trout released by a fishhatchery located in a very unlikely place– the middle of a USW-representedpaper mill.

The award-winning hatchery, locatedin a Domtar paper mill in Johnsonburg,Pa., has the distinction of being the state’s only fish hatcherylocated on an industrial site.

It was created in 1992 by volunteers from the plant¸ many ofwhom belong to USW Local 10-701. Formerly part of theUnited Paperworkers International Union (UPIU), the localbecame USW in the 2005 merger with PACE.

There is plenty of work for the volunteer members of theDomtar Fish and Game Club. Local President Joe Calla said heappreciates all that they do.

Fish feeders are checked regularly by six or seven USWmembers and retirees. Others tasks include monitoring andmaintaining water conditions, cleaning the raceway and stock-ing fish during season.

“Without the hard work of our volunteers, we wouldn’t havethis fish hatchery,” Calla said.

The hatchery’s stocking coordinator, Paul Klink, leads agroup of volunteers on tri-weekly stocking trips to designatedstreams and creeks. Klink is a past steward, trustee and mem-ber of the local’s grievance and bargaining committee.

An avid fisherman of 50 years, Klink said he really enjoysbeing involved in the hatchery’s contributions to the communi-ty, particularly an annual children’s fishing derby.

“The smiles on the faces of the kids and their parents aresomething to see,’’ he said.

In addition to the derby and tagged trout prize program, thehatchery also hosts tours for schools and organizations such asthe Special Olympics, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the BoyScouts and Girl Scouts.

Community appreciatesThe community is appreciative of the volunteers’ efforts.

Klink said people stop him on the streets of Johnsonburg, arural community, to ask him how the fish are doing.

“People want to thank us for our work with the hatchery,” hesaid. “We’ve even had a couple of dinner offers.”

The tagged trout program lasts 11 months every year.Davidek caught his fish in Belltown, about 32 miles from thestocking point three weeks after release. Kowalski’s fish trav-eled ten miles in a week before he caught it from his brother’spontoon boat at a secret fishing spot he declined to reveal.

Both fish were too small to keep. But program winners

receive gift cards and free Domtar Fish and Game club hats. “Ithappened to be a better catch than I thought,” Kowalski said.

Once construction was completed, the state Fish Commissiondelivered the first batch of 7,000 fingerlings to the hatchery.Since the operation began, the hatchery has stocked 180,000trout and today handles about 12,000 fingerlings a year.

The dedication of volunteer club members to environmentalresponsibility and their contribution to outdoor recreation hasnot gone unnoticed.

In 2004, the American Forest and Paper Association(AFPA), a national trade association for forest and paper prod-ucts industries, presented the hatchery with its forestry manage-ment award. The award promotes the coexistence of sound busi-ness management and environmental responsibility.

Despite the awards and recognition from the community, themain focus of the fish and game club members is the fish,which grow from three-inch fingerlings to 11-inch trout.

“Although we have automatic feeders now, I still like tohand feed the fish and see them come up to eat,” Klink, thestocking coordinator, said.

Rick Zelehoski, then a maintenance mechanic for Domtar’sNorwood Water Filter Building and a former USW safety com-mittee chairperson, claims the idea for the hatchery.

“The building was no longer in use, but still required mainte-nance, so I thought, ‘Why not?’ ” Zelehoski said, adding thatthe project has been an extraordinary experience.

“Seeing the fish that were small before going into the wateras adult trout, and knowing that a small child might have the joyof catching it is the most rewarding experience of this pro-gram,” he said.

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Terry Davidek, left, and Pat Kowalski pose with bigger fish than theones they caught from the Domtar hatchery.

The award-winning hatchery, located in aDomtar paper mill in Johnsonburg, Pa.Photo by Steve Dietz


Shortly afterward, Murray began supporting Lewis, first asvice president of the UMWA in 1917, and then as president in1920. Lewis then supported Murray for vice president.

Dubofsky described the two as extremely close and depen-dent, with Lewis giving Murray control of the union whenLewis would go on vacation. Lewis would socialize withprominent people and depend on Murray to speak with andunderstand the rank and file.

In that way, they differed politically as well, with Lewisearly in his career supporting Republicans. Murray backedFranklin D. Roosevelt, and his effort to enter the war inEurope from the outset.

These political differences caused some friction between thetwo, as did their interaction over the Steel Worker OrganizingCommittee (SWOC).

Lewis, president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations(CIO), formed SWOC at a CIO convention in 1936 and placedMurray in charge.

Murray continued to serve as vice president of the UMWAwhile trying to organize the steel industry from a headquartersin Pittsburgh. His first victory was at U.S. Steel, but Dubofskysaid Lewis stole some of the luster by negotiating this contractinstead of allowing Murray to do it. Murray felt this was anaffront, Dubofsky said, and it contributed to a rift between thetwo men.

Rift growsThat dispute also grew over Murray’s support for involve-

ment in World War II and for FDR. Their differences wereclear when Lewis called for UMWA members to vote againstRoosevelt and said if he were re-elected in 1940, Lewis wouldresign as president of the CIO.

When FDR was re-elected, Lewis was true to his word. Herecommended Murray as his successor at the CIO, althoughthe two were far from buddies at that point. Murray was elect-ed president in 1940 and served until his death in 1952.

Both men suffered heart attacks in 1941 and met later thatyear in what was to be a summit to settle their differences,Dubofsky said. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. It ended, he said,with Lewis saying to Murray, “It was nice to have known you,Phil.”

After Murray succeeded in organizing “Little Steel,” thesmaller companies that included Republic, Bethlehem,Youngstown Sheet and Tube, National, and Inland, he called aconstitutional convention to form the United Steelworkers ofAmerica in 1942. He was elected the first president.

Murray on trialLewis responded be placing Murray on trial at the UMWA,

contending Murray could not serve both unions simultaneous-ly. The tribunal expelled Murray, something that pained himfor the remainder of his life because the UMWA was his firstunion and a union he loved, Dubofsky said.

Lewis had another rival William Green, a former secretaryto the UMWA, expelled, but later reinstated. Lewis never gavethat same grace to Murray.

Dubofsky said Murray was deeply injured by the passage ofthe Taft-Hartley Act during the Truman administration, thenby the election of Republican Dwight Eisenhower as president,despite union support for Henry Wallace of the ProgressiveParty. It was only months after the election that Murray died ofa heart attack.

Other union leaders, like Walter Reuther, president of theUnited Auto Workers, got much more press for their plans toaid wartime efforts than Murray’s no strike pledge did. Maybethat too, is among the reasons there’s a biography of Reutherbut not of the Steelworker’s Murray.

AP Photo


omehow, the first president of the United Steelworkers,though a great labor leader in his own right, is a nearlyforgotten man outside the union and his adopted home-

town of Pittsburgh.There’s a bust of Philip Murray in the lobby of the

International headquarters in Pittsburgh. His portrait is amongthose of the other presidents on the 12th floor of the buildingand Pittsburgh last year renamed its 10th Street Bridge afterhim.

But the history of Murray’s many accomplishments isunrecorded in a major biography.

Labor’s odd coupleMelvyn Dubofsky, one of the premier labor historians in the

United States, discussed the complicated relationship betweenMurray and his colleague, John L. Lewis, president of theUnited Mine Workers of America, in a talk entitled, “PhilMurray and John L. Lewis – Labor’s Odd Couple” on July 13.It was the second annual Bernie Kleiman Lecture, a serieshonoring the late USW general counsel.

Dubofsky, the Bartle Distinguished Professor of Historyand Sociology at the State University of New York atBinghamton, compared Murray to the great Pittsburgh Piratesbaseball star Roberto Clemente.

Both remained relatively obscure for years after their

deaths. Dubofsky noted that it would take 22 years afterClemente perished in a 1972 humanitarian mission until “adecent biography” was written about the Hall of Famer.

Biographies have been written for nearly every one ofMurray’s contemporaries. But the man who created the USWhas been skipped over. Dubofsky speculated that Murray andClemente suffered from the same problem – both worked in asmall media market – Pittsburgh – and would have fared betterhad their base been New York or Los Angeles.

And, Dubofsky said, it’s possible that Murray has beenignored because he and the Steelworkers were not then per-ceived to be closely enough tied to national politics.

Coal miner beginningDubofsky, who with Warren Van Tine, wrote what is con-

sidered the definitive biography of Lewis, provided rich bio-graphical detail about both Lewis and Murray in his lecture.

Murray, the oldest son of Irish Catholic parents, left schoolat the age of 10 to join his father, William Murray, in the coalmines. Philip Murray’s mother had died when he was two andWilliam moved the family to Scotland to find higher payingwork in unionized mines.

William and Philip Murray moved to WestmorelandCounty, just east of Pittsburgh, in 1902, when Philip was 16.They continued laboring as miners and within a year were ableto bring other family members over to the United States.William had remarried and had eight more children.

In 1904, Philip punched a company boss in a dispute overthe amount he was to be paid. The mining company fired him.His fellow workers struck, demanding his reinstatement. Thecompany responded by evicting his family, his father, step-mother and seven siblings, from their company-owned home.This was a defining moment for Philip, one in which he decid-ed unions were the only way workers could defend themselvesagainst unfair treatment by companies.

A year later, Murray was elected president of a UMWAlocal in Horning, Pa. In 1912, UMWA President John Whiteappointed him to the UMWA Executive Board and three yearslater, White supported him for election as president of UMWADistrict 5 in Western Pennsylvania.

Murray, Lewis rise togetherDubofsky said, “Lewis and Murray rose together in the

ranks of the mine workers union. Lewis made it possible forMurray to be president of District 5. Lewis placed Murray onthe union executive board and Murray defended Lewis there.”

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Photo courtesy United Mine Workers of America


News BytesNews Bytes


IIlllleeggaall WWoooodd IImmppoorrttss BBaannnneeddhe USW was part of an unusual coalitionof environmental and corporate groups

that successfully supported passage thisspring of landmark federal legislation tocurb illegal wood imports.

In addition to the USW, the legislation toreduce illegal logging was backed by theAmerican Forest & Paper Association andthe Center for International EnvironmentalLaw and Conservation International.

The new law provides a comprehensiveban on illegal wood imports and applies notjust to logs but to other plants and plantproducts, ranging from paper to furniture. Itwill protect our members from unfair com-petition from products produced from stolenlumber.

This measure puts trees and plants underthe protection of the Lacey Act, first signedinto law by President William McKinley100 years ago. The act makes it a violationof U.S. law to import, export, transport, sell,receive, acquire or purchase any plant thathas been possessed or sold in violation offoreign law.

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nbalanced U.S. trade with China hashad a devastating effect on U.S.

workers. An estimated 2.3 million jobs were lost

to our trade deficit with China from 2001to 2007, including 366,000 last year alone,according to a new study, “The ChinaTrade Toll” by the Economic PolicyInstitute, a Washington, D.C., think tank.

In addition, the trade deficit with Chinahas deflated wages for displaced Americanworkers by an average of $8,146 for atotal of $19.4 billion in 2007. The tradedeficit with China rose from $84 billion in2001 to $262 billion in 2007.

More than half, 55.6 percent, of the dis-placed jobs were in the top half ofAmerican wage earners. Nearly one-thirdof the displaced workers had a collegedegree and more than two-thirds of thejobs lost were in manufacturing, including computers, electronics and advanced technologies.

PPAACC AAwwaarrddss AAnnnnoouunncceeddolitical Action Committees and the funds they raise play a key role in the USW’songoing activism on behalf of working people and their families. Several districts and locals have been singled out for their exemplary participation

by International PAC Coordinator Michael Scarver. Michael Martin, president of Local 602 in Malvern, Ark., and the local’s other offi-

cers decided to lead by example and contribute $20 a week each to their local’s PAC.“They understand that the main competition for the product they make is China

and that issue can only be resolved through the legislative process,’’ Scarver said.Local 753-L, of Opelika, Ala., conducts a yearly PAC drive among the member-

ship of a BF Goodrich plant. Local President William Hart asks every local leader tosign up 10 new members.

Local 746-L in Tyler, Texas, asks each member to contribute $5 a week to theirPAC. The $5 goal was begun by former Local President Jim Wansley and continuedby President Harold Sweat.

Local 831 in Danville, Va.,has signed up two-thirds of themembership to contribute a min-imum of $1 a week. LocalPresident Danny Barber pushesPAC and voter registration.

Scarver also cited District 8Director Billy Thompson, whopromotes PAC drives among hislocal union leadership, District 9Director Stan Johnson, who reg-ularly hosts local union presi-dents meetings where PAC andRapid Response are on the agen-da, and District 13 DirectorMickey Breaux, for his help inpromoting PAC to petroleumand paper plant workers inLouisiana.

RRaappiidd RReessppoonnssee AAcchhiieevveemmeenntt AAwwaarrddsshe achievement awards for Rapid Response, the USW’snonpartisan grassroots education, communication and action

program, are in.The Top District award overall went to District 9, led by

Director Stan Johnson. The district achieved a new marker inthe Rapid Response program when every local participated in aletter-writing campaign endorsing anti-sweatshop legislation.

Districts 9 and 10 shared the Top District performance awardfor 100 percent local participation in petition actions on behalfof the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). Districts 9 and 10Rapid Response coordinators Greg England and Bob McAuliffeprovided strong direction.

The Top Local award went to Local 878L of Union City,Tenn., which has over 100 members participating in the RapidResponse team. Led by President Harry Alford and CoordinatorMike McKenzie, the team shows continuous dedication.

Innovation Awards went to Local 7248 of Bryan, Ohio, inDistrict 1; Local 261 of Bucksport, Maine, in District 4; Local715 Woodburn, Ind., in District 7 and the congressional districtcoordinators for District 10.

Local 7248 members pressed their employer to fund an edu-cational seminar on USW issues. This spring, the local uniontripled participation in actions aimed at stopping the ColombiaFree Trade Agreement.

Local 715 educates the public on USW issues throughparades, county fairs and other community events. Recentefforts include a petition drive supporting employee free choice.

Local 261 has shown a creative approach to legislativeactivism by engaging media and the community with streetdemonstrations of “EFCA Man” and other activities.

District 10 was honored for the work of its congressional district coordinators, volunteers who are responsible for reach-ing out to other locals to raise participation and increase theconnection between union members and their elected officials.

DDeeaall wwiitthh PPCCAAhe USW and Packaging Corporation ofAmerica (PCA) reached a tentative agree-

ment on a five-year master economic andsecurity umbrella agreement for 1,200 workersat paper mills in Valdosta, Ga., Counce, Tenn.,Filer City, Mich., and Tomahawk, Wis.

The master agreement for the mills pavesthe way for the USW’s discussions with PCAtoward a settlement covering the company’s20-plus USW-represented converting opera-tions.

NNeeww WWiilllliinnggnneessss ttoo FFiigghhtthe conclusion of a labor dispute involvinga lockout at Latrobe Specialty Steel in

Pennsylvania marks a new willingness tofight back against the tide of corporate give-back demands.

“Employers everywhere should take notethat the United Steelworkers are in no moodto be pushed around at the bargaining table,”said International Vice President TomConway, who leads the union’s steel sector.

“The Latrobe Steel dispute shows thatworking people have had enough of employ-ers demanding more and more. Working peo-ple are ready and willing to fight back.”

The Latrobe Specialty Steel dispute beganMay 1 as a strike but was converted to alockout May 9 when workers made an offerto return to work that was rejected. A newfive-year contract was agreed to in July.

The union’s campaign included buildingalliances with church and community groupsand communicating the union’s message topolitical leaders, company customers andsuppliers. Yard signs and billboards raisedvisibility.

SStteeeellwwoorrkkeerr WWiinnss SSiillvveerr MMeeddaall iinn TTrraannssppllaanntt GGaammeessSW retiree and transplant patient Domenic A. DiPilato won a silver medal in golfcompetition at the National Kidney Federation’s Transplant Games in Pittsburgh

this summer.DiPilato, 73, retired assistant director of District 4, received a “second chance at life”

with a kidney transplant two years ago. His donor was a 17-year-old boy who had died.“I keep his picture in my wallet, between my two grandsons, and I carry him in my

heart everywhere I go,” said DiPilato. DiPilato was among 23 golfers who represented Team Pittsburgh in the games. He

won the silver medal for individual play in the 70 and older group.He is thankful for the support he received from his friends and New England Locals

2936, 5296, 9358, 12004, 12026 and 13507.DiPilato finds time to get involved in political elections and volunteers with the

Transplant Recipient International Organization. “I’m extremely grateful to be alive, tobe able to enjoy the normal things that healthy people enjoy, especially my wife (Anna)and my family,” he said.

YYoouunngg UUSSWW AAccttiivviisstt HHoonnoorreeddmanda Boulden, daughter of a Local9448 active member in Texarkana, Ark.,

was awarded the Jeffery Ledbetter YoungDemocrat of the Year Award for her activism.Boulden, a second-year USW political intern,has volunteered her time to take a group ofyoung people to Baton Rouge to canvass dur-ing a special election. During her Christmasbreak, Boulden also drove to Iowa to cam-paign on two separate occasions. Boulden ispresident of the Henderson State UniversityYoung Democrats.

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CCoonnvveennttiioonn PPhhoottoohe panoramic 2008 conven-tion photograph is available

for purchase from the photog-rapher. Cost of the unmountedcolor photo, which measuresapproximately 10 x 50 inches,is $70 each plus $5 shippingand handling. Orders can bemade by mail, phone orInternet.

To order, contact:Hank deLespinasse Studios, Inc.P.O. Box 93261Las Vegas, NV 89193or by phone: 703-361-4872 The Web site address iswww.callmehank.com Check, Mastercard or Visaaccepted.

TTMichael Martin

Domenic DiPilatoAmanda Boulden and District 13Director Mickey Breaux

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