United Steelworkers (labor union)
The United Steelworkers (USW) is the largest industrial labor union in North America, representing over 1.2 million active members and retirees across the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. Established in 1942 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the union advocates for workers' rights in various industries, including paper, forestry, steel, aluminum, rubber, and mining. Originally known as the United Steelworkers of America, the USW has expanded significantly through mergers and alliances, aligning with other unions globally to address shared challenges.
The union has a rich history, evolving from earlier organizations like the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers. Key milestones include securing rights for steelworkers during pivotal strikes and lobbying for significant labor laws in the 1970s. As corporate structures shifted in the 21st century, the USW adapted by consolidating with smaller unions and forging international partnerships, allowing it to maintain its influence and advocate for worker protections effectively. Through these efforts, the USW continues to play a crucial role in promoting fair labor practices and improving conditions for industrial workers.
United Steelworkers (labor union)
The United Steelworkers (USW), which stands for the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, is the largest industrial labor union in North America. It encompasses more than 850,000 active members and retirees in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. The labor union, which was formerly known as the United Steelworkers of America (USWA), has been in existence since 1942 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The union fights for the rights of workers in the paper, forestry products, steel, aluminum, tire and rubber, mining, glass, chemicals, petroleum, and other resource industries. It also works with unions around the world to address global issues. It is part of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) federation of unions.
History
Labor unions formed in the United States to protect workers' rights and interests, which included job security, safe working conditions, and better wages and working hours. As unions expanded, they began to fight for other issues such as prohibiting child labor, providing financial support and aid to injured workers, securing rights for retired people, and enforcing civil and human rights.
Prior to the formation of the USW, there were several attempts to organize American steelworkers. The Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers (AAISTW) was one of the first unions to represent workers. It formed in the 1880s, and by the next decade, it had about twenty-four thousand workers. The union played a pivotal role during the 1892 Homestead Steel Strike, which pitted striking steelworkers against the Carnegie Steel Company. The strike led to a battle, which took the lives of several people and injured many more. The result of the Homestead Steel Strike nearly broke up the AAISTW as many workers refused to associate with it.
By 1935, the AAISTW had less than nine thousand members. A new union organization had formed called the Committee for Industrial Organizations (CIO). (The organization later changed its name to the Congress of Industrial Organizations.) Steelworker and labor leader Philip Murray and the Steel Workers' Organizing Committee (SWOC) partnered with the AAISTW and took over the union around 1936. By the following year, the United States Steel Corporation and Carnegie-Illinois Steel recognized the SWOC as an official union. Independent steel companies agreed to work with the union in the years that followed.
On May 22, 1942, the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) was created. It appointed Murray, who was chairman of the SWOC, as its first president. The following month, the AAISTW merged with the USWA. The Aluminum Workers of America joined the USWA in 1944. Murry was elected president the following year. In 1946, a strike by steelworkers in Hamilton, Ontario, established the union in Canada.
Murray died of a heart attack on November 9, 1952, and David J. McDonald succeeded him. By the mid-1950s, the union had grown to a powerful bargaining force within the steel industry and had more than one million members. In 1995, the CIO merged with the American Federation of Labor (AFL) (one of the oldest federations of unions in the United States) to form the AFL-CIO. USWA leadership again went under changes in 1965 when I.W. Abel took over as president. Two years later, the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers joined the USWA.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the USWA lobbied for many laws to protect its workers. It received a boost when the Occupational Safety and Health Act (1970) and the Employee Retiree Income Security Act (1974) were signed into law. In the 1970s, more unions, including the United Stone and Allied Products Workers of America and the Allied and Technical Workers, joined the USWA. Lloyd McBride succeeded Abel in 1977. After the death of McBride in 1984, Lynn R. Williams was elected as the new president, becoming the first Canadian to head the USWA. In 1985, the Upholsterers International Union merged with the USWA. In 1993, George Becker succeeded Williams as president. United Rubber Workers joined USWA in 1995, and Aluminum, Brick & Glass Workers merged with the union the following year.
Continued Growth
The Canadian section of the former Transportation Communications Union merged with the USWA in 2000. After more than a decade of campaigning, the Canadian government in 2003 passed the Westray Bill, which holds corporations and their directors and executives accountable for the lives of steelworkers at their plants.
After Becker retired in 2001, Leo W. Gerard became president. He remained president until 2023, at which point David McCall became president.
As the twenty-first century progressed and private corporations replaced public industries, unions began to decline and become less powerful entities. This led to several unions consolidating their efforts or merging with larger, more powerful ones. The USWA continued to gain membership, absorbing unions such as the American Flint Glass Workers Union; Directly Affiliated Local Union of Macon, Georgia; and Industrial, Wood and Allied Workers (IWA Canada). In addition, the USWA continued to fight for representation for workers. In 2004, it won Canadian railway workers steelworker representation.
The following year, the USWA aligned itself with several international unions to help strengthen global ties. Some of these included the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA); Australian Workers' Union (AWU); Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union of Australia (CFMEU); National Union of Mining, Steel and Allied Workers of the Republic of Mexico (SNTMMSRM); and CNM-CUT of Brazil. The largest merger for the USWA came in April of 2005 when it joined forces with the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers (PACE) International Union to become the largest industrial union in North America. It then changed its name to the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW).
A few months later, the USW aligned with Amicus, the largest manufacturing union in the United Kingdom. In 2006, members of the National Pharmacists Association (NPhA) voted to become affiliated with the USW. Independent Steelworkers Union joined the USW in 2007; the same year, the Canadian Region of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) aligned with the USW to work on common global interests. In July 2008, the USW merged with Unite, a union in the UK and Ireland, to form the global union Workers Uniting.
Throughout the 2010s and 2020s, the USW continued to work with other unions in North America and throughout the world to fight for global legislation to protect workers, the environment, and more. It also continued to add new members, such as the Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU), to become the largest industrial labor union in North America.
In 2023, US Steel announced a potential deal to be acquired by Japan’s Nippon Steel for $14.9 billion, aimed at expanding Nippon's global steel footprint. However, the Biden administration blocked the sale due to concerns over national security, fearing it could undermine US steel production, vital for defense and infrastructure, and potentially harm domestic jobs and industry competitiveness. The move reflected broader efforts to protect key American industries from foreign influence. USW President, David McCall, who was against the deal due to lack of transparency and job security risks, was sued by both steel companies for potential interference and coordinated action to block the deal in favor of rival bidder Cleveland-Cliffs.
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