Organizing Academia: A Conversation with Pitt Faculty Union Activists
Release Date: 10/27/2021
Health and Safety Wins in Washington
Solidarity Works
More than 80 years ago, U.S. Labor Secretary Frances Perkins identified silica dust as a deadly hazard. Finally, this past April 16, MSHA, through the Department of Labor, issued a final rule reducing silica dust exposure to better protect America’s miners. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, known as OSHA, also clarified a rule in another major victory for workers this month to ensure workers are able to choose their own representative to join OSHA agents during workplace inspections. Today, we’re talking with two USW health and safety experts about both of these new...
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The Future of Solidarity: Next Gen Activists Take the Lead
Solidarity Works
The USW’s Next Gen program saw its humble yet historic beginnings in a resolution at the International union’s Constitutional Convention in 2011. It endorsed the training and development of younger Steelworker activists to take on increasingly greater roles in their local unions, their governments and their communities. Since then, young and newer members of the USW across the United States and Canada have answered the call to become activists, and we're talking with three of them for our latest episode. They'll share how they became involved in their local unions, what they believe...
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Tackling Two-Tier: Workers Unite and Dismantle Divisive Wage Systems
Solidarity Works
When late International President Tom Conway took the helm of the USW in July 2019, he made a promise that his administration would work to reduce or eliminate tiered wage and benefit systems in union contracts. Many USW locals have heeded late President Conway’s call and made great strides in eliminating these tiered systems in recent years. Today we’re talking with USW Vice president Luis Mendoza about how members in the paper sector have done just that, including workers at WestRock, America’s second-largest packaging company. We’re also talking with Chris Frydenger, who works at a...
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Saving Maxo Vanka: USW Members Preserve Historic Murals
Solidarity Works
When Croatian painter and immigrant Maxo Vanka first visited Pittsburgh in 1935, he fell in love with the steel town and developed a friendship with Father Albert Zagar of the St. Nicholas Croatian Church in Millvale. Zagar longed for color on his church’s plain walls, but he didn’t want the usual imagery found in most religious houses. He knew Vanka was the perfect artist for the job. Vanka then painted 25 individual murals that cover every inch of the church, and today, artists and activists, including members of the USW, are working to preserve the historic art to its original...
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Union-Made Holidays
Solidarity Works
Members of the USW across the U.S. and Canada make the highest quality products in their industries, from Bulleit Bourbon distilled in Kentucky and All-Clad cookware handcrafted in Pennsylvania to clothing spun in Portland, Maine, at American Roots and Custom Foam pillows fabricated and molded in Ontario, Canada. Today we’re speaking with several USW members about the products they and their union siblings make and why these products are the ideal gifts for the labor supporter in your life.
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We're Made for This: USW Members Serving in Local Politics
Solidarity Works
Check out the latest episode of Solidarity Works to hear from two USW members who have stepped up to run for office in their communities. You’ll hear about what inspired them to make these moves and why union members are uniquely equipped to serve in local government to be a voice for workers and families.
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America's Nuclear Legacy: Cleaning Up the Past, Powering the Future
Solidarity Works
Members of the United Steelworkers union are known for being masters of production. On top of creation, we also help repair damage done in the past to ensure our communities can thrive in the future. We do this by cleaning up toxic nuclear sites to protect local residents and wildlife, and we conduct vital tests for various nuclear sector needs. In the latest episode of Solidarity Works, we talk with Jim Key, who heads the USW Atomic Workers Council, about what the sector looks like today and what’s to come. We’ll also hear about the different sites we represent and the role our members...
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Organizing the South: Why It Matters and How We Do It
Solidarity Works
This May, members at electric bus manufacturer Blue Bird in Georgia voted to join the USW. Then, in August, members at Kumho Tire, also in middle Georgia, ratified their first contract after a years-long battle to have their voices heard. Check out the latest USW podcast episode to learn how these historic campaigns happened and why they matter not just for the South but for the entire country.
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Taking Charge: Health Care Workers Seize Their Safety
Solidarity Works
This week, nearly 200 USW members who work in the vast and diverse health care sector are gathering in Pittsburgh for their first Health Care Workers Council Conference since 2018. A lot has changed in the industry over these past five years, not only due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also because of automation, short staffing, and skyrocketing rates of workplace violence. Health and safety has quickly become one of the top priorities for the sector’s workers, and USW members especially aren’t waiting for employers to protect them. They’re taking matters into their own hands. In our...
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Unionism on Turtle Island: Indigenous Peoples and the Fight for Reconciliation
Solidarity Works
For this episode of Solidarity Works, we’re talking with two USW members who are currently serving as Indigenous Engagement Coordinators for the union’s District 3 and 6 in Canada. Listen to learn about how they’ve been reconnecting to their Indigenous roots and how local unions can make a difference in making sure their Indigenous members not only survive but thrive within their communities and workplaces.
info_outlineLast week, more than 3,000 faculty members at the University of Pittsburgh voted to become members of the United Steelworkers union after a robust organizing campaign that began in 2014.
Today, we're talking with two faculty members and activists who have been with the campaign from the start about what it took to secure this historic election and what comes next in the fight for a first fair contract.
Learn more at www.pittfaculty.org.