Our History

October 1935

The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) established its own organizing committee for paperworkers.

June 17, 1936

Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) forms.

March 7, 1937

Union signs first contract, with Carnegie-Illinois Steel, for $5 a day wage and benefits.

May 1937

"Little Steel" strike, called to organize workers at Bethlehem, Jones & Laughlin, National and other companies, results in police riots, attacks on workers by company guards and other hardship for steelworkers, yet ultimately leads to successful organization of these companies and confirms validity of the National Labor Relations Act.

May 22, 1942

Delegates to SWOC convention in Cleveland create United Steelworkers of America and elect Philip Murray, chairman of SWOC, as first USWA President and approve geographic districts 1- 39.

June 30, 1942

Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel & Tin Workers merges with USWA.

June 30, 1944

Aluminum Workers of America merges with USWA.

February 13, 1945

USWA holds first secret-ballot referendum for international officers, dis­trict directors, and national director for Canada. Murray elected USWA president.

October 2, 1946

Steelworkers in Hamilton, Ontario, win historic strike for union recognition at Steel Company of Canada (now Stelco), using solidarity, organization, and political and com­munity support to overcome more than 1,000 company scabs and firmly establish the USWA as the predominant union in Hamilton.

October 31, 1949

USWA wins first company-funded pension plan for workers in contract with Bethlehem Steel.

November 9, 1952

Philip Murray dies of a heart attack.

November 15, 1952

David J. McDonald, International Secretary-Treasurer, is appointed to succeed Murray.

In 1955

The United Gas, Coke & Chemical Workers of America and chemical workers from District 50 form the modern Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union (OCAW.)

July 1, 1956

Start off our-week "Big Steel Strike."

In 1957

The CIO Paperworkers merged with the Papermakers to form the United Papermakers and Paperworkers (UPP).

1957-1966

The long struggle to establish the Steelworkers as the union for miners at the Noranda-owned Gaspe Copper Mine in Murdochville, Quebec. The mine and smelter were closed by 2002, effectively turning Murdochville into a ghost town.

July 15, 1959

Start of record 1l6-day steel industry strike.

July 31, 1961

Steelworkers join other trade unionists to help create New Democratic Party (NDP) in Canada.

July 1, 1962

NDP government in Saskatchewan enacts Medical Insurance Act, the beginning of universal health care in Canada.

February 9, 1965

I.W. Abel elected USWA President.

June 30, 1967

International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers merges with USWA.

December 20, 1970

Occupational Safety and Health Act, lobbied for by USWA, becomes law.

January 1, 1971

United Stone and Allied Products Workers of America merges with USWA.

In 1972

The United Papermakers and Paperworkers (UPP) merged with the Pulp and Sulphite Workers to form the United Paperworkers International Union (UPIU.)

September 17, 1972

District 50, Allied and Technical Workers, merges with USWA.

Labor Day, 1974

USWA-promoted Employee Retiree Income Security Act (ERISA) becomes law.

February 8, 1977

Lloyd McBride elected USWA President.

November 17, 1983

Lynn R. Williams elected temporary acting president following death of Lloyd McBride.

March 29, 1984

Lynn R. Williams elected USWA President, the first Canadian to head an international AFL-CIO union.

October 31, 1985

Upholsterers International Union merges with USWA.

September 19, 1999

Successful one-year strike at Continental-General Tire in Charlotte, N.C., concludes union campaign to restore pattern bargaining in the top tier of the U.S. tire industry.

In 1991

74 locals of the Independent Workers of North America (IWNA), representing 7,500 members, voted to affiliate with the United Paperworkers International Union (UPIU.)

June 1992

Restructuring of Algoma Steel creates the largest employee-owned company in Canada, saving 6,000 jobs and the community of Sault Ste. Marie, and leading to the modernization of a company that continues to employ thousands of Steelworkers and serves as the economic anchor of its community.

June 29, 1992

Workers at West Virginia’s Ravenswood Aluminum Company march back to work in unity after a successful international campaign ends a 20-month lockout with a fair contract.

January 5, 1993

Basic Steel Industry Conference adopts “New Directions” bargaining policy, leading to agreements with major steel companies winning employment security, worker involvement and board representation.

November 23, 1993

George Becker elected as sixth International President.

January 1994

The United Paperworkers International Union (UPIU) merged with the Allied Industrial Workers (AIW)

June 1, 1995

In a sweeping restructuring approved by the International Executive Board in April, the 18 American districts are consolidated into 9 districts.

July 1, 1995

In a special United Rubber Workers' convention, delegates vote to merge their 98,000-member union with the USWA.

February 1996

Union begins training local union members to mobilize in the Rapid Response political action program.

February 2, 1996

USWA’s International Wage Policy Committee and Basic Steel Industry Conference adopt strong bargaining policy stating: “America needs a raise, and Steelworkers are no exception.”

May 31, 1996

Contract agreements with Alcoa and Reynolds bring the USWA’s “New Directions” bargaining principles into the aluminum industry.

June 6, 1996

Steelworkers at Phelps Dodge’s Chino mine save their union by defeating a decertification bid by the company.

September 23, 1996

After standing firm during a 42-month strike, Steelworkers at Bayou Steel in Louisiana win a new contract and oust scabs who had taken their jobs.

November 4, 1996

Capping a worldwide struggle that lasted two years, three months and 24 days after United Rubber Workers struck Bridgestone/Firestone, the union wins a settlement covering 6,000 members at seven B/F plants.

December 17, 1996

Delegates representing 40,000 members of the Aluminum, Brick & Glass Workers vote to merge with USWA.

May 8, 1997

Agreement with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company following an 18-day strike establishes new pattern for U.S. tire industry, extended to Sumitomo/Dunlop, Yokohama and Pirelli in other 1997 negotiations.

August 1, 1997

Ten-month strike against Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel wins agreement guaranteeing defined-benefit pensions for 4,500 Steelworkers.

November 7, 1997

Lobbying blitz by 600 Steelworkers, following Rapid Response barrage of 160,000 letters to Congress, helps defeat “Fast Track” trade legislation.

April 1998

Canadian Steelworkers, backed by 40 labour and human rights groups, file first-ever complaint under NAFTA's labour side agreement, supporting the attempt by an independent Mexican steelworkers union to organize a brake manufacturing plant near Mexico City.

September 10, 1998

"Stand Up for Steel" coalition of domestic steel companies and the USWA launches nationwide public awareness campaign about the dangers of massive illegal steel imports triggered by the Asian financial crisis.

January 1999

United Paperworkers International Union (UPIU) and  Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union (OCAW) came together and approved the merger to become the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE.)

May 1999

Ken Georgetti, a Steelworker from Local 480n Trail, British Columbia, is elected president of the two-million member Canadian Labour Congress (CLC).

July 31, 1999

The Great Shipyard Strike of 1999 endsafter Steelworkers at Newport News Shipbuilding ratify a breakthrough agreement which nearly doubles pensions, increases security, ends inequality, and provides the highest wage increases in company and industry history to nearly 10,000 workers at the yard.

September 18, 1999

Longest illegal lockout in U.S. labor history ends when an arbitrator orders a new contract at five Kaiser Aluminum plants.

November 28, 1999

Massive Steelworker participation in the "Battle of Seattle" helps to establish labor-environmental alliance against "globalization in the hands of multinational CEOs," which President George Becker says is "destroying millions of industrial jobs, degrading the environment, and undermining our basic rights as workers and citizens."

January 11, 2000

More than 4,000 administrative and technical support staff at the University of Toronto ratifies their first collective agreement as members of United Steelworkers Local 1998, expanding the benefits of Steelworker representation to workers in higher education with the largest single organizing victory in years.

February 1, 2000

Charter issued to Local 1976, a 5,000-member national local, following the merger of the Canadian section of the former Transportation Communications Union with the USWA.

June 2000

Steelworker activists hit Parliament Hill with the first two weeks of intensive lobbying and meeting as part of a long-term campaign to gain changes to Canada’s Criminal Code that would hold corporate executives and directors accountable for workplace deaths.

September 21, 2000

Overwhelming ratification of new agreements at nine Bridgestone/Firestone plants consolidates the restoration of pattern bargaining in the U.S. tire industry.

September 29, 2000

USWA members at the Southwire aluminum smelter in Hawesville, Ky., overwhelmingly approve their first contract following a 27-month unfair labor practice strike.

October 15, 2000

Steelworkers make up the largest delegation of 5,000 women from across Canada who gather in Ottawa for the culmination of the World March of Women that began on International Women’s Day in March 2000.

February 28, 2001

George Becker retires. International Executive Board appoints Leo W. Gerard the union's seventh International President. Jim English appointed Secretary-Treasurer.

January 23, 2001

USWA Basic Steel Industry Conference unanimously calls for federal action to prevent the collapse of the U.S. steel industry as illegal imports push steel prices to record lows.

April 19, 2001

Canadian Steelworkers hold a Commission of Inquiry into Corporate Conduct in the Americas as part of the Second People’s Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, as citizens protest secret negotiations to establish the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

September 12, 2001

President Leo W. Gerard condemns “the armies of the intolerant” and demands “justice for the victims, their families and humanity” following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

September 2001

Following the attacks against the U.S., which many blamed on gaps in airport security, 25,000 Steelworkers in Canada’s private security industry - including airport security personnel – launch a reform campaign for better regulation, licensing, training and employment standards.

December 9, 2001

Ratification of a new labor agreement at Titan Tire of Natchez ends the longest strike in the history of the U.S. tire industry, which began at the company’s Des Moines, Iowa, plant May 1, 1998.

December 12, 2001

USWA Basic Steel Industry Conference sets firm principles for protecting Steelworkers’ jobs and preserving domestic steelmaking capacity in any negotiations necessitated by proposed consolidations among major integrated steelmakers.

December 18, 2001

Canadian National Director Lawrence McBrearty calls on the federal government to take stronger action to prevent a flood of imports and protect the Canadian steel industry, as part of the union’s campaign to protect steel jobs in Canada.

February 12, 2002

Local 4120 is chartered at the University of Guelph, bringing the number of university employees represented by the Steelworkers to more than 5,000.

February 28, 2002

More than 30,000 Steelworkers and supporters march and rally in the shadow of the White House demanding decisive federal action to end unfair trade.

April 10, 2002

Leaders from 21 unions who represent workers at International Paper Co. facilities throughout the world meet in Nashville for two days to establish a global union network to advance and protect the interests of IP employees worldwide.

February 18, 2003

Rank-and-file Steelworkers overwhelmingly ratify a six-year agreement with International Steel Group Inc. (ISG), providing wage increases and benefit improvements for workers at five steelmaking facilities which had been shut down by bankruptcies at LTV and Acme Steel, establishing a new pattern in basic steel, and facilitating consolidation of the steel industry in the United States.

June 3, 2003

Delegates representing the 12,000 members of the American Flint Glass Workers Union vote by an overwhelming 80 percent to merge with the USWA.

August 2003

A three-month strike at Inco Ltd. in Port Colborne and Sudbury, Ontario, ends with a new contract that includes wage and pension increases.

September 15, 2003

Steelworkers at 14 Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company plants in the United States ratify a new agreement that provides an unprecedented network of job security measures, restricts both imports and the company’s right to transfer production, and guarantees capital investment to keep USWA plants globally competitive.

October 6, 2003

Delegates to the International Metalworkers’ Federation World Aluminum Conference in Montreal create a global network of unions committed to global solidarity tostrengthen workers’ rights in the aluminum industry.

October 2003

In response to a moving speech by Stephen Lewis, the UN Secretary – General’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, delegates to the District 6 conference spontaneouslypledge $47,000 to the Stephen Lewis Foundation to help in the fight.

November 17, 2003

Steelworkers mobilize the largest labor contingent - nearly 2,000 strong - to protest unfair trade at the ministerial meetings of the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Nearly 2,000 Steelworkers from across North America join a massive turnout of union, environmental, social and religious activists in Miami to denounce “NAFTA on steroids.”

November 2003

After a decade-long campaign led by Steelworkers in Canada, the Westray Bill is finally passed into law, changing Canada's Criminal Code to make corporations, their directors and executives criminally accountable for putting workers' lives at risk.

March 12, 2004

Rank-and-file Steelworkers decisively approve a comprehensive settlementwith Oregon Steel Mills Inc. and its CF&I Steel subsidiary, ending them longest labor dispute in the union’s history and resulting in more than $100 million in back pay for members.

March 29-April 2, 2004

Paper workers at the first National Paper Bargaining conference outline long-term strategy to restore pattern bargaining in the industry and approve the National Paper Bargaining program to centralize and unify the union’s bargaining agenda and processes.

April 23, 2004

Lawrence McBrearty retires. International Executive Board appoints Ken Neumann the union's National Director for Canada.

June 5, 2004

The USWA and IG Metall, the German metalworkers’ union, sign an understanding “to strengthen the international solidarity and cooperation between our unions” and “support new and innovative strategies in order to steer globalization in a more human direction.”

August 23, 2004

After more than 10 weeks on strike, and with the solidarity and support of BF Goodrich Tire bargaining committees in the U.S., 1,100 members of Local 677 win a settlementfrom the Michelin-owned tire maker in Kitchener, Ontario.

August 31, 2004

Workers at Armstrong World Industries in Macon, Ga., vote overwhelm­ingly to merge their Directly Affiliated Local Union with the USWA.

September 1, 2004

Members of the Industrial, Wood and Allied Workers (IWA Canada) vote to merge their 50,000-member organization with the USWA, creating the largest private­ sector union in Canada.

November 26, 2004

After a year-long campaign to win Steelworker representation, 3,000 former members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees on Canadian National Railway are certified as Steelworkers by the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

January 2005

In Canada, the Steelworkers Humanity Fund donates $100,000 towards tsunami relief in Southeast Asia.

February 7, 2005

The USWA signs a strategic alliance with the Australian Workers' Union (AWU) to develop joint strategies, including "cross-national bargaining and organizing support" and "coordination of bargaining across national borders."

February 11, 2005

The USWA and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union of Australia (CFMEU) form a strategic alliance and "commit to building power by increasing communication, collaboration and coordination across our national borders," responding to corporate globalization with global solidarity.

March 1, 2005

Andrew "Lefty" Palm retires. International Executive Board appoints Thomas M. Conway the union's International Vice President (Administration).

April 2005

The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) signs a strategic alliance with the Steelworkers. The alliance is aimed at taking on the global­ization of the culture industry and to address a range of common issues.

April 13, 2005

The USW signs strategic alliances with the National Union of Mining, Steel and Allied Workers of the Republic of Mexico (SNTMMSRM) and with CNM-CUT, the largest metalworkers' union in Brazil, to strengthen the close working relations between the unions and increase communication, collaboration and coordination across national bor­ders.

April 14, 2005

The USWA and the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers (PACE) International Union merge to form the largest industrial union in North America, the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW). With more than 850,000 active members in over 8,000 bargaining units in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean, the combined union is the dominant union in paper, forestry products, steel, aluminum, tire and rubber, mining, glass, chemicals, petroleum and other basic resource industries.

May 24, 2005

Canadian Steelworker Carol Landry is elected as one of eight women on the-executive committee of the International Metalworkers' Federation, joining International President Leo W. Gerard as one of two Canadians on the 25-member executive board.

August 1, 2005

International Executive Board appoints Richard "Dick" LaCosse International Vice President with responsibility for national paper industry bargaining, follow­ing the July 31 retirement of former PACE President Boyd Young, who is named USW President Emeritus.

August 9, 2005

USW and Amicus, the largest manufacturing union in the UK with over one million members in the private and public sectors, including: steel and other metals; ener­gy; paper; chemicals and pharmaceuticals; shipbuilding; health care and transportation form a strategic alliance to increase solidarity and communication between the two unions, develop cross-national networks of unions with common employers and support cross-national orga­nizing and bargaining.

September 1, 2005

John Sellers retires. International Executive Board appoints Ron Hoover as Executive Vice President of the USW Rubber/Plastics Industry Conference (R/PIC).

October 6, 2005

Steelworkers win a two-and-a-half-month strike against Teck Cominco Ltd. in Trail, British Columbia. The campaign to win a decent contract included demonstrating at corporate headquarters in Vancouver and appearing province-wide on radio talk shows.

November 2005

Passage through the Canadian Senate of the Wage Earner Protection Program Act marks the biggest victory so far in the USW campaign to amend the Bankruptcy Insolvency Act (BIA) and the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). Under the amendments, companies cannot ask judges to rewrite collective agreements to force concessions. Companies can no longer take the easy way out by ripping off workers and pensioners in order to satisfybondholders.

November 21-25, 2005

In the first joint effort of the USW-ACTRA strategic alliance, Canadian performers and Steelworkers lobby on Parliament Hill for key election issues ranging from more support for Canadian film and TV to better protection for steel and softwood lumber.

November 22, 2005

The slate of candidates for international office headed by President Leo W. Gerard wins election without opposition. It is the first time in the union's 63-year his­tory that the entire International Executive Board is elected by consensus.

January 25, 2006

Delegates to the union’s National Paper Bargaining Conference unanimously approve a vision statement calling for renewed solidarity in national bargaining, and changing the percentage of votes needed to call for a strike to a simple majority.

May 26, 2006

Members of the National Pharmacists Association (NPhA), representing approximately 1,100 registered pharmacists at Walgreens retail pharmacies in the Chicago area, as well as many other parts of northern Illinois and Northwestern Indiana, have voted overwhelmingly to affiliate with the United Steelworkers (USW).

June 7, 2006

The United Steelworkers (USW) and the Sierra Club announced the formation of a strategic alliance to pursue a joint public policy agenda under the banner of Good Jobs, A Clean Environment, and A Safer World.

December 29, 2006

Some 15,000 USW members at Goodyear ratify a new three-year contract after an 86-day strike.

February 4, 2007

Former President George Becker, a second-generation steelworker who became the sixth international president of the United Steelworkers (USW), died Saturday at his home in Gibsonia, Pa. He was 78.

April 13, 2007

USW International President, Leo W. Gerard and Mark Glyptis, former president of the Independent Steelworkers Union, signed a merger agreement for 1,150 members of the new USW Local 2911.

April 18, 2007

The United Steelworkers (USW), Amicus and the Transportation & General Workers Union (T&GWU) of the United Kingdom, today announced a formal process to prepare the ground for the creation of the first Trans-Atlantic trade union.

July 17, 2007

The United Steelworkers (USW) and the Canadian Region of the Communications Workers of America  (CWA)  have signed a Strategic Alliance to work together on issues of common interest in Canada and globally. The CWA/SCA Canada Region represents about 9,000 workers in every aspect of media across Canada, including newspapers, broadcasting, news agencies and online media.  Other members are in social work, interpretation services and light industry.

September 24, 2007

Steelworkers launch Get the Lead Out project to help stop dangerous imports into the United States and Canada.

December 17, 2007

Québec's largest private sector union, the United Steelworkers (FTQ), is now under the leadership of Daniel Roy and his assistant, Guy Farrell. The new Director declared that the United Steelworkers (FTQ) will be involved in all actions intended to halt the shift to the right that is evident around the world.

December 20, 2007

In accordance with the constitution of the United Steelworkers, the USW’s International Executive Board has by unanimous vote named District 2 Director Jon Geenen the union’s international vice president with responsibility for national paper industry bargaining.

February 18, 2008

Workers at Métallurgie Brasco Entretien in Sept-Îles join the USW.

March 11, 2008

United Steelworkers (USW) International Vice President Fred Redmond is one of four new members of the AFL-CIO Executive Council, a key decision-making body of the 10.5 million member labor federation. Redmond, 53, and three others were elected to the Executive Council on March 4.

March 25, 2008

Four of America’s largest unions have announced a political, electoral and legislative alliance pledged to “renew core American values:  dignity, decency and fair treatment in the workplace.”

April 7, 2008

President Gerard calls on Congress to reject proposed Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

April 25, 2008

Members of the United Steelworkers Union (USW) overwhelmingly approved by 77 percent a new four-year master economic and security agreement with International Paper (IP) covering 32 converting facilities that take paper and make it into paperboard, cardboard and other paper products.

May 9, 2008

Over 2,000 members of the United Steelworkers Union (USW) voted by a 4 to 1 margin to accept a four-year umbrella agreement with Domtar that covers 4,000 members at 10 Domtar facilities.

June 28, 2008

The United Steelworkers (USW) top international officers, executive board and 3,500 elected local union leaders from North America’s steel, paper, rubber and tire, mining, oil and service sector workplaces will meet for an International Convention, Jun. 30-Jul. 3 at the Paris-Bally’s Conference Center in Las Vegas to create the first global union.

June 30, 2008

The International Executive Board and 3,500 elected local union leaders meet for International Convention in Las Vegas and create the first global union.

July 2, 2008

Carol Landry, a union activist and seasoned contract negotiator who joined the USW in 1987 at Canada’s largest copper mine, was appointed International Vice President (First Woman to the Executive Board) by unanimous vote of the 27-member IEB during the USW’s 2008 Constitutional Convention.

September 10, 2008

The United Steelworkers today announced the appointment of veteran labor attorney Richard J. Brean as the union’s General Counsel. Brean, 60, of Pittsburgh, succeeds General Counsel Paul Whitehead.

October 30, 2008

The United Steelworkers (USW) joined Appleton Papers in applauding today’s U.S. International Trade Commission’s (ITC) final determination to impose both anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on unfairly traded imports of lightweight thermal paper (LWTP) from China and Germany.

October 8, 2008

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) join the Sierra Club and the USW in the BlueGreen Alliance.

February 4, 2009

Some 4,000 workers from all over the U.S. joined together on Capitol Hill today to deliver more than 1.5 million petitions to Congress urging the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.

May 14, 2009

Thousands of workers whose paychecks are tied to the U.S. auto industry join bus tours through 11 states to showcase the ripple effect of economic devastation and lost jobs.

July 8, 2009

Trade union and parliamentary leaders from 13 countries are visiting Mexico this week to support the National Union of Mine and Metal Workers, which has been under attack by the Mexican government and the Grupo Mexico mining company.

September 12, 2009

President Obama provides relief to the domestic consumer tire sector as sought by the USW in response to surging exports of tires from China.

September 23, 2009

USW Calls on G-20 leaders to address Global Jobs Crisis at Pittsburgh-held world summit.

January 14, 2010

USW contributes $20,000 after devastating earthquake in Haiti.

June 25, 2010

A new 4-year labor agreement between the United Steelworkers (USW) union and Alcoa covering some 6,000 workers at 11 U.S. locations.

July 2010

Yearlong strike against mining giant Vale ends in victory when USW members in Sudbury and Port Colborne, Ontario, vote to accept a negotiated settlement.

September 2010

The USW in Canada and the Telecommunications Workers Union sign strategic alliance to work together on issues of common interest in Canada and globally.

September 2010

USW files 800-page Section 301 petition against China’s use of unfair trade practices todominate the clean technology sector.

September 17, 2010

United Steelworkers International President Leo W. Gerard accepted an appointment by President Barack Obama to the President's Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations.

December 2010

USW representatives testify at a Chemical Safety Board hearing on “Regulatory Approaches to Offshore Oil and Gas Safety” after Deepwater Horizon explosion kills 11 workers.

December 13, 2010

United Steelworkers reported that a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel found in favor of the United States, a challenge by China on imposition of import duties on passenger and light truck tires.

June 2011

China agrees to end wind energy subsidies as a result of USW-filed Section 301 petition.

August 2011

USW and UNITE HERE sign a strategic alliance agreement to support each other and work together on issues of common interest in Canada and globally.

August 2, 2011

USW atomic workers at the Honeywell International uranium processing plant in Metropolis, Ill., ratify a new three-year agreement that ends a 13-month lockout.

August 12, 2011

Over 3,000 elected United Steelworkers local union leaders from across North America met with top international officers and executive board members for an International Convention Aug. 15 - 18, at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

August 22, 2011

United Steelworkers mourn the loss of a treasured friend and great Canadian, but they are comforted by Jack Layton's incredible legacy - of unbridled hope and optimism for a brighter future for our country.

November 18, 2011

United Steelworker members at oil facilities nationwide overwhelmingly ratified the National Oil Bargaining (NOB) policy after delegates to the September oil bargaining conference adopted it.

January 2012

The USW’s successful campaign to organize Southern California car wash workers results in the industry’s first three contracts, as well as a $1 million settlement to workers at eight other car washes who were underpaid and denied breaks and other benefits.

January 2012

In a victory for USW members, the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules that China limiting exports of raw materials violates commitments it made when joining the organization.

January 31, 2012

USW reaches agreement with the oil industry on a three-year National Oil Bargaining pattern settlement that includes ground-breaking improvements in health and safety.

February 2, 2012

Fred Redmond, USW International Vice President (Human Affairs), has been elected to the Board of Directors of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

February 27, 2012

USW members at Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.’s Findlay, Ohio, plant ratify a five-year agreement after an international campaign results in the end of a three-month, company-imposed lockout.

May 2012

USW celebrates its 70th anniversary in Cleveland with sessions on union history, a Next Generation conference for young union leaders and activists, conferences for glass workers, retirees and local union communicators, and an International Executive Board meeting.

May 4, 2012

Leon Lynch, the first African American to serve as an international vice president of a major labor union and a lifelong advocate for social justice and civil rights, dies at the age of 76.

June 2012

USW joins labor unions from around the world in founding IndustriALL, a global union federation which represents 50 million workers in 140 countries and aims to work as a counterbalance to multinational corporations.

June 22, 2012

USW’s extensive campaign to save hundreds of jobs at the shuttered ConocoPhillips refinery in Trainer, Pa., ends in success when Monroe Energy, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, finalizes its purchase of the facility.

July 5, 2012

USW reaches an agreement with Rio Tinto on a three-year contract at the company’s aluminum smelter in Alma, Quebec, ending a six-month lockout and sending 780 members back to work.

Summer 2012

USW leads the fight for fair trade on cases involving lined paper imports, Chinese solar cells, circular welded pipe, electrical steel products and tin- and chromium-coated steel imports.

September-October 2012

USW members at Temple-Inland mills and box plants vote to be included in the master economic agreement with International Paper.

December 13, 2012

Nancy Lessin, a longtime United Steelworkers activist on behalf of worker health and safety, was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis to a seat on the 12-member federal Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee (WPAC)

January 2013

Fifteen years of struggle pay off when hospital workers at Kentucky River Medical Center in Jackson, Ky., reach their first contract with Tennessee- based health care giant Community Health Systems.

January 2013

USW’s Tony Mazzocchi Center for Health, Safety and Environmental Education receives an award from the U.S. Department of Labor for its chemical safety app called USW Safety.

February 2013

USW urges a new approach and expanded agenda for trade talks with the EU that promotes economic growth while safeguarding workers’ rights and strengthening workplace regulations and standards.

April 16, 2013

USW releases a study entitled “A Risk Too Great, Hydrofluoric Acid in U.S. Refineries” that warns the public that refiners using this highly toxic chemical are not likely to have adequate safety systems in place or be prepared to handle a release.

April 26, 2013

International Vice President Fred Redmond receives NAACP’s Dr. Annie B. Martin Labor Leader Award.

May 2013

USW, Unite the Union and Workers Uniting develop an international plan for shared prosperity to replace the austerity approach that benefits the rich at the expense of workers.

June 17, 2013

USW campaign saves Tesoro’s oil refinery in Kapolei, Hawaii, from closure, when Par Petroleum Corporation purchases the facility as well as Tesoro’s logistics and retail system.

July 11, 2013

USW stands in solidarity with Brazilian unions and social movements, marking their National Day of Struggle, which focuses on defense of workers’ rights and support of protests throughout the country.

September 2013

USW’s Health, Safety and Environment department announces the development of a comprehensive, union-based safety and health program that focuses on finding and preventing hazards.

September 27, 2013

President Barack Obama has announced the appointment of United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard and 18 others to the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) Steering Committee “2.0.”

October 1, 2013

USW is the only non-academic institution to win funding from the Alpha Foundation for the Improvement of mine safety and health.

November 21, 2013

A federal appeals court upholds a 2012 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling that Carey Salt violated federal labor law numerous times in its negotiations with the USW, ordering the company to reinstate striking workers and repay them for losses suffered due to the company’s illegal conduct.

December 6, 2013

The United Steelworkers' (USW) 1.2 million active and retired members join the citizens of South Africa and people across the world in mourning the loss of a great leader and humanitarian, Nelson Mandela.

January 9, 2014

USW opposes fast-track legislation and calls for a new commitment to trade policies that do not fuel income disparity.

January 14, 2014

Obama administration agrees to challenge China on its refusal to comply with a WTO ruling against the country’s imposition of duties on high- tech American steel madeby USW members.

Winter 2014

USW’s petition in 2010 to end a broad range of China’s unfair trade practices is vindicated when the WTO rules against China’s restrictions on exports of rare-earth metals used in missile-defense systems and smartphones.

March 26, 2014

The United Steelworkers hailed today’s ruling from National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 13 Director Peter Sung Ohr declaring that Northwestern University football players fit the legal definition of employees and thus are eligible to form a union.

April 25, 2014

The USW-backed College Athletes Players Association makes history, participating in the first union election of its kind. In March 2014, the NLRB ruled the players fit the legal definition of employees, paving the way for the student athletes to vote on union representation.

May 5, 2014

Retired USW President Lynn Williams, the son of a Canadian mill-town minister who led the United Steelworkers as its international president during a turbulent decade of steel industry consolidation, died May 5 at age 89 in Toronto, Canada.

May 23, 2014

The USW celebrates another win at the WTO, which ruled that China was imposing illegal tariffs on U.S.-made autos and SUVs. At the time of the ruling, some 350,000 members made products for vehicles, including steel, aluminum and plastics goods as well asglass, tires and other materials and parts.

June 25, 2014

International President Leo W. Gerard testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on the devastating effects of unfair trade.

October 10, 2014

Some 6,000 USW members of 61 local unions ratify their first-ever master economic and security agreement with RockTenn. The deal sets wage, pension, health insurance, health and safety and other provisions.

December 10, 2014

On this day in Pittsburgh, the United Steelworkers (USW) and the National Executive Council of the Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) signed a historic merger joining the two unions.

January 1, 2015

Merger between the USW and the 12,000 member Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) takes effect.

January 30, 2015

The USW reaches a five-year deal with Kaiser Aluminum, covering some 1,200 production, maintenance, clerical and technical workers company-wide.

March 12, 2015

The USW reaches a tentative agreement with Shell, ending the largest oil industry work stoppage in 35 years. Nearly 7,000 workers at 12 refineries and three related facilities stopped work over health and safety, staffing and other concerns.

March 23, 2015

The USW reaches an agreement on a new, three-year contract with Honeywell Corp., covering about 150 members of Local 7-669 who were locked out of their jobs at the company’s Metropolis, Ill., chemical processing facility on Aug. 2, 2014.

May 5, 2015

Steelworker Rachel Notley is elected as Premier of Alberta in the Province’s first-ever New Democratic government.

July 9, 2015

The USW and Crown Holdings reach a tentative agreement, ending a 22-month strike at a beer can manufacturing plant in Toronto.

August 21, 2015

Some 470 workers who make Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough and Buitoni products at a plant in Danville, Va., join the USW.

August 21, 2015

The USW reaches a settlement with FreightCar America Inc. over the company’s unlawful termination of retiree medical and life insurance benefits. The company agreed to contribute more than $31 million to a fund to provide ongoing insurance benefits for some 650 retirees.

September 2015

The American Red Cross Union Coalition (ARC), made up of the USW and seven other unions, ratifies its first ever national agreement with the American Red Cross. The agreement strengthens benefits and increases wages for some 4,000 union members.

November 5, 2015

Some 300 adjunct faculty at Point Park University overwhelmingly ratify their first contract.

January 8, 2016

USW joins Titan International Inc. in filing petitions for relief from imports of off-the-road (OTR) tires produced in China, India and Sri Lanka.

February 1, 2016

USW files a new trade case seeking relief from millions of dumped and subsidized Chinese truck and bus tires flooding the U.S. market.

February 9, 2016

The paper industry gets much-needed relief, thanks to the efforts of the USW and four U.S. paper companies, when the Department of Commerce issues huge anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese and Indonesian uncoated paper

March 1, 2016

Some 2,200 members in six states ratify a four-year contract with Allegheny Technologies (ATI) Inc., ending an illegal six-month lockout.

April 26, 2016

The USW supports U.S. Steel’s decision to file a trade petition under the little-used Section 337 of the Tariff Act, seeking relief from China’s unfair and illegal practices in the steel sector.

June 3, 2016

Health care workers at Lake Superior Community Health Center in Duluth, Minn., ratify their first contract. The 11-member unit of Local 9460 includes physician assistants, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, behavioral health therapists, and the USW’s first medical doctors.

June 22, 2016

The USW’s work on trade bears fruit when the ITC issues final duties on illegally subsidized and dumped cold-rolled steel flat products from China and Japan, and the U.S. Department of Commerce issues final duties on cold-rolled steel products from Brazil, India, South Korea, Russia, and the United Kingdom.

August 8, 2016

The USW is vindicated when the U.S. Department of Commerce issues its final determination for duties on hot-rolled steel imports from Australia, Brazil, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

September 1, 2016

The Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics & Allied Workers International Union (GMPIU) merges with the USW, bringing into the union some 25,000 craft and industrial workers primarily in glass, foundries, molding, plastics and pottery as well as ceramics, china, fiberglass and insulation, and other industries.

January 2017

The USW’s multi-year campaign to beat back the Trans-Pacific Partnership ends in success. Members are responsible for thousands of phone calls, 1,500 visits, and 350,000 postcards to lawmakers.

January 12, 2017

The U.S. Trade Representative launches a new trade enforcement complaint against China at the WTO concerning China’s subsidies to certain producers of primary aluminum. This filing is the result of a cooperative effort between the USW and Century Aluminum.

April 2017

The Department of Commerce opens 232 investigations into the national security impact of unfairly traded steel and aluminum.

May 9, 2017

USW leaders and members join surviving families in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1992 Westray Mine explosion, a preventable disaster that killed 26 coal miners. In the days leading to the disaster, miners were signing USW cards to join the union to address horrific safety issues.

May 20, 2017

Final OSHA rules protecting workers from beryllium exposure go into effect. Though the Trump administration limited the rules to exclude construction and shipyard workers, the rules are nevertheless a significant step forward in the USW’s longstanding campaign to protect workers from beryllium.

June 6, 2017

Some 430 adjunct faculty at Robert Morris University ratify a first contract. They overwhelmingly voted to join the USW in March 2015.

August 24, 2017

Members of Locals 2L, 12L, 307L, 831L and 959L ratify a new collective bargaining agreement with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company on behalf of about 7,200 workers at tire plants in five states.

September 2017

The USW’s Dow North American Labor Council and Dupont Councils merge in response to the mega-merger between Dow Chemical and Dupont.

October 4, 2017

USW members join the more than 300 workers who volunteer to travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to help with Hurricane Maria relief efforts.

November 25, 2017

The 371 members of USW Local 6486 succeed in preserving their defined-benefit pension plan for future generations after weathering a nine-month strike at the CEZinc (Glencore) refinery in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec.

January 4, 2018

U.S. Court of Appeals rejects industry challenges to OSHA’s new silica standard, ruling that the new permissible exposure limits can go into effect in June 2018. Protecting workers from silica has been one of the USW’s longstanding safety priorities.

March 2, 2018

Thirty workers from over a dozen independent merchant oil refineries in 11 states take their fight to save their jobs to Washington, D.C., where they meet with legislators to discuss the urgent need for Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) reform.

March 8, 2018

The USW welcomes the administration’s final decision in Section 232 investigations on steel and aluminum as vital to national defense and critical manufacturing jobs but urges it to exclude Canada due the nation’s well documented commitment to fair trade.

June 12, 2018

Labor legislation in Quebec bans all forms of discriminatory, two-tier clauses in collective agreements, including pension and benefits plans. The new law is the result of a forceful, sustained campaign by Quebec’s labor movement, led by USW District 5.

July 8, 2018

Members of Local 8-495 at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant in southern Virginia raise nearly $15,000 at a community fundraiser for the families of the victims of a June 11 workplace fire.

August 7, 2018

Missouri voters overwhelmingly vote to repeal anti-union legislation after a coalition of thousands of workers, including USW members, knocked on an estimated 800,000 doors, made more than 1 million phone calls, and discussed issues with working people at more than 1,000 job sites.

August 28, 2018

The USW welcomes the return to Mexico of Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, the President and General Secretary of the National Union of Mine, Metal, Steel and Related Workers of the Mexican Republic (Los Mineros) after more than 12 years of exile.

Fall 2018

The USW leads an effort to raise more than $500,000 to support programs at Variety, a children’s charity which helps children with cancer and other illnesses to live fuller lives.

October 11, 2018

After the USW strongly advocated for safeguard measures on seven steel products, Canada’s Department of Finance announces interim quotas and surtaxes as a result of a surge of imports into the Canadian market.

November 13, 2018

Thousands of members vote by an overwhelming margin to ratify a new contract with U.S. Steel. The new four-year master agreement includes a total of 14 percent in wage increases over the life of the contract, maintains the union’s high-quality, affordable health care coverage and strengthens retirement benefits for 16,000 members at 14 U.S. Steel locations.

November 18, 2018

Members overwhelmingly ratify new, four-year labor agreements with ArcelorMittal USA that will increase wages, bolster retirement provisions, improve benefits and strengthen contract language for roughly 15,000 hourly production, maintenance, office and technical workers.

January 7, 2019

Approximately 1,200 members at National Grid overwhelmingly vote to ratify a six-year deal, ending a nearly seven-month lockout. The deal provides significant wage increases, preserves affordable benefits and includes additional health and safety provisions and other protections for the natural gas workers and residents.

February 2019

The USW establishes the LGBTQ+ Advisory Council, which holds its first meeting in Pittsburgh.

April 15, 2019

Members vote to ratify a new five- year contract with Harley-Davidson that covers 1,000 workers at the company’s facilities in Milwaukee and Tomahawk, Wis.

May 8, 2019

Some 200 locked-out Local 9700 members from the ABI aluminum smelter in Bécancour, Quebec, drive more than 12 hours to demonstrate at Alcoa’s shareholders’ meeting. A delegation of union representatives equipped with shareholders’ proxies also attend the meeting to address Alcoa’s role in the 16-month lockout of 1,030 workers at the ABI smelter.

May 2019

A yearlong political action campaign led by USW leaders on both sides of the border succeeds in the elimination of tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel exports.

May 29, 2019

USW announces changes in leadership as a result of a series of retirements, including International President Leo W. Gerard, Secretary- Treasurer Stan Johnson and Vice Presidents Carol Landry and Jon Geenen. The IEB votes for Thomas M. Conway, John Shinn, Dave McCall, Roxanne Brown and Leeann Foster to replace them.

June 19, 2019

The USW joined the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) in calling for a new standard to protect miners from silica dust.

July 2, 2019

More than 1,000 members of Local 9700 at the Bécancour aluminum smelter in Quebec return to work after Alcoa and Rio Tinto locked them out for 18 months.

July 15, 2019

Thomas M. Conway is installed as the USW’s eighth international president to replace retiring International President Leo W. Gerard. John Shinn, Dave McCall, Roxanne Brown and Leeann Foster also take office.

August 14, 2019

Workers at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh vote overwhelmingly to join the USW after launching their organizing campaign in June, seeking a collective bargaining agreement that would cover employees across 19 branches and the library support center.

September 7, 2019

Workers at the Kumho Tire factory in Macon, Ga., vote to join the USW nearly two years after the initial vote was marred by the company’s numerous violations ofworkers’ rights.

September 19, 2019

USW members vote to ratify a four-year master agreement that covers about 1,600 production and maintenance workers at five Alcoa facilities in the United States. The new contract is the first since Alcoa split into two companies in November 2016. Alcoa, which dates to 1888, retained its smelting and refining operations while spinning off a downstreamproducts division now known as Arconic.

September 24, 2019

Approximately 80 tech workers employed by the Google contractor HCL Technologies vote for union representation, seeking a voice on the job and the opportunity to bargain over wages and working conditions.

October 2019

Sudbury Airport security guards, Kirkland Lake part-time firefighters and Permacon employees in Mississauga join the USW.

November 19, 2019

The USW welcomes into the union more than 60 Proterra employees in City of Industry, Calif., where they manufacture battery electric buses. After an overwhelming majority of workers requested representation, Proterra management voluntarily recognized the union on Nov. 12.

November 22, 2019

Employees of Transcare Logistics, a Hamilton subsidiary of CP Rail, join the USW in a secret-ballot vote supervised by the Ontario Ministry of Labour. The Hamilton facility transfers steel products such as coil, pipe and plate from rail cars to trucks and into storage.

December 6, 2019

Workers at Persad Center, an organization that serves the LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS communities of the Pittsburgh area, vote to join the USW.

December 10, 2019

Gaylan Prescott is appointed to serve as District 12 Director, replacing Bob LaVenture, who passed away suddenly on November 13, 2019.

December 10, 2019

The USW supports adoption of a revised United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement after the previous version of the trade deal fell short on workers’ rights. The changes come as a result of fierce advocacy from the labor movement, congressional Democrats and other key allies.

December 20, 2019

USW members approve a four-year master agreement with WestRock that sets standards for wages, benefits and working conditions for more than 9,400 union workers at 62 facilities across 26 U.S. states.

January 8, 2020

Members of Local 5114 in Mullan, Idaho, ratify an agreement to resolve their strike at Hecla Mining Company’s Lucky Friday mine that began March 13, 2017.

January 9, 2020

The USW files a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s attempt to gut the Chemical Disaster Rule, a regulation intended to prevent chemical disasters and save lives.

February 10, 2020

Members of USW Local 1088 vote to ratify a three-year contract with Point Park University covering clerical workers at the downtown Pittsburgh school.

February 14, 2020

More than 2,600 members from USW Local 1-1937 working at Western Forest Products reach a new agreement following an eight-month strike to defend their pensions, seniority rights and long-term disability from being cut and rolled back by the company.

March 20, 2020

International President Tom Conway calls the Families First Coronavirus Response Act a good first step in protecting the health and economic well- being of workers and their families, but cautions that more help will be needed to contain the disease and support struggling workers.

May 13, 2020

USW files trade petitions on PVLT tires from Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The union is the first to file a petition under new rules the Department of Commerce issued earlier in 2020 alleging a currency undervaluation subsidy.

June 2020

The Women of Steel Committee of Local 1-207 in Alberta, Canada, played a vital role in making sure the Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation was able to open the doors of its new domestic violence shelter and resource center, raising thousands of dollars for the cause, organizing a golf tournament, purchasing tables at the Montreal Massacre luncheon and more.

June 2020

A Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge led by the USW and a coalition of unions wins the day in Manitoba, with the province’s highest court striking down Conservative government legislation aimed at suppressing the Constitutional rights of public-sector workers to free collective bargaining.

June 2, 2020

The USW condemns President Trump’s threat of military action against protesters who were in Washington, D.C., calling for racial justice.

June 16, 2020

The NLRB issues a sweeping complaint against ASARCO, outlining management’s overall failure to bargain in good faith with the approximately 2,000 members of eight international unions forced out on an unfair labor practice strike.

July 21, 2020

Former District 5 Director, Jean Gérin-Lajoie, dies at 92. Gérin-Lajoie served as Steelworkers Quebec Director from 1965-1981 and as Vice-President at the Quebec Federation of Labour from 1959-1981.

August 11, 2020

Workers at Kumho Tire in Macon, Ga., win their battle to join the USW despite the corporation’s relentless and illegal campaign to thwart their organizing rights after the NLRB processes the final 13 ballots from an election the previous fall.

September 1, 2020

Following a 10-week lockout, members of USW Local 9074-12 reach a new agreement with Black Cat Wear Parts achieving a wage increase that was 50 percent higher than the offer rejected prior to the lockout.

September 11, 2020

The USW kicks off a series of actions in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan to spotlight how elections and politics impact workers and their communities. The USW uses an outdoor projector to shine a “Batlight”-style image onto buildings after dark encouraging workers to make a plan to vote in the upcoming general election.

October 16, 2020

A decision by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) to renew an existing order on dumped steel products from China, Turkey and South Korea is a significant breakthrough and proof that the union has a key role in determining injury to Canada’s domestic steel industry.

December 2020

A group of 24 Red Cross blood collection technicians in Asheville, N.C., become members of the USW after completing a 100-percent online organizing campaign.

December 2020

The Steelworkers Humanity Fund contributes more than $226,000 to 117 food banks across Canada during 2020.

December 4, 2020

The 135 members of Local 6946 at Scapa Tapes North America Ltd. in Renfrew, Ontario, ratify a new three-year agreement that includes jointly developed job training and improvements to wages and benefits.

December 15, 2020

Workers across the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh system vote overwhelmingly to join the USW. The unit consists of more than 500 scientists, educators, art handlers, front staff, gift shop clerks, event ushers, and other workers.

December 29, 2020

The USW mourns the loss of former District 6 Director Harry Hynd.

January 26, 2021

The USW welcomes the final results of the ITC’s first sunset review of PVLT tires from China and hails the decision as essential to protecting U.S. workers from the devastating effects of unfair trade. The USW successfully filed the original AD and CVD petitions on Chinese PVLT tires in 2015. The ITC’s vote determined the domestic industry would be “materially injured” if duties were lifted.

February 19, 2021

USW Local 1-1937 and the Huu-ay-aht First Nations announce the signing of a historic Memorandum of Understanding to establish a process and commitment to advance reconciliation with First Nations to provide job security, training and other benefits for current and future USW members.

March 10, 2021

USW applauds U.S. House passage of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and calls on the U.S. Senate to swiftly take up the bill. International President Tom Conway calls the bill “a much-needed corrective to the assault on workers’ power.”

March 31, 2021

President Biden announces his plan to rebuild the nation’s crumbing roads, bridges, waterways and other transportation networks during a visit to Pittsburgh. USW members demonstrate they are ready to supply the goods and services needed to make this vision a reality.

April 1, 2021

The USW releases a joint statement from International President Conway and Canadian National Director Ken Neumann calling for a bi-national infrastructure strategy and bipartisan cooperation, similar to what our two countries negotiated in 2009 under the Obama Administration’s Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

May 10, 2021

The AFL-CIO files the first complaint under the Rapid Response Mechanism of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) against Tridonex, an auto parts factory in Matamoros in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. The case will test whether Mexico’s labor reforms and USMCA’s Rapid Response Mechanism can deliver for Mexican workers, who have been denied their fundamental right to organize and bargain for better wages and working conditions.

May 10, 2021

2,500 workers at Arcelor-Mittal in Quebec’s North Shore region go on strike. The strike is settled in one month, with the workers winning cost-of- living increases, pension improvements and other gains, providing significant benefits to the local economy.

June 1, 2021

2,600 members of USW Local 6500 strike at Vale’s mining operations in Sudbury, Ontario. The strike lasts more than two months, and workers defeat demands to eliminate post-retirement benefits, while securing signing bonuses, wage and pension improvements and other gains.

June 16, 2021

A Quebec Court of Appeal decision confirms it is illegal to pay student workers less than other employees for the performance of comparable work. The landmark ruling stems from a court case fought by Steelworkers on behalf of student workers at the USW-represented Bécancour aluminum smelter.

June 29, 2021

USW members vote unanimously to ratify their first contract at a Starbucks drive-through in Victoria, B.C., becoming the first unionized corporate Starbucks location in North America. The contract includes lump-sum bonuses, wage increases and health and safety provisions, including language aimed at preventing workplace violence and harassment.

July 2021

Eight years of hard work and unwavering solidarity pay off with a new agreement for 400 members of Local 7999 at Sloan Valve in Franklin Park, Ill. The contract provides wage increases, health care coverage with no concessions, and a system of reducing the number of temporary employees.

July 2021

USW Local 7884 members at Fording River coal mine in Elkford, B.C., negotiate historic language – a first for any Steelworker collective agreement – to establish a Joint Women’s Committee with the employer specifically for women, paid for by the  employer.

July 13, 2021

Members ratify a new four-year contract with specialty steel maker ATI after more than three months on strike. The deal raises wages, provides lump-sum payments and protects affordable, high-quality health care for current and future workers.

July 16, 2021

The Steelworkers Humanity Fund contributes $50,000 to provide immediate and long-term support to victims of devastating wildfires in British Columbia.

July 29, 2021

Workers ratify a first contract with Google contractor HCL America Inc., covering about 65 employees in Pittsburgh. The three-year contract improves wages, job security and working conditions.

August 5, 2021

The USW mourns the loss of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

August 12, 2021

USW members kick off a nationwide week of action as a part of their ongoing We Supply America campaign, calling for robust investments in the country’s infrastructure and highlighting the contributions members make, both in obvious and more inconspicuous industries. The bus tour stops at locals in six states between Aug. 16 and 20.

August 20, 2021

The AFL-CIO Executive Council elects Liz Shuler to serve as AFL-CIO president and USW International Vice President Fred Redmond as AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer.

September 6, 2021

After being without a contract for four years, members of USW Local 8223, representing about 180 clerical staff at the Mystery Lake school district in Manitoba, went on a five-day strike and reached a new agreement just in time for the new school year.

September 29, 2021

The 39 miners who were stuck underground in the Totten Mine just outside of Sudbury, Ontario, were rescued after two and a half days below ground. Most of the miners were USW Local 6500 members, as were rescue team members who helped bring them safely above ground.

September 30, 2021

Quebec Steelworkers lead a public campaign helping to mitigate some of the worst aspects of the proposed legislation rolling back workplace health and safety protections.

October 13, 2021

USW members at child-care centers in the Abitibi and North Shore regions of Quebec simultaneous launch a strike with other child-care workers. The strike lasts eight weeks and leads to new collective agreements with significant improvements in wages and working conditions.

October 19, 2021

Approximately 3,300 University of Pittsburgh faculty members vote to become members of the USW. The win comes nearly four years after their organizing drive began, despite multiple attempts from the administration to derail their effort.

October 27, 2021

Following a protracted legal battle, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) confirms the democratic rights and the will of approximately 500 employees of long- erm care operator CONMED Health Care Group to join the USW.

November 8, 2021

USW Local 1998 wins paid sick days in a new collective agreement covering approximately 3,500 casual members at the University of Toronto, after a successful many months-long membership engagement campaign.

November 13, 2021

USW Local 7600 announces that the union reached a tentative national and local agreement with Kaiser Permanente alongside the other 20 locals who together make up the Alliance of Health Care Unions. The union had given Kaiser Permanente management a 10-day notice of its intent to strike over unfair labor practices beginning on Mon., Nov. 15, 2021.

November 15, 2021

With USW members in attendance, President Biden signs the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law, providing $1.2 trillion to upgrade the nation’s critical infrastructure.

November 17, 2021

The Steelworkers Humanity Fund contributes $50,000 to assist residents in British Columbia impacted by severe flooding.

December 2021

The Steelworkers Humanity Fund contributes $233,750 to 120 food banks across Canada during 2021.

December 9, 2021

The USW calls for measures to address predatory trade practices and advance human rights as China marks 20 Years in the WTO.

December 13, 2021

The USW visits a Canadian Tire store in downtown Toronto to deliver a petition addressed to CEO Greg Hicks demanding Mark’s/Canadian Tire pay living wages to workers in its global supply chain. The USW petition caps a month-long campaign, part of the ongoing Justice for Global Garment Workers campaign by the Steelworkers Humanity Fund.

January 4, 2022

More than 200 workers from ADT Security by TELUS in Calgary vote to join USW Local 1944.

January 7, 2022

Workers at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh ratify their first collective bargaining agreement that covers approximately 300 workers across 19 branches as well as the library support center.

January 21, 2022

Roughly 500 workers at four Kane Community Living Centers vote unanimously to join the USW.

January 21, 2022

More than 1,000 members at Teck’s Highland Valley Copper, USW Local 7619, ratify a new collective agreement including important language to recognize Truth and Reconciliation Day, granting leave for members of Indigenous Governance, and establishing an Indigenous Committee to improve Indigenous relations and make the workplace better for Indigenous members.

February 2, 2022

Some 800 USW members (Locals 6586, 8897 and 8060) at ArcelorMittal’s steel plants in Contrecoeur-Est and Longueuil, Quebec, strike to back up contract demands. Workers overwhelmingly vote – nearly 99 percent – to reject the company’s contract offer.

February 8, 2022

After a decade-long campaign by the USW, families of affected miners, and OHCOW, Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is compelled to recognize occupational disease related to inhalation of McIntyre powder.

March 1, 2022

One of Canada’s preeminent labor and social justice advocates, Ken Neumann, retires after serving 18 years as USW National Director for Canada. Neumann is succeeded by former USW District 6 Director Marty Warren, who is elected Canadian Director.

March 1, 2022

The USW districts are restructured and District 2 becomes parts of District 1 and District 7.

August 8, 2022

Nearly 3,000 members and allies of the USW meet in Las Vegas, Nev., for the first in-person convention since 2017. Special guests include U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, and Mexican Senator and labor leader Napoleón Gómez Urrutia.

March 13, 2023

International President Tom Conway is appointed to the White House’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN).

May 12, 2023

Workers at electric school bus manufacturer Blue Bird in Georgia vote to join the USW.

June 2023

International Vice President Leeann Foster retires and is succeeded by National Paper Bargaining Chair Luis Mendoza.

September 2023

USW mourns the passing of International President Tom Conway. Vice President of Administration David McCall succeeds Conway as President.

October 2023

USW District 11 Director Emil Ramirez is sworn in as International Vice President while Cathy Drummond makes history as first female District Director (District 11).

March 12, 2024

The USW leads a coalition of labor organizations in filing a Section 301 petition, calling on the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to initiate an investigation of Chinese commercial shipbuilding.

May 2024

University of Pittsburgh faculty overwhelmingly ratify their first contract since joining the USW in 2021, improving job security and raising wages for more than 3,000 workers.

Manufacturing workers at Blue Bird ratify their first union contract after voting to join the USW a year earlier.

June 27, 2024

The Thessalon First Nation (TFN) in Northern Ontario became the first-ever First Nations community in Canada to unionize with the USW.

September 27, 2024

More than 6,000 staff members at the University of Pittsburgh vote to join the USW, making it one of the largest units in the international union.