For press inquiries, please reach out to Communications Director Erin Bzymek at ebzymek@uwua.net or 202-702-9655.
In 2023, seven Michigan State Utility Worker Council locals (101, 104, 105, 119, 123, 144, and 254) raised $17,200 and provided 513 complete dinners to families in Pontiac, Roseville, Warren, Lansing, and Bay City. The locals targeted areas where they had worked on large replacement projects that had at times inconvenienced…
In spring 2023, I was one of several Young Workers Initiative Committee (YWIC) members who took part in the UWUA organizing training in Roswell, NM. Little did I know then that I would put that training to good use just a few months later. When UWUA Organizing Director Deidre Brill and National Representative Valerie King…
New Mexico A group of public works employees from the Village of Bosque Farms, outside of Albuquerque, chose UWUA to gain more control over their work. Five municipal workers operate the village’s water and sewerage services, maintaining 2 wells, a wastewater treatment plant, grinder pump stations, and the billing/customer service operation. It’s a large workload…
Since its founding in 2012, Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services has been assisting organizations to integrate veterans and their families into their existing programs. This work is only possible with partners who are committed to honoring the service of our military-connected community. Since 2015, UWUA has been one of those partners. It’s a…
The Utility Workers Union of America, coming off a hugely successful convention in 2023, will focus on membership development and education in 2024 and 2025. In April, we’ll hold the first of four 2024 regional conferences. In the past, in off-convention years we alternated regional conferences with conferences by the Power for America Training Trust…
Here we are, and it’s 2024: the first quarter of a new year, six years before we begin a new decade, and two presidential elections yet to come. So, what’s ahead? Did you make plans already or create New Year’s resolutions for 2024? Were you successful with your plans and resolutions in 2023? Did you…
UWUA Local 51 members in Roswell, NM, recently won unscheduled bonus payments and new benefits for blue-collar employees of the City of Roswell, following a months-long battle over a bare-bones budget imposed by the city council in July 2023. Shortly after council members adopted the surprise austerity budget — citing exaggerated woes in the city’s…
It’s easy to get bogged down by the work tasks on our plates. We can quickly lose sight of the big picture including all the ways the work we do — regardless of which utility sector we work in — is interconnected. We’ve all experienced moments of feeling very siloed in our work, which has…
Workers responsible for water treatment, distribution maintenance, and wastewater services for Jersey City’s 280,000 businesses and residents recently ratified a new four-year agreement, winning substantial gains in wages and other areas. The agreement holds particular significance for the 40 workers represented by Local 375. It was the first time they bargained with Veolia Water. Five…
The National Safety Committee attended two conferences this fall and came away with important information to share. In October, I represented the UWUA at the National Safety Council’s (NSC) Safety Congress & Expo. The NSC is an organization focused on eliminating the leading causes of preventable workplace injury and death. The NSC recently launched an…