Category: Magazine

During the 2016 Presidential campaign Donald Trump repeatedly invoked the concerns of working Americans. He spoke of economic uncertainty, income inequality and stagnant wages. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to be on the side of workers and put their issues first. Over 12 months into President Trump’s first term, now is a good time…

Local 393 Puts Safety First I would like to commend Local 393 for its victory in getting the New York State Department of Labor and the Division of Public Employees Safety and Health to conduct inspections of various Suffolk County Water Authority pump stations on Long Island, NY. This resulted in the Water Authority creating…

NATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT – John Duffy, National Vice President The Undermining of Our Democracy Through Gerrymandering Is Finally Being Challenged Gerrymandering, or manipulating, the boundaries of election districts is nothing new. The term gerrymander was first used in Boston back in 1812. Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry had redrawn State Senate election districts to the…

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT – Steven VanSlooten, Executive Vice President From Cradle to Grave, No One Works Nuclear Better! Our members have been responsible for safely operating and maintaining much of our nation’s fleet of nuclear power generation facilities since they went online more than half-a-century ago. With the so-called free market and the price…

Implementing Our Training Objectives At our 75th National Convention in 2015, the Utility Workers Union of America laid out the guiding principles of our organization and we proudly proclaimed our theme: Reclaim, Retrain, Repower, and Repair America. At the convention, UWUA Delegates passed many constitutional amendments and resolutions. Our task moving forward is to implement…

National Union Unites Locals in Fight for Nuclear Decommissioning Work The U.S. nuclear powerplant fleet has been providing reliable, carbon-free electricity for the country since an early reactor, located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia first began feeding power onto the commercial grid in 1957.  Over the following decades, more than 100 were built, primarily in eastern…

NM Local 51 Wins Arbitration Reinstating City Employee, Sets Stage for City Elections Local 51 started off the New Year with some great news when a neutral arbitrator ruled in the union’s favor in a case involving UWUA member Armondo Rosales, who was unfairly terminated by the City of Roswell, New Mexico a year ago.…

Utility and Communications Workers Join to Fight for Union Jobs and Member Safety Rapid expansion in the communications industry over the last few decades has resulted in utility poles burdened to an ever greater degree with much more than just electric power lines. Phone companies, cable television, mobile communications providers, and more, have added their…

Canada Hydro Power Competition Triggers TAA Benefits for Brayton Point Workers When Dynegy announced the closing of Brayton Point, the largest coal-fired power plant in New England, the National Union and Local 464 fought hard to keep it open. After the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rejected their argument that the company’s decision resulted from…

Local 393 Wins Right to Conduct Union Orientations for New Hires Suffolk County Water Authority workers, members of Local 393, recently won contract language that guarantees the local the right to meet with new hires and welcome them with a union orientation. In today’s workplace, a new hire is often told by management that the…