Category: Magazine

Utility Workers Respond as Hurricane Florence Devastates the Carolinas As electric utility crews from as far away as California and Canada traveled to the Carolinas to respond to Hurricane Florence, UWUA Local 69 gasworkers were already on the ground securing their facilities. “We have people in the flooded areas. Luckily everybody got out and is…

UWUA Scholarship Winners 2018 marks the 59th anniversary of the UWUA Merit Scholarship Program. The National Union’s long-standing tradition of investing in America’s most precious commodity – its youth – has thus far acknowledged the outstanding academic achievements of over 100 students, all of them daughters and sons of members throughout the country, with a…

SAFETY CORNER Safety Leadership Program I am excited to report on the pilot of the Safety Leadership Program through the UWUA Power for America Training Trust Fund (P4A). Members of UWUA Local 102 and management from West Penn Power, a First Energy company, attended the training at the P4A training facility in Charlotte, MI. This…

SPEAKING OUT Tuesday, Nov. 6 is Election Day. As a utility worker, what issues will decide who you vote for?   John Lorenzo, Local 164 “As a working class man in my late 30’s, what is important to me is: 1) more funding for education, that’s vital; 2) investment in infrastructure; 3) more union jobs; and…

VOTE! – Your Future Depends on It Tuesday, November 6, 2018 — Mid-Term Elections   An ever-changing world It has long been said that the only constant in life is change. In the case of American politics and how government affects the lives of working people, that has perhaps never been more true than right now. …

CA Locals Win Historic SoCal Gas Contract Victory The 3,800 UWUA members in CA Locals 132, 483, and 522 won an historic victory when they reached a new three-year contract extension agreement with SoCal Gas. Across-the-board wage increases totaling 9.54%, with no givebacks, tops the list of gains. Industry under attack Most importantly, the agreement…

Organizing Win at Hawaii Water  – Contract Bargaining Set to Begin The UWUA is proud to welcome into its ranks Hawaii Water workers, the newest bargaining unit to join the National Union. Their journey into the union in many ways was a textbook case of how the positive experience utility workers have as UWUA members can…

Supreme Court Bows Down to Right-Wing – Janus Decision Will Not Stop Us! On June 27, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 that ruled a public employee cannot be required to pay dues or fees for the representation the union provides related to collective bargaining and other representational activities.…

Local 537 Secures Contract with American Water Under a long-standing agreement by the parties, the National UWUA and other unions negotiate most benefits with American Water as part of a National Benefits Agreement. Negotiations for wages, hours, and working conditions are done separately by local unions. Local 537 members in Brownsville, PA, ratified a new…

American Water Benefits Agreement Inked More than 3,000 members of the UWUA and eight other unions ratified a National Benefits Agreement with American Water on July 31. It includes improvements to healthcare, retirement, and other benefits for nearly 70 bargaining units in 15 states across the U.S. The national agreement is negotiated by a coalition…