Brendan Cole, age 15, won the youth and adult sporting clays competition at the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance’s July 22 event in Mt. Gilead, OH. He’s the son of Local 612 member David Cole. Brendan is a frequent participant in regional and national sport shooting competitions. In 2022, he won the Scholastic Clay Target Program’s intermediate/advanced…
When electric power goes out, troubleshooters are the first at the scene to determine what caused the outage. They’re the individuals who work with overhead linemen and splicers to handle storm damage. If a cable blows up, it’s the troubleshooter who isolates, deenergizes, and makes temporary repairs until an inspector can make permanent repairs. Local…
Members of Ohio Local 270 ratified their first UWUA contract with the City of Berea’s water department in June. The unit of 10 water workers organized in early 2021 but faced a long road to their first contract. “This was a tough one because both parties came to the table presenting a full contract,” Local…
The theme of the Utility Workers Union of America’s 31st and most recent constitutional convention in 2019 was “Our Mission: Protecting Our Legacy, Building Our Future!” and with the rapid changes occurring in the utility industry there is no better mission. Our industry is changing quickly. Although some of these changes are resulting in the…
Today we see thousands of workers taking back their power, grabbing headlines and securing big wins against the country’s most powerful, anti-union employers. Starbucks baristas, Amazon workers and young workers who have never been involved in an organizing campaign are taking on the Goliaths of the world and delivering radical change in their work lives.…
In May and June members of Local 601 put together three fundraisers to benefit the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) Relay For Life, a national program that has been adopted by towns across the country. Local communities join with ACS fundraising teams, named for people whose lives have been impacted by cancer, and find creative ways…
Matthew Michael Rourke, a member of Local 369 and employee of National Grid in Massachusetts, died at age 35 on May 26 following a tragic workplace accident. Rourke worked as a first-class underground cable splicer and was alone in an electrical box when he was electrocuted. Fire and EMS staff attempted life-saving measures before taking…
As union members, we have far better pay, health and pension benefits, safety protections, grievance processes, and job protections than our non-union counterparts. We didn’t get these things by simply asking. We got them because we have the power — or leverage — to get what we want. Anyone who has sat through a contract…
There is truly power in numbers, especially when it comes to unions. Workers win bigger gains at the bargaining table and in the political arena when we have higher density. Density means representing a greater share of the workforce — whether within individual companies, sectors, geographic regions, or nationally. A local representing all union-eligible workers…
Clean hydrogen is a pillar of the U.S. strategy for reducing carbon emissions, and the UWUA is focused on ensuring that this growth includes high-quality jobs for members. Federal and several state governments as well as private industry are betting heavily on clean hydrogen production and deployment across a variety of hard-to-decarbonize sectors of the…
Over the past several months members in Ohio and Western Pennsylvania have negotiated and ratified new agreements that raise member wages and standards and ensure job security for the coming years. Long process, big gains at Local 540 Members at Local 540 in Cranberry Township, PA, negotiated for nearly a year before ratifying a new…
The UWUA wishes all our retirees health and happiness during your “golden years.” Enjoy it — you’ve earned it! Local 1-2 Elias Claudio Craig Ellefsen David Lopez Local 101 George Klump Gary Lester Robert M. Maltby Theodore Petrakovitz Local 102 Greg Brown David Torreyson Local 103 John Botbyl Lori Chrystler Lee Johnson Nancy Suits Chris…
The UWUA congratulates Tara Cantalupo and Ava Taspatsaris for earning Union Plus scholarships. Both of these exceptional young women are the daughters of UWUA Local 1-2 members. The Union Plus program awards scholarships based on outstanding academic achievement, personal character, financial need, and commitment to the values of organized labor. The scholarships can be used…
Nonmembers’ Right to Object. Any employee who is not a member of the UWUA, and who pays fees to the UWUA and/or a Local Union pursuant to a collectively bargained union-security provision, will have the right to object to expenditures paid for activities, which are not reasonably related to collective bargaining. Such activities are referred…
The UWUA is proud to count many veterans among our members and we take our obligation to meet the needs of this community way beyond providing training and good jobs. We fight to get veterans mental health support and provide access to wrap-around services that also benefit their families. We even make sure veterans receive…
Did you know the average cost of tuition at public 4-year institutions rose over 179% in the last 20 years? High college loan debt is one of many factors that contributes to 50% of college graduates moving home after graduating from college. During our committee’s 2021 round-table discussion with high school students, we learned that…
Members gathered in Cleveland June 2-4 to share information, hear from National leadership and staff, and learn new strategies for bargaining, building community coalitions, and improving workplace safety.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act includes special protections against employer retaliation when workers take action to ensure on-the-job safety. Retaliation occurs when an employer fires an employee or takes any other type of adverse action against an employee for engaging in protected activity, including those related to workplace safety. An adverse action is defined…
When I see UWUA, I see more than Utility Workers Union of America; I think: Union, Women, Uniting, America through focused efforts of member engagement. Your National Women’s Caucus continues to seek collaboration with other partners and AFL-CIO affiliates to hone member leadership skills and build the labor movement. We’re working to develop rank-and-file members…
Something special is happening with the members of the Michigan State Utility Workers Council (MSUWC) who work at Consumers Energy. Members from vastly different backgrounds, who used to think they had little in common, are finding ways to have conversations on difficult subjects like politics, race, and religion. Some may ask, why go there? Aren’t…