Three years after winning its first contract with Liberty Gas in Georgia, UWUA Local 607 has reached a strong successor agreement that continues the progress members began when they organized. The new three-year contract took effect July 19 and delivers an immediate average wage increase of about 8.5% across the local’s 19 job classifications. Members…
A year ago, the California Water Utility Council’s plans for a first-of-its-kind water utility apprenticeship were still largely a vision. Today, three young workers are on the job, beginning a 17-month journey toward careers as skilled union water utility workers. And they had plenty of competition to get there. About 500 people applied for just…
Members from Regions II and III gathered in Cleveland in early June for their regional conference, followed by Region IV members in Detroit in early August. The three-day conferences offered members opportunities to learn, exchange ideas and strengthen connections across the union, with a wide-ranging program focused on leadership, safety, emerging issues and the work…
As the UWUA marks the 80th anniversary of its first constitutional convention, The Utility Worker invited members of the National Executive Board to reflect on the union’s future and the opportunities ahead. We asked them to consider how the values that built the UWUA over the past eight decades can continue to strengthen our union,…
UWUA Local 132 members sought to raise awareness of SoCalGas’ use of contractors to perform customer service work, which the local says is protected by its collective bargaining agreement. On July 1, they held an informational rally in San Dimas, California, followed by another in late August near the company’s Redlands call center. The work…
Over the past several months, I have had the opportunity to attend our UWUA Regional Conferences across the country. While every region is different and every conference has its own personality, one thing has been consistent everywhere we have gone: the energy, commitment, and engagement of our members. For me, that has been one of…
Regardless of what line of work we’re in, utility workers bring so much value to the communities we serve. When the rest of the world sleeps, we answer emergency calls and head out in our trucks to find where the trouble is. Making sure there are enough highly trained individuals to answer that emergency call…
When we talk about growing the UWUA, we naturally think about organizing new employers and bringing workers at nonunion workplaces into our ranks. That work is essential, and we are building the capacity to do more of it. But there is another opportunity that may be much closer to home. Look around your own workplace. …
For the first time, the Brotherhood of Utility Workers (BUW) approached National Grid gas negotiations with a unified bargaining strategy — one that brought together the strength of three local unions while preserving the unique needs of each. The result was the strongest set of gas agreements the Brotherhood has achieved and a model that…
More than 50 elected stewards from six of Local 270’s seven divisions gathered at the local’s Brooklyn Heights, Ohio, headquarters in late June for a full-day steward training designed to strengthen leadership skills and promote consistent representation across Northeast Ohio. Local 270 President Chris Ericksen and Vice President Robert Scheffler opened the program with an…
Christy Hall, Local 358 “The mentors who stood beside me on the job made the biggest difference. Working in a compressor station can be challenging — you learn through sweat, repetition, and the guidance of people who’ve been doing it longer than you. The crew who trained me didn’t just teach me how to fix…