USW   Five Gateway Center Pittsburgh, PA 15222

United Steelworkers

On June 17, 1936, the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) was formed. Six years later, in May 1942, delegates to the SWOC convention in Cleveland created the United Steelworkers of America and elected Philip Murray as the first president. Today, USW workplaces are found in nearly every sector of the North American economy. Members are employed in a number of different industries, including metals, manufacturing, rubber, chemicals, health care, paper and forestry products, oil refining, mining, and energy and utilities. USW members are united by their dedication to the fight for greater job security, a healthier and safer place to work, better benefits, and an end to arbitrary, unfair treatment in the workplace. The union also strives to ensure justice and dignity on the job and better the lives of all working people.

Union officers at every level are responsible to the membership. The USW applies the principle of "One Member, One Vote" to all elections and when deciding on goals and priorities for contract negotiation. Union contracts negotiated by the USW provide workers with benefits such as pensions, health care, and vacations. They also secure equal treatment on the job and provide an established procedure for resolving differences with supervisors and management.

The USW's Political Action Committee (PAC) is actively involved in rallies, protests, elections and lobbying for issues that affect working people. In the 1970s, the union lobbied for the Occupational Safety and Health Act and promoted the Employee Retiree Income Security Act (ERISA). Currently, the PAC advocates for issues such as health insurance for steelworkers who lost their jobs, lower prescription drug costs for all Americans, better trade policies that would keep manufacturers in the United States, and national health care for all Americans.