07/27/22

WESTERN PA TEAMSTERS' PENSION PAYMENTS RESTORED THANKS TO BIDEN'S AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACTOur members sometimes ask why the USW and/or our local support particular candidates, or legislative bills. The answer is simple and always the same: we support people and policies that support our union workers and their families. The article below is a perfect example of that. In 2019, 15,000 Teamsters in Western PA had their pension payments cut because of a policy implemented by the Trump Administration. In 2021, the Biden Administration unveiled the American Rescue Plan Act, a sweeping piece of legislation that was created to realign how and where government funds were going.  Part of that plan included a pension bailout which restored the Teamsters' pension payments to their full amount.  That is what the American Rescue Plan Act is all about.  Plugging the holes where corporations and the wealthy were collecting aid they didn't really need and making sure that the funding goes back where it belongs:  to the American people who have been negatively impacted like these Teamsters.  This is just one story among a sea of others like it.  And it should be a reminder - maybe even a warning - to us all of why choosing our leaders matters so much, and why we all need to keep our union membership strong.Read the full article HERE.

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02/09/22

BIDEN CONTINUES CAMPAIGN PROMISE TO SUPPORT UNIONS

Most candidates make claims and promises of standing with workers when they're on the campaign trail...  But see how President Biden is delivering on his word in the 2 articles below:Click each image to read its full article  (2 pics)

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May 19, 2021

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VIEW PA PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS HERE.

 

May 10, 2021

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BALLOT QUESTIONS FOR UPCOMING PRIMARY ELECTION 

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The following three questions will appear on all ballots in the PA Primary Election.  We encourage you to support workers by voting No, No, Yes. Polls will be open from 7am until 8 pm on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. Visit our Voter Info Page for links and resources.

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QUESTION 1: VOTE NO

The first question on your 2021 PA Primary ballot asks whether partisan legislators should be able to terminate a governor's existing emergency declaration, like the one being used now to fight the pandemic.  This amendment would allow partisan politicians to derail nonpartisan emergency response. It could even put Harrisburg gridlock in the way of health experts and first responders.  VOTE NO to keep partisan politics out of Pennsylvania's disaster response.

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QUESTION 2: VOTE NO
Just like the first, the second question on your 2021 PA Primary ballot would strip power from the governor, health experts, and emergency responders to put it in the hands of the gridlocked PA legislature.  In this case, the amendment would automatically terminate emergency declarations after just three weeks. Only the legislature would have the power to extend or renew emergencies.  VOTE NO to keep partisan politics out of Pennsylvania's disaster response.

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QUESTION 3: VOTE YES
The third question on your 2021 PA Primary ballot asks whether the state constitution should specifically prohibit the denial of equal rights based on race or ethnicity.  This amendment offers additional protection against laws or policies that would deny Communities of Color their legal rights. It codifies the progress many Pennsylvanians have fought for, for so long.

VOTE YES to help ensure equal rights under the law for all Pennsylvanians.

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April 26, 2021

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A Return on Our Investment
During our 2020 USW Political Program, Steelworkers put a lot on the line to help elect lawmakers who would be our allies in the push for legislation to strengthen workers’ rights and invest in the creation of family-sustaining, union jobs.

 

We wrote postcards to fellow union families, made phone calls, attended socially-distanced rallies, and even knocked on doors where it was safe to do so.

 

Our hard work helped cement the chance for union-endorsed allies to retain their majority in the U.S. House and regain control of the U.S. Senate. We also helped elect a president, Joe Biden, who supports worker-friendly reforms like the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act (H.R. 842), and campaigned on a commitment to invest more in domestic manufacturing than has been seen in generations.

 

When we succeed in electing pro-union allies to state and federal offices, it means better access to the levers of power and an improved ability to impact the laws and how they are written.

 

We are seeing this in real time with the rollout of the American Jobs Plan, which President Biden traveled to Pittsburgh to promote in late March.

 

Steelworkers welcome President Joe Biden to Pittsburgh

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Hailed as the most significant investment in infrastructure in a generation, Biden said the plan will allocate $2 trillion to “build our economy from the bottom up and from the middle out, not the top down.”

 

This plan is not only designed to replace our nation’s aging lead pipes and service lines and upgrade our nation’s roads, bridges and ports with American-made goods, but also to “create good quality, union jobs that pay prevailing wages in safe and healthy workplaces.”

 

These are just a few of the goals outlined in the American Jobs Plan, all of which would mean a significant investment in manufacturing and other sectors of our economy.

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Standing with Steelworkers
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Rep. Lamb with Striking Steelworkers at ATI

 

Since he was elected to Congress in 2018, Rep. Conor Lamb (PA-17) has taken every opportunity to support Steelworkers.

 

He’s backed pro-worker reforms like the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (H.R. 1195) and the PRO Act, and recently joined striking Steelworkers from Local 1196 in New Kensington, Pa, and advocated for protecting their health insurance. Also showing support on the picket line were Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and numerous union-endorsed members of the Pennsylvania legislature.

 

“The steel industry comes to the government seeking a lot of protection and a lot of help and a lot of partnership, which I agree with, and I’m always happy to support the industry,” Lamb said. “But they need to treat their workers right. I can tell that these workers do not feel respected right now. It’s incumbent on the company to get to the table, respect the legal rights and demands of these workers and begin a negotiation.”

 

Rep. Lamb co-chairs the Congressional Steel Caucus along with Frank Mrvan (D-IN). Mike Bost (R-IL) and Rick Crawford (R-AR) serve as co-vice chairs.

 

Photo: Brian C. Rittmeyer, Tribune Review

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A USTR That Puts Workers First!
In our December 2020 Election Connection, we highlighted President Biden’s selection of Katherine Tai to serve as U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).

 

Having played a critical role in improving labor standards during negotiations of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), Tai has established a long-standing relationship with our union.

 

Tai’s Chief of Staff, Nora Todd, most recently served as Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) Chief Economic Advisor. Todd brings unmatched experience to this role. Like Tai, Todd was a key ally of our union in improving the USMCA. Todd also served as legislative director to Congressman Mike Michaud, a Steelworker who co-founded the House Trade Working Group.

 

Other members of Tai’s staff also have connections with the labor movement. Julie Greene Collier serves as Assistant USTR for Public Engagement. She previously served as political and mobilization director for the AFL-CIO. In addition to successfully running the AFL-CIO’s political program, Collier helped affiliated unions, including the USW, to build successful campaigns that helped elect pro-union lawmakers.

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“Did You Know…”
The filibuster is a long-standing legislative tool in the U.S. Senate that is used to block or delay legislative action and is not part of our U.S. Constitution. It was first formally introduced with a change of Senate rules in 1806. The filibuster has a long history of being used to block voting rights, anti-lynching, civil rights and democracy-protecting bills.  

 

Senate rules permit a senator or senators to speak for as long as they wish and on any topic they choose. The continual talking prevents the matter from being voted on and as a result, the bill may be “talked to death.” Up until the 1970s, senators had to speak on the chamber floor in endless debate for a filibuster to happen.  

 

Until recently, filibusters were rare. During the 1950s, the Senate averaged fewer than one filibuster per session, but today they are very common.

 

Here is how the filibuster works now and what it has blocked recently:

A senator can signal he or she intends to filibuster by simply typing an email and hitting send.   No need to stand on the Senate floor to make an impassioned case.
That senator can ask to speak about their reasons for blocking but does not have to speak. To end the filibuster, Senate rules require a three-fifths vote of the Senate (60 out of 100 senators) to bring debate to a close by invoking “cloture.” Cloture ends debate and the filibuster. During the 116th Congress (2019-2020), cloture was invoked to stop a filibuster threat 270 times.
If cloture does not pass, the bill remains in filibuster limbo as the Senate moves on to other business.
Filibusters have blocked: labor law reform; equal pay for women; immigration reform; eliminating tax giveaways for companies that ship jobs overseas; expansion of Social Security and countless other pro-worker bills.
There have been many revisions to the filibuster. In the 1970s, Congress created a loophole for spending and revenue bills to avoid the filibuster by allowing such legislation to pass with a simple majority — a process known as reconciliation. In 2013, Democrats eliminated the filibuster for nominations of lower-court federal judges and executive-branch officials. In 2017, Republicans eliminated it for Supreme Court justices, which allowed the Trump administration to appoint one-third of the high court’s bench.

 

The current 50/50 split in the new Senate has revived the discussion about whether the filibuster should be reformed or eliminated. Nearly all legislation in the Senate now faces the 60-vote hurdle. Many believe filibuster reform is long overdue, while others regard the filibuster as a tactic that preserves the power of the minority party on key issues. Others criticize the filibuster as an undemocratic, centuries-old parliamentary tool that gridlocks good legislation.

 

Stay tuned to hear more about the future of the filibuster!  

 

Sources: www.pbs.org; www.people.howstuffworks.com; www.realclearpolicy.com; www.aflcio.org/about/leadership/statements; www.nytimes.com

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A Return on Our Investment

During our 2020 USW Political Program, Steelworkers put a lot on the line to help elect lawmakers who would be our allies in the push for legislation to strengthen workers’ rights and invest in the creation of family-sustaining, union jobs.

 

We wrote postcards to fellow union families, made phone calls, attended socially-distanced rallies, and even knocked on doors where it was safe to do so.

 

Our hard work helped cement the chance for union-endorsed allies to retain their majority in the U.S. House and regain control of the U.S. Senate. We also helped elect a president, Joe Biden, who supports worker-friendly reforms like the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act (H.R. 842), and campaigned on a commitment to invest more in domestic manufacturing than has been seen in generations.

 

When we succeed in electing pro-union allies to state and federal offices, it means better access to the levers of power and an improved ability to impact the laws and how they are written.

 

We are seeing this in real time with the rollout of the American Jobs Plan, which President Biden traveled to Pittsburgh to promote in late March.

 

Steelworkers welcome President Joe Biden to Pittsburgh

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April 8, 2021

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WE NEED AN  "ANTI-THEFT" MOVEMENT -

TO DISMANTLE MONOPOLY

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Originally by Jim Hightower, shared by Denny Cregut 

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December 21, 2020

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"TRUMP APPOINTMENT TARNISHES HONOR AT THE AIRFORCE ACADEMY" by Maj. Gen. Steven J. Lepper

Article from The Hill,  & Provided by Denny Cregut

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At the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), there is a courtyard near the cadet chapel overlooking the cadet area. It's called the "Honor Court," a place where I took my first oath as an Air Force cadet over 45 years ago. It's called the Honor Court because it's dedicated to the fundamental principle, emblazoned on one of its walls, that as Air Force cadets and officers, "We will not lie, steal, or cheat nor tolerate among us anyone who does."

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The other military academies have similar honor codes. They reflect every military member's commitment to integrity and character in the service of our nation.

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Today, the military academies' honor codes may seem out of place - anachronisms in a world increasingly beset with lying, stealing, and cheating. Yet, every American who serves or has served in uniform understands that without the trust that comes from knowing your buddy won't lie to you, steal from you, or cheat you, there can be no honor, no discipline, no military.

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December 21, 2020

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"TRUMP APPOINTMENT TARNISHES HONOR AT THE AIRFORCE ACADEMY" by Maj. Gen. Steven J. Lepper

Article from The Hill,  & Provided by Denny Cregut

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At the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), there is a courtyard near the cadet chapel overlooking the cadet area. It's called the "Honor Court," a place where I took my first oath as an Air Force cadet over 45 years ago. It's called the Honor Court because it's dedicated to the fundamental principle, emblazoned on one of its walls, that as Air Force cadets and officers, "We will not lie, steal, or cheat nor tolerate among us anyone who does."

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The other military academies have similar honor codes. They reflect every military member's commitment to integrity and character in the service of our nation.

​

Today, the military academies' honor codes may seem out of place - anachronisms in a world increasingly beset with lying, stealing, and cheating. Yet, every American who serves or has served in uniform understands that without the trust that comes from knowing your buddy won't lie to you, steal from you, or cheat you, there can be no honor, no discipline, no military.

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November 19, 2020

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WHY JOE BIDEN IS A UNION MAN'S CHOICE

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by Denny Cregut 

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I know a lot of our members voted for Joe Biden and I thank them, but I also know a lot of you did not. The following is why we should be glad Joe won.

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Joe Biden will not shut down fracking or close coal mines, but reality will.  I do not want to see anyone lose their jobs and especially not our members, and you will not in the long run. But the future will demand new ways whether we want them or not. Years ago, there were glass houses all over this area because Brockway Glass was huge with factories everywhere in this area.  Then plastics came along and like it or not, the glass industry came to an end. Those men and women adjusted and most did alright.  At one time mail delivery was done by the Pony Express.  Not anymore.  My point is that things change.  And we can either embrace it and get ready for the future jobs (such as wind and solar power, battery operated cars, advanced medical technology, and things we probably cannot even yet imagine) or we can pout and wish for the “good old days”.  We will not stop the future so we should try to stay ahead of it. That is what Joe wants for us.

 

I know some people are going to suffer through these changes, but that is why we need to help them. There is no better way to help them than to support our Union and the political leaders who work with us.

 

Many of you do not know of the attacks President Trump and his administration have done to our unions, and mostly by Executive Orders (which means he did not have to get approval from Congress before issuing policies). Here are a few of them:

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• Took the rights of your unit and union officers, including grievance and safety officers, to be on equal terms with company personnel. It used to be that they were protected while representing if they got upset and cursed, slammed a door, or other minor things, as long as they did not threaten to harm anyone. Not anymore, thanks to Trump. The company person can provoke and do all the above things without repercussions. Yet our union people can be disciplined.  Is that fair?  I think not.

 

• In an effort to organize a group, it used to be okay to talk about the union drive while you were on breaks or lunch. You could also talk while working if you could talk on any other issue and it did not interfere with production.  Not now.  The Trump Administration made that illegal.

 

• Federal Workers’ time on union business was cut significantly

 

• The Federal Board of the NLRB has been underrepresented. It is supposed to be a 5-member board. split 3-2:  pro-business or pro-union, depending on the president’s choice.  Trump would not fill the entire board and it is working now at a 2-1 anti-union swing.  We lose everything when it gets to them.

 

These are just a few of the numerous anti-union things this administration has done. Joe Biden will reverse these disgraceful policies, as well as other bad executive actions that go against not only unions, but workers in general.

 

So if you are a UNION person, you should be glad Joe won because at the rate we are going, all unions – including ours - are going to be gone someday. If that happens, all of you who do not think that is important (except when you need something) will suffer.  I do not want to see that day but if we do not wake up and look at the big picture, it will happen.

 

I am grateful Joe Biden won. I hope you are also and DO SOMETHING GOOD FOR YOUR UNION TODAY.

 

In Solidarity,

Denny Cregut

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November 7, 2020

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2020 ELECTION RESULTS:  JOE BIDEN & KAMALA HARRIS BECOME THE PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENT ELECT AND VICE PRESIDENT ELECT

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Having already clenched the 270+ Electoral Votes needed to claim the Presidency, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris continue to expand their lead in both the remaining Electoral Votes and the popular votes, as a handful of states continue to count their ballots.

Incumbent Donald Trump is suing several states in an attempt to stop the count in some, but order counting to continue in others. The GOP is also exploring ways to nullify or overturn the election results in certain states, claiming voter fraud. However, local

election officials across the country - both Democrat and Republican - say there is no substantial evidence to support these claims.  State and federal judges alike seem to be in agreement, as most of Trump's lawsuits have stalled or been dismissed outright. President-Elect Biden is expected to launch his transition priorities, plans, and team members in the coming days. Details can be found at www.BuildBackBetter.com

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RESULTS FOR THE TOP PA RACES:

Attorney General:  Josh Shapiro (DEM)

Auditor General:  Timothy Defoor (REP)

State Treasurer:  Stacy Garrity  (REP)

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GET FULL PENNSYLVANIA ELECTION RESULTS HERE

Click your county on the map for your local results.

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GET FULL OHIO ELECTION RESULTS HERE

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GET FULL WEST VIRGINIA ELECTION RESULTS* HERE

*WV state website has not yet listed results. These are courtesy of NBC News.