Early attempts to organize steelworkers encountered resistance, even violence. An example is the Homestead Strike. In 1889, after a strike at a mill in Homestead, Pennsylvania, the Carnegie Company signed a contract with the workers. Three years later, however, the mill cut wages, triggering another strike. Management sent in 300 Pinkerton detectives to break the strike, resulting in a pitched battle on July 6, 1892, that left ten dead and many wounded. Eventually, strike-breakers, backed by state militia, broke the strike, eliminating the early union from its mills.
The USW was established May 22, 1942 by a convention of representatives from the old Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers and the Steel Workers Organizing Committee, after almost six years of violent and divisive struggles to create a new union of steelworkers. The drive to create the USW included such violent incidents as the infamous Memorial Day, 1937, when Chicago policemen supporting the rival AFL fired on workers outside of Republic Steel and killed ten men.
Founder and first president of the USWA Philip Murray led the union through its inception drive and dangerous first decade, when the workers of USWA went on strike several times to win concessions such as the right to collective bargaining with steel companies and paid vacations.
Growth of the Union
The 46,000 members of the Aluminum Workers of America voted to merge with the budding steelworker union that was the USW in June, 1944. Eventually, eight more unions joined the USW as well: the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers (1967); the United Stone and Allied Product Workers of America (1971); District 50, the Allied and Technical Workers of America (1972); the Upholsterers International Union of North America (1985); the United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum & Plastic Workers of America (URW) (1995); the Aluminum, Brick and Glass Workers Union (ABG) (1996); the Canadian Division of the Transportation Communications International Union (1999); and the American Flint Glass Workers Union (AFGWU) (2003).
In June, 2004, the USW announced a merger with the 55,000 member Industrial, Wood and Allied Workers of Canada (IWA), a major Canadian forestry workers union. Then in 2005, it announced an even larger merger with the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE). The resulting new union adopted its current name after the PACE merger, and currently has 860,000 active members.
Strategic Alliances
In addition to mergers, the USW has also formed strategic alliances with several other unions as well as other groups. In April, 2005, the USW and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) announced that they had formed a strategic alliance to take on the globalization of the culture industry and to address a range of common issues. [#endnote_ACTRA] In July, 2006, the USW announced a similar arrangement with the United Transportation Union (UTU), to address common issues in the transportation industry, including the globalization of the industry.[#endnote_UTU]
Also, in June, 2006, the USW announced the formation of a 'Blue-Green Alliance' with the Sierra Club, which is the largest grassroots environmental organization in the United States. The goal of this new partnership is to pursue a joint public policy agenda reconciling workers' need for good jobs with all people's need for a cleaner environment and safer world.[#endnote_Sierra]
The USW and the 2006 U.S. elections
In April 2005, USW President Gerard announced that the newly-merged USW's top political objective for the 2006 United States House of Representatives elections would be the ouster of Representative Tom DeLay. DeLay subseqently announced in April, 2006, that he would not run for reelection.
The USW has stated that it will endorse other candidates in the forthcoming House, Senate and gubernatorial elections, whether Democrat or Republican, pursuant to the following principles: first, the well-being of its members, second, candidate's support for workers' right to collectively bargain contracts as the only way to ensure high wages, good health care and a safe retirement, and third, candidate's support for the government's role in helping all people reach their full potential.[#endnote_politics]
