Solidarity Works

Most people who are familiar with Karen Silkwood likely learned of the chemical technician through the 1983 film Silkwood starring Meryl Streep and Cher. But the movie is no mere Hollywood drama; it is based on the true story of a young woman and union member who fought to expose her employer for deliberately misleading workers and exposing them to harmful chemicals. 

This battle ended in Karen Silkwood’s death on November 13, 1974, a death that few people see as accidental.

Today we’re recounting the legacy of Karen Silkwood as we approach the 50th anniversary of the fatal car crash that took her life. We’re also talking with Jim Key, former head of the USW Atomic Workers Council and who, like Karen, became a whistleblower in the nuclear industry and who feared for his safety as he fought to protect himself and his co-workers.

Last month, members of the United Steelworkers union from across the U.S. traveled to the nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., to talk to their elected officials about the importance of reauthorizing Trade Adjustment Assistance. This program, which expired in 2022, provides training and educational opportunities for workers who lost their jobs due to foreign countries like China circumventing trade rules.

In today’s episode, we’re talking with David Van Pevenage, who was part of the D.C. coalition and who worked at a WestRock paper mill in Washington state until it was shuttered due to unfair trade. We’ll also hear from USW Legislative Director Roy Houseman, who was fortunate enough to benefit from TAA years ago, about why this program is so vital to American workers and their communities.

Music in this episode by BlueDot Sessions.

The USW partners with labor organizations around the world to connect workers with common employers and help them build power. In the latest episode of Solidarity Works, we talk with Local 12075 President Kent Holsing and USW retiree Mike Zielinski about some of these partnerships, including a years-long alliance with rubber workers in Liberia, and why this solidarity is vital for union members everywhere.

Music in this episode was brought to you by IntraHealth International and Kevin MacLeod.

the podium at the state house in Lansing, Michigan, to give powerful testimony about his experience as a veteran. 

He and other activists were there to voice their support for Bill 5736, which would require employers to display a poster that outlines resources available for veterans and their families. 

This is just one of many pieces of legislation USW members are fighting to pass for workers and their families across the United States, and they’re doing it through the union’s Rapid Response program.

Check out the latest episode of Solidarity Works to hear from Eric and other USW activists about what inspires them to take legislative action and why you should, too!

Learn more at usw.to/rapidresponse.

In 1975, the United States was a leader in global shipbuilding. The industry employed 180,000 workers who built more than 70 commercial ships in American shipyards.

In the early 1980s, that changed as federal spending on domestic manufacturing was slashed and foreign competitors like China employed predatory practices to dominate the industry.

Of course, the USW isn't letting this go without a fight. In this episode, we talk to USW Sub-District 1 Director Jamie Walker about the union's campaign to restore domestic shipbuiding.

Learn more at www.full-steam-ahead.org. 

More than 80 years ago, U.S. Labor Secretary Frances Perkins identified silica dust as a deadly hazard. Finally, this past April 16, MSHA, through the Department of Labor, issued a final rule reducing silica dust exposure to better protect America’s miners.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, known as OSHA, also clarified a rule in another major victory for workers this month to ensure workers are able to choose their own representative to join OSHA agents during workplace inspections.

Today, we’re talking with two USW health and safety experts about both of these new rules’ impacts and how the union has been fighting nonstop to keep workers safe, and will continue to do so in the future.

Music in this episode is by Ketsa.

The USW’s Next Gen program saw its humble yet historic beginnings in a resolution at the International union’s Constitutional Convention in 2011. It endorsed the training and development of younger Steelworker activists to take on increasingly greater roles in their local unions, their governments and their communities.

Since then, young and newer members of the USW across the United States and Canada have answered the call to become activists, and we're talking with three of them for our latest episode. 

They'll share how they became involved in their local unions, what they believe is currently driving young workers to organize, and why they believe the labor movement’s future is bright because of the next generation’s diversity.

When late International President Tom Conway took the helm of the USW in July 2019, he made a promise that his administration would work to reduce or eliminate tiered wage and benefit systems in union contracts.

Many USW locals have heeded late President Conway’s call and made great strides in eliminating these tiered systems in recent years. Today we’re talking with USW Vice president Luis Mendoza about how members in the paper sector have done just that, including workers at WestRock, America’s second-largest packaging company.

We’re also talking with Chris Frydenger, who works at a brass foundry in Illinois, about how his local was able to beat back a two-tier system implemented in 2016.

When Croatian painter and immigrant Maxo Vanka first visited Pittsburgh in 1935, he fell in love with the steel town and developed a friendship with Father Albert Zagar of the St. Nicholas Croatian Church in Millvale. 

Zagar longed for color on his church’s plain walls, but he didn’t want the usual imagery found in most religious houses. He knew Vanka was the perfect artist for the job.

Vanka then painted 25 individual murals that cover every inch of the church, and today, artists and activists, including members of the USW, are working to preserve the historic art to its original glory. 

Today we’re talking with two of these members who are dedicating their time and expertise to saving these murals and what they mean for Pittsburgh and the labor movement as a whole.

Learn more at www.vankamurals.org. 

Music from today’s episode includes Dancing at the Marketplace by Lobo Loco and 13 Hora Din Clejani Cigansko by The Underscore Orkestra.

Episode photo of Angelica Marks by Matt Dayak (DAYAK CREATIVE LLC).

Members of the USW across the U.S. and Canada make the highest quality products in their industries, from Bulleit Bourbon distilled in Kentucky and All-Clad cookware handcrafted in Pennsylvania to clothing spun in Portland, Maine, at American Roots and Custom Foam pillows fabricated and molded in Ontario, Canada.

Today we’re speaking with several USW members about the products they and their union siblings make and why these products are the ideal gifts for the labor supporter in your life.