Posts tagged United Steelworkers
BP to Begin Lockout of Union Workers at Indiana Refinery, Expects No Impact on Operations
March 19, 2026 // The lockout as retail fuel prices have surged on uncertainty over the Middle East conflict. It's unlikely that the planned lockout will affect fuel supply given that BP has prepared for more than a year to take over refinery operations if it couldn't reach an agreement with it union workers. BP said negotiations with the local union have led to no progress on proposals it views as critical to the refinery's future. The company also cited a continued state of labor uncertainty, including possibility of a walkout after 24-hours' notice.
Union Agrees to US Refineries Contract, Averting Nationwide Strike
February 10, 2026 // The U.S. United Steelworkers union adopted on Friday a national agreement on pay and benefits, averting a nationwide strike that could have affected 30,000 workers at 26 companies operating crude oil refineries and petrochemical plants.
Union neither accepts nor rejects last Marathon offer on US refinery pact, sources say
February 3, 2026 // The United Steelworkers union (USW) has neither accepted nor rejected the last offer from Marathon Petroleum for a new four-year labor agreement for U.S. refineries and chemical plants, people familiar with the talks said on Monday. The offer, made in negotiations on Sunday, would give 30,000 workers represented by the USW a 15% pay increase over the length of the contract, the sources said.
Union rejects contract offer from Marathon
February 1, 2026 // The United Steelworkers union rejected a comprehensive contract offer from Marathon Petroleum (MPC.N), opens new tab in talks for a national pattern agreement for U.S. refinery and chemical plant workers, the union said on Wednesday night. The USW and Marathon, lead negotiators for energy companies, face a 12:01 a.m. deadline on Sunday to hammer out a new agreement to the current four-year contract.
Steelworkers Union hit with unfair labor practice charges by Viking Corporation employee
December 22, 2025 // Kristen Dickinson, who works for the fire-sprinkler manufacturer, submitted the charges to the National Labor Relations Board with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys. The filings allege union officials told workers Viking was operating as a “closed shop,” meaning employees could be fired if they refused formal union membership. Closed shops have been illegal nationwide since the U.S. Supreme Court’s General Motors v. NLRB ruling in 1963.
Labor Unions 101 event hosted by Summit County Young Democrats is set for Sept. 6
August 11, 2025 // Summit County Young Democrats is hosting a free educational event for the public, Labor Unions 101, on Sept. 6. According to the U.S. Treasury, union membership has been in a steady decline for over 50 years, with only 10% of U.S. workers belonging to a union in 2022. This event aims to show how unions benefit the working class. The event begins at 11 a.m. at the United Steelworkers Local 2 Union Hall at 501 Kelly Ave. in Akron.
Unveiling Financial Transparency Failures in Labor Organizations
July 24, 2025 // In 2024 alone, the DOL recorded 177 union enforcement actions involving fraud, embezzlement, wire fraud, and falsified records. These are only the crimes that rise to the level of federal prosecution. Far more ethical violations, financial misuses, and questionable behaviors fall below the radar leaving union members in the dark and are quietly buried through internal repayments, hush resignations, or legal threats — all without any formal DOL investigation or public accountability. Despite 16 years as a union official, I did not become aware of the existence of LM-2 financial disclosure filings until our local filed a lawsuit against our state affiliate. Imagine that: even as a union president and past treasurer, I was unaware that both our state and national unions were required to submit LM-2 forms to the Department of Labor. If someone like me — deeply engaged in union governance — was kept in the dark, how can we expect average members to know their rights, much less exercise them?
Unions rally in Pittsburgh against Trump’s cuts to worker protections and research funding
July 23, 2025 // The event was a stop on the AFL-CIO’s “It’s Better in a Union: Fighting for Freedom, Fairness & Security” bus tour. Labor leaders including AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, USW International President David McCall and Allegheny/Fayette Central Labor Council President Darrin Kelly took the mic to address the impacts of the administration’s cuts to university research funding, Medicaid and the firing of workers at the Department of Veterans Affairs, both in Pittsburgh and across the country. After the speeches, volunteers handed out a sheet of paper with a phone number to reach the House of Representative and a QR code with a prewritten email in support of a discharge petition to force a vote in that chamber on the Protect America’s Workforce Act, a bill that aims to reverse Trump’s executive order that eliminated collective bargaining rights for federal workers.
Drivers Reject Steelworkers Union
July 8, 2025 // The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) acknowledged Sunoco Logistics’ withdrawal of recognition from the USW on May 12. As the result of Fifer and his coworkers’ effort, more than 420 drivers from around 30 Sunoco Logistics facilities across Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and New Mexico are free of the union’s control. Said Fifer: “I’m glad that my coworkers and I were able to band together to force this Steelworkers union out. The union was not a positive force in our workplace, and we are better off without it. I am lucky to live in the Right to Work state of Texas where I could at least choose to stop sending my money to this union while it was still in power, but unfortunately the same can’t be said for all of my fellow drivers.”
Trump administration offers some details of how it would control US Steel, but union raises concerns
June 16, 2025 // The union said it was “disappointed” that Trump “has reversed course” and raised basic questions about the ownership structure of U.S. Steel. “Neither the government nor the companies have publicly identified what all the terms of the proposed transaction are,” the letter said. “Our labor agreement expires next year, on September 1, 2026, and the USW and its members are prepared to engage the new owners" of U.S. Steel "to obtain a fair contract.” If Trump has as much control of U.S. Steel as he has claimed, that could put him in the delicate position of negotiating the salary and benefits of unionized steelworkers going into midterm elections.