Union leaders from Alcoa facilities from five countries spent three days at USW headquarters in Pittsburgh this week addressing the state of the aluminum industry and the effects of those conditions on workers.
The meeting of the IndustriALL global network of Alcoa unions included leaders from USW Alcoa locals as well as members of Unite the Union of Great Britain and Ireland; the Australian Workers Union (AWU); the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA); Sindmetal and Stiemnfopa of Brazil; and the Fédération des Travailleurs de la Métallurgie - Confédération Générale du Travail (FTM-CGT) of France.
The members offered updates on working conditions at their locations, offered ideas to address the current industry crisis, and set goals for future organizing and collective bargaining efforts.
After a day of internal discussions, the group met Thursday with Alcoa CEO Klaus Kleinfeld and President of Global Primary Products Roy Harvey to discuss the impact of the Alcoa/Arconic split among other issues.
As the week came to a close, the group attended and addressed the annual meeting of Alcoa shareholders that was being held a few blocks from the USW headquarters.
In a public statement, the union members reaffirmed their commitment to working together in solidarity and called on Alcoa to respect the rights of workers to organize and to provide safe and healthy working environments for their employees around the world.
The joint statement condemned China’s unfair dumping of aluminum, criticized the forced removal of members of the Maritime Union of Australia from the M/V Portland, and urged Alcoa to protect Brazilian workers who have been subjected to armed assaults while at work in São Luis.
For the full statement, click here.