Stepping up: Districts 4, 7 WOS and Next Gen Support locked-out UAW families

Women of Steel (WOS) and Next Generation (Next Gen) leaders in Districts 4 and 7 provided over 175 backpacks filled with school supplies to United Autoworkers’ families locked-out by Honeywell.

Honeywell locked-out members of UAW Local 9 in South Bend, Ind., and Local 1508 in Green Island, N.Y., on May 9, 2016, when the union wouldn’t surrender to outsourcing work and changes in their healthcare.

District 4 Director John Shinn and District 7 Director Mike Millsap donated the resources needed to buy school supplies that WOS and Next Gen activists distributed to the locked-out UAW families. 

Co-chairs of the Central New York WOS Chapter, Julie Searle and Heather Claver, along with associate member Christine Krugman distributed school supplies valued at over $750, including backpacks with binders, folders, note books, pens, pencils, crayons and more, to 20 UAW families in New York.

In District 7, Women of Steel coordinator Charva Jones and Next Generation William Fulton organized volunteers from all over Illinois and Indiana to pack and deliver backpacks to 150 UAW families locked-out at Honeywell’s South Bend plant.

“It’s about all of us working together for union members and their families, no matter which union they belong to,” said USW Women of Steel Director, Ann Flener.

Julie, Heather, Christine, Charva and William thank District 4 and District 7 for the generous donations that made this project possible and all the volunteers who continually show that USW Cares.

School-supply slideshow (all pics can be found on Flickr, click the the picture to link):

District 7 Back to School Drive

Press Inquiries

Media Contacts

Communications Director:
Jess Kamm at 412-562-6961

USW@WORK (USW magazine)
Editor R.J. Hufnagel

For industry specific inquiries,
Call USW Communications at 412-562-2442

Mailing Address

United Steelworkers
Communications Department
60 Blvd. of the Allies
Pittsburgh, PA 15222