Lone Star, Texas, is a steel town born, literally, out of the steel tube and oil-production casings that it produces. The United Steelworkers’ tradition at Lone Star Steel dates back more than half a century.
| “We’re an established group. We just celebrated our 50th anniversary with the Steelworkers,” said Local Union 4134 President Randy Dean. “For those of us who have worked here for a few years, we believe it’s our job to make sure all the younger workers understand the pride and tradition involved with the Steelworkers.” |
"We believe it’s our job to make sure all the younger workers understand the pride and tradition involved with the Steelworkers.”
- Randy Dean
Local 4134 President |
Dean is proud to report, despite residing in a Right to Work state, that current membership numbers show that more than 90 percent of the eligible members are card-carrying Steelworkers.
“Right now, I would say we are somewhere right around 92 or 93 percent that belong to the Steelworkers. We’ve been going along pretty steady, signing up about 15 to 20 new members every month. In our best month we signed up 65,” Dean said.
Those are pretty impressive numbers. So, what’s been the key to success at Local 4134?
“We try to convey to our members that the company hasn’t given any of this away. That somewhere back along the line someone has had to pay for it. It’s definitely our duty to try and teach our potential members about the history and tradition of this union,” Dean said.
At Local 4134, having solid members who are willing to become involved makes all the difference when it comes to organizing new workers. Simply stated, Dean said, it all starts with people. Good people.
“We just have a lot of good people who are willing to work at it and sign members up. No one person can do it alone. Plus, our company has been hiring, so there’s been a new pool there for us to draw from,” Dean said. “We’re reaching out the new hires. We talk to them on breaks and at lunch. We also provide membership kits to those who sign up.”
Dean is quick to point out that Local 4134’s growing union density was pivotal in gaining an improved contract during the most recent negotiations.
“We just finished up a contract this past summer and we had nearly everyone in the plant on board with us,” Dean said. “The company knew we had signed up just about everybody. There weren’t many stragglers left.”
“We went into negotiations with four things that we wanted to get accomplished and we got all four, including a nice increase in our pension, and a common expiration date with a smaller unit within our facility,” Dean said. “We felt that (a common expiration date) was very important for all of us in future negotiations.”
“I think (our union density) was a great help to us as at the bargaining table. I don’t think there is any doubt that the solidarity our membership showed helped us gain a better contract,” Dean said. “I think we have demonstrated that the more members we have signed up, the more power it gives us at the negotiating table.”
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INTERNAL ORGANIZING 
