A Fighting Chance

Keith Beavers began to cut household expenses and raid his savings when Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) forced him and other union members into an unfair labor practice strike two years ago.
As difficult as it was for Beavers to get by without a paycheck, however, it pained him even more to see colleagues struggle and to know that the multibillion-dollar company intended to hold out long enough to squeeze workers into accepting deep concessions.
Beavers and other members of the United Steelworkers (USW) ultimately turned the tables and beat ATI at its own game, standing strong together for three months until the company signed a fair contract.
Now these USW members are battling to ensure that workers in Pennsylvania never face that kind of unfair fight again. They’re advocating for state-level legislation that would provide unemployment compensation to striking workers and keep employers like ATI from attempting to starve them into submission.
Pro-worker Democrats, led by Reps. Dan Miller and Mandy Steele of Allegheny County, pushed the measure through the state House on a bipartisan basis last month. Now, the bill goes to the Senate.
“This is a tool that would give people the ability to stand up to corporations and help the middle class,” explained Beavers, president of the USW Local 1138 unit representing about 200 workers at ATI’s plant in Vandergrift, Pa.
“We’d be able at the very least to keep food on the table for our families and pay some of our bills and fight the good fight without losing everything,” said Beavers, who advocated for the legislation at a press conference. “All we’re looking for is a way to level the playing field.”
Right now, workers in Pennsylvania receive unemployment compensation benefits when they experience cuts in full-time work hours or lose their jobs because of layoffs, closures or other factors outside their control.
But it’s just as essential for workers to access this lifeline during labor disputes, especially when companies like ATI refuse to bargain in good faith or commit unfair labor practices that force workers onto the picket line.
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