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Who They Are: Local 3403
Where They Are: Canonsburg, Pa.
What They Do: Produce All-Clad hand-crafted cookware and kitchenware
‘The Best Cookware You Can Buy’
After canceling the event for a few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, All-Clad held its first factory sale since 2019 this past December. The event drew hundreds of eager customers from across the region to Washington County, Pa., where USW members make the cookware known to chefs – both amateur and professional – as the best in the world.
“It’s top-of-the-line stuff, the best cookware you can buy,” said Jeff Sumney, vice president of Local 3403, who has worked at the All-Clad factory for nearly 30 years. “It’s the kind of thing that can make an average cook a much better cook.”
What sets All-Clad apart is the craftsmanship of USW members. The company boasts in its product descriptions that before a piece of cookware leaves the factory, more than a dozen skilled hands work on it.
Sumney provided a set of those hands for years, working in production before becoming an electrician in the factory’s maintenance department. As an officer in the amalgamated local that represents 125 workers at All-Clad and scores of other members at other workplaces in the area, he knows that the USW makes a difference, both in the quality of the products at All-Clad, and the quality of life for workers.
“The union makes sure we get the raises and benefits that we deserve, and it’s steady work. There’s only been one layoff in my entire time here,” Sumney said. “There can be as much overtime as you want to work, which isn’t a plus for everyone, but it is for some people.”
All-Clad products are unique in that they are created through the layering and bonding of several metals, such as copper, aluminum and stainless steel, together to maximize the performance and durability of the cookware.
“All-Clad is always innovating and coming up with new ideas, and that’s what makes it the best,” Sumney said. “They are constantly on the cutting edge and constantly copied by other manufacturers.”
While about 90 percent of All-Clad cookware is produced by USW members at the Pennsylvania site, some items bearing the All-Clad label are produced overseas, so District 10 Director Bernie Hall cautioned buyers to check before the buy to make sure they’re supporting union workers.
“USW members make the best stuff on earth,” Hall said. “And when we buy it, we want to make sure we’re getting the real thing.”
