Contact: Cheyenne Schoen, cschoen@usw.org, 412-562-2446
About 60 workers at Carfair Composites Inc. in Anniston, Ala., won union representation on Feb. 6, with 98 percent of eligible workers affirming their decision to become members of the United Steelworkers (USW) union.
The Carfair workers manufacture fiberglass-reinforced polymer components to supply the transportation industry, including for hybrid and electric buses. They chose to join the USW to gain a greater voice in decisions that impact their working conditions, wages and benefits.
“As we look to the jobs of the future, it’s essential that they’re good, family-sustaining union jobs,” said USW District 9 Director Daniel Flippo, who leads the USW’s bargaining and organizing work in Alabama, six other southern states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. “The USW is proud to welcome Carfair workers to our union.”
Carfair, a subsidiary of New Flyer Industries, signed a neutrality agreement with the USW last April stating they would not interfere with the union-building process if workers decided they wanted the benefits of collective bargaining.
“Too many employers fight their workers tooth and nail to keep them from exercising their right to organize,” said Flippo. “True neutrality allows workers to make their own choice – and as workers at Carfair overwhelmingly demonstrated, workers want a seat at the table.”
Carfair has two facilities in Wisconsin and one in Minnesota in addition to its Alabama factory.
The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in manufacturing, metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in tech, public sector and service occupations.