UE Local 625 ratified a three-year contract on November 16 following a contract campaign which directly confronted the greed of their employer, Hitachi Energy. The vote was held in a crowded room of union members at the Kosciuszko Club in Mt. Pleasant. The workers, who build high-quality circuit breakers and high-voltage equipment at locations in Greensburg and Mt. Pleasant, had been working without a contract for over two weeks.
The new agreement includes a seven percent increase in the first year, a four percent increase in the second, and a three percent increase in the third. The union prevailed on the issue of healthcare, where employee premiums of the most popular insurance plan offered by the company will only increase modestly over the length of the agreement, despite company proposals seeking nearly 200 percent rises in employee costs.
The UE Local 625 bargaining committee: Gary Williams, Todd Spargur, Chris Pratt, Joe Stader, and Brooke Emert (left to right).
Bereavement leave will be more expansive, and members will now be paid double time for work performed on Saturday. The agreement also includes a new three percent differential paid to workers who accept a temporary transfer to another job. Additionally, the contract now guarantees a 100 percent company-paid life insurance benefit equal to twice one’s yearly salary to all employees while they are on the rolls, regardless of their disability status.
“The company hadn’t been shy about telling us (the production workers) how well they were doing, how much money we were making for the business, the enormous backlog we had,” said Local 625 President Gary Williams. “We were going to make sure with a good contract that we as workers benefited from our labor as much as the employer had been.”
Despite the booming demand for electrical equipment in the world’s power grid, the ongoing financial success of Hitachi Energy, and the company’s continued investment in Southwestern Pennsylvania, the employer advanced a myriad of concessions at the bargaining table.
These included the elimination of personal days, increases to mandatory overtime, removal of healthcare coverage for disabled employees, increases in medical costs at the company’s complete discretion, eliminating daily overtime pay for hours worked over eight, and increasing the company’s ability to outsource bargaining unit work. Local 625 successfully fought back all company concessions.
Preparing for the Contract Campaign
The local’s achievements were obtained through an organized campaign rooted in preparation. Membership meetings were held prior to negotiations to determine the members’ key contract demands. The local reached out to other unions representing Hitachi Energy workers around the country to talk about their recent experiences at the bargaining table and coordinate collective action if needed. Members informed leaders of the Westmoreland County labor movement about their contract campaign. Others gathered wage information from competing local manufacturing businesses, which was used by the union at the negotiating table.
Chief Steward Joe Stader addresses a meeting outside the plant prior to the beginning of negotiations.
Most importantly, the union focused on shop floor coordination. “We as a local really emphasized making sure all the mechanics for good communication to the shop floor was established before bargaining began,” said Local 625 Recording Secretary Brooke Emert. “The bargaining committee set up a phone tree by collecting everyone’s numbers, which we used to send updates after nearly every bargaining session.”
“We made sure leaflets on key bargaining issues were passed out,” added Williams. “We held regular meetings during the process, including outside of the plant so that the company could see how organized we were… All this was necessary to mobilize our members and let the company know that the rank-and-file was dead serious about their just contract demands.”
The bargaining committee mapped out the entire membership by department and shift. A Contract Action Team (CAT) was established separate from the bargaining committee, with each leader assigned to cover a section of the map so their co-workers on the floor were aware of upcoming activities and participating in the campaign.
“Our membership has nearly doubled over the last few years,” said Local 625 Vice President Chris Pratt. "That means a lot of newer employees. We had our CAT team talk to those newer employees directly, reassuring them and encouraging their support. We were all in this together, from the brand-new hire to the 30-year union person.”
Bargaining Begins
“We set the tone on the first day of bargaining with our membership all wearing our new ‘Will Strike if Provoked’ shirts,” said UE Local 625 Chief Steward Joe Stader. “The orange was pretty loud, and the company brought it up right away at the bargaining table. We kept our word throughout our campaign, and the members stood ready to do whatever necessary to get the agreement we deserved.”
The membership let their voices be heard on the shop floor in more ways than one. “Eventually, it got to the point where we would be at the bargaining table and getting text messages that an explosion of ‘Who are we? UE!!’ chants were echoing through one of the shops,” said Emert. “I know management felt how strong we were. That was a good feeling.”
In another display of unity, membership meetings during bargaining were held on the weekend at the request of the rank-and-file to allow for both first and second shifts to attend and make decisions collectively. Probationary employees and newer hires were particularly encouraged to attend and were welcomed with open arms.
On October 26, the members voted unanimously to authorize the bargaining committee to call a strike if necessary. Intense preparation followed. Members made picket signs after the meeting. Picket duties for all gates at the Greensburg and Mt. Pleasant plants were established and distributed shortly after. Burn barrels were set up at each gate, along with a strike headquarters located at a member’s home.
Members make picket signs after unanimously authorizing a strike.
“All members supported each other despite the difficulties and uncertainties,” said UE Local 625 Financial Secretary Todd Spargur. “They trusted our bargaining committee, and we trusted them to support us and drive the campaign.”
Contract Expires
The contract expired midnight on October 31 without a serious settlement offer by the company. “We decided to let the contract expire, and with the no-strike clause lifted, retained the right to strike at any time,” said Williams. “Everyone stood on standby to hit the bricks if and when called upon.”
The fight for a fair contract was not waged in Southwestern Pennslyvania alone. On November 12, UE Local 150 members and allies picketed in front of of Hitachi Energy’s North American headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina in solidarity with Local 625, demanding that the company drop its concessionary demands and bargain a fair contract with the union.
UE members and allies picketing Hitachi corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, demanding a fair contract for Local 625..
Local 625 executive board member and CAT leader Sharon Johnston, who traveled to North Carolina and spoke at the picket alongside UE Eastern Regional President George Waksmunski, commented, “It was so uplifting to see workers we didn’t know support our fight against corporate greed. I know it boosted our members’ spirits. The working class needs to come together like this for us to have a shot at a better future.”
“When our fellow union members are under attack, we are gonna fight back,” said Willie Brown, president of the North Carolina Public Service Workers Union, UE Local 150. “We can’t sit by and watch corporate greed go unchecked.”
“We ran a fight on multiple fronts, and every bit of it helped get this contract,” reflected Emert. “Each fight builds on the previous one. If we hadn’t successfully challenged the company earlier this year in winning back our right to wear union shirts at work, we wouldn’t have been able to hold the union shirt days like we did.
“Although, I don’t think any policy was going to prevent our members from showing their union pride — people were going to wear those shirts through hell or high water,” joked Emert.
June and Brooke Emert.
“Our membership stuck together and put pressure on the company that allowed us to get the contract that we did,” said Local 625 member and CAT leader June Emert following ratification. “While I am proud of each member, I am especially proud of my daughter, Brooke, who served for the first time on the bargaining committee.”
While the new contract is a victory, not every goal was achieved. “We didn’t get everything we wanted from this contract,” said Stader, “particularly on the vacation and personal day front. We will continue to build and grow, hopefully making even stronger relationships with other workers in the area. That’s what it will take to continue fighting corporate greed for the working class.”
The UE Local 625 bargaining committee consisted of President Gary Williams, Vice President Chris Pratt, Chief Steward Joe Stader, Recording Secretary Brooke Emert, and Financial Secretary Todd Spargur. They were assisted by UE Field Organizer Ben Wilson.
Research Director Karl Zimmerman, Staff Coordinators Dante Strobino and John Thompson, General Counsel Margot Nikitas, Eastern Regional President George Waksmunski, Digital Organizer Samantha Cooney, Communications Director Jonathan Kissam, and Director of Organization Mark Meinster also made contributions towards the campaign. Former Eastern Region Office Manager Pat McCaughtry provided valuable historical information.