By Tony Lane May 24, 2021
WASHINGTON, Pa. Over 1,300 United Steelworkers members are locked in a strike battle against union-busting bosses at Allegheny Technologies Inc. at nine plants in five states. The strikers on the picket lines are standing tall and winning solidarity from other workers.
ATI bosses say they plan to shutter three of the union-organized facilities this year: in Louisville, Ohio; Waterbury, Connecticut; and the No. 3 Finishing Department in Brackenridge. They’ve closed down other mills over the last decade. As part of their attacks on the union, bosses locked out the union workers in 2015-16.
At the same time, they’ve opened a large nonunion complex in North Carolina, with over 4,500 workers in the Charlotte area alone. Workers say the majority of ATI plants are nonunion today.