Submitted question- "If we go union will we gain back anything they took from us?"

The short/easy answer is "Probably. We will fight for our previous wages and benefits."  But that's not a complete answer. Obviously the "complete" answer is "it's all what we bargain for and we can't see into the future, but we'll have a hell of a lot of leverage as a unit." To expand on this answer, I reached out to our USW contact for some more details and a few examples from their very recent past, have a read:

"Hi WorkersFirst,

This is a loaded question and not easy to answer because, you’re right, there is no way to predict exactly what you guys will be able gain in the first contract. Take whatever you want from the following and hopefully some or all of it answers the question.

The short answer is exactly like you said, yes we can try, but no, we can’t make guarantees because it all comes out in bargaining.

The long answer is:  

I think it’s always important to put the status quo into context with the current moment and the past. As counterintuitive as some may find it, I always recommend to Unionize when things are good, because then you lock the status quo in place and bargain from there. So, those take-aways would never have even been possible if you had been Union already, without bargaining over the effects of those changes.

Given how much the company has already changed without any worker input, would you all want to try to bargain back some of those changes, of course, but you also want to stop any future changes and lock in place the good things you already have, before they can be stripped away. By unionizing now, you all stop the company from being able to take anything else away. When you unionize, the power dynamic shifts and now the company HAS to bargain over any changes to you all’s wages, benefits or working conditions. No more unilateral changes without your REAL input and bargaining.

Getting things back that have already been stripped before joining a Union is a tough lift, but not impossible. It depends on what you all are trying to bargain back and how much solidarity you show as a group. Union wins come at the bargaining table, mostly through the solidarity of the members and their willingness to take action away from the bargaining table. Your true strength comes from the company knowing and fearing that you all are willing to take back what was taken away.

The question for all of the guys on those take-aways will be, “How important is it for us to get these things back and how are we going to flex our collective muscle to make the company move”. This is where having whole departments in your union, dedicated to collective and strategic action, along with ALL of the other USW members on the Slope, a legal team and experienced reps, comes in to help organize the ways we can show the company how serious we are.

A first contract is different than a renewal too, but some recent examples I can think of both first and renewal contracts are:

Cleveland-Cliffs Minnesota (2022)

USW workers at Cleveland-Cliffs' Minorca Mine and other Minnesota properties ratified a contract that increased base wages by 20% over four years, improved insurance benefits for active and retired workers, increased pensions, improved vacation provisions, added an additional holiday, and included new provisions for parental paid leave Duluth News Tribune.

Blue Bird Corp First Contract (2024) -

More than 1,500 USW members at Blue Bird Corp. in Georgia ratified their first union contract providing at least 12% raises for all workers, with some of the lowest paid workers seeing increases of more than 40%. The contract also established a defined contribution retirement plan and profit-sharing system United Steelworkers.

Southwest Gas First Contract (2024-2025): Still in first contract bargaining, but so far have secured their pension, which the company was hinting that they were going to take away, an extra week of vacation time, locked in highest tier wages for the entire company and still bargaining. The company made the progression to top rate 15 years for everyone else in the company after one group unionized but the Union guys locked in their status quo at 7 and we are still in a fight to bring it down to 3 or 4.

ATI Strike Victory (2021) - 1,300 USW members ended a strike after winning a contract that raised wages, provided lump-sum payments, and protected affordable, high-quality health care, with USW President Tom Conway saying "our members showed tremendous strength and solidarity, beating back demands for concessions that would have hurt generations of workers" United Steelworkers.

US Steel: The 2018 U.S. Steel contract provides context: The previous 2015 agreement contained a wage freeze and other concessions during a difficult period for the steel industry. But in 2018, USW members ratified a new contract with 14% wage increases over four years, maintaining high-quality healthcare and strengthening retirement benefits United Steelworkers. This shows the pattern of sometimes moving with the industry but clawing things back when the company is in a good place.

Most importantly, in this dangerous industry, your union is your best protection for safety, bargained wages, bargained benefits and worker protection. You guys may not win everything, but this is the ONLY way that you can have a voice, lock the good things in place and win something. Otherwise, it’s just going to be more of the same, the company does whatever the fuck they want and we just take it.

Hopefully this answers the question. If not, let me know and if there are any follow up questions, let me know."