Steelworkers leader: Defeat "not an option;" Unions, community groups vow solidarity in Wheeling-Pitt strike

by Denise Winebrenner

This article was reprinted from the May 3, 1997 issue of the People's Weekly World. For subscription information see below. All rights reserved - may be used with PWW credits.

PITTSBURGH - In a call to arms, United Steelworkers of America President George Becker, told a standing-room crowd in the William Penn Hotel April 26 that defeat of the 4,500 striking steelworkers at the Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation "is not an option."

In a hard-hitting speech, Becker spoke of the significance of the strike for the entire labor movement. "There is something wrong with the whole picture. If Ron LaBow, who controls Wheeling-Pitt, didn't exist, they would have to invent him. What's happening at Wheeling-Pitt is the story of what's happening to workers in America, generally," he said.

"It happens everywhere - whatever workers get, it is too much. There are different ways of looking at money. We think one way; bankers and junk bond dealers have a different idea," said Becker, who shared the platform with AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.

Becker described the Wheeling-Pitt strike as "more than one fight and one person's greed" and compared it to feeding an alligator: "The alligator will take everything in your hand, then your hand, then your arm, and pretty soon he's got all of you. That's how these corporations operate."

The AFL-CIO Solidarity Conference, the first in the federation's history came in response to Sweeney's call for labor and community leaders from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and West Virginia to come to the Steel City to develop strategies to win the strike against the Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation.

"We are here to bring the power of the entire labor movement to this strike," Sweeney told the meeting. He said the conference was the "first ever" of its kind. "We are making this a part of the way we operate," he added.

Sweeney said the labor movement is "taking down the walls we've built around our organizations. We want to reach into central labor councils and American Legion clubs, into church and community organizations to raise money and organize delegations to the picket lines."

He drew loud applause when he promised to take the Wheeling-Pitt strike "back to my home local in New York, which represents workers who clean Ron LaBow's office." He said that retired building workers in New York's commercial buildings get $800-a-month pensions.

Larry Mallus, president of Steelworkers Local 1190 in Steubenville, Ohio, and Mickey Forte, president of Local 1187, talked about the courage of steelworker families and communities and their success in building community support.

"Not one steelworker has crossed the line" Mallus said. "We've gone through Christmas and Easter and still our members hold the lines."

"If you hear of a picket, come out," Forte added. "We need bodies, thousands of mass pickets. We need to go to New York City. No matter where Ron LaBow looks we've got to be in his face."

Participants were given copies of "Promises Made: Promises Broken," a video produced by the union that brings home the struggle for guaranteed, industry-standard pensions. They signed a solidarity pledge, and filled out cards for the Steelworkers solidarity database.

Speaking for many, Sonny Shannon of the Pittsburgh Graphic Arts union said, "We have to show up when the steelworkers call. Invite strikers to our meetings, show the video, prepare our members to move. Raise the money from our treasury and member by member. That's when we win."

Teamster President Joe Molinaro reminded the meeting of mass picketing's success in winning the 1992 Pittsburgh Press strike, when 5,000 workers occupied the city's streets for 24 hours.

Jack Costello, a member of the Follansbee (W.Va.) City Council, said he was introducing an anti-scab ordinance and urged other elected officials to take similar action.

"When you cut, we bleed," said Barry Andrews, president of the Washing-ton/Greene County Central Labor Council. "Right now, it is the steelworkers. Next it will be us, our families, our towns."

Messages of support can be sent to:

USWA-WP
2084 National Road
Wheeling, WV 26003

phone (304) 242-8982