Support the Jones Act!
The Jones Act ensures a strong and vibrant maritime industry, which helps ensure the United States maintains its expertise in shipbuilding and waterborne transportation. Without American maritime, the U.S. would be dependent on foreign-owned and flagged vessels for the transport of waterborne commerce in and around the country.
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Based out of Cleveland, Ohio, United Steelworkers Local 5000 (often just called Local 5') represents over three hundred members who are the unlicensed crew aboard nineteen Great Lakes freighters, employed by Central Marine Logistics, The Interlake Steamship Company, and Key Lakes Inc. (Great Lakes Fleet). We have one land-based unit with twenty members who service the steel industry employed by Sisco.
Get the Official USW Local 5000 Mobile App for Android and iPhone!
Rapid Response News
Rapid Response, our union’s nonpartisan grassroots activist program, provides an opportunity for every USW member to weigh in on legislation concerning labor and work-related issues. By joining together, we encourage government actions that will positively impact our families, contracts and communities. Learn more!
Union Plus Benefits
Did you know your USW membership entitles you to discounts on wireless, car rentals, movie tickets, car insurance and more? Visit the Union Plus website to view current discounts and programs.
Support Enbridge Straits Line 5 Replacement Segment Project
A project critical to protecting the environment and the longterm viability of Enbridge Line 5, a crude oil pipeline that supplies refineries throughout the midwest, is in jeopardy.
The Enbridge Straits Line 5 Replacement Segment Project would allow for the current pipeline that runs through the Straits of Mackinac to be rerouted through a tunnel in the bedrock beneath the Straits, protecting the waterway and the Great Lakes.
USW National News
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Rapid Response Info Alert: Balancing the Scales: Collective Bargaining
Click here to download this Info Alert as a PDF. USW Locals should have begun receiving petition materials as part of an effort to defend the right to collective bargaining and demand that elected off... —
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More Than 8,600 Inland Empire Kaiser Permanente Workers Strike for Patient Care, Fair Wages
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tues., Oct. 14, 2025Contact: Chelsey Engel, cengel@usw.org, 412-212-8173 (Fontana, Calif.) – More than 8,600 Kaiser Permanente health care workers across the Inland Empire have... —
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USW Welcomes New Members in the Chemical Sector
The USW strengthened its presence in the chemical sector last week, welcoming more than two hundred new members at two companies—Dow in California and Kraton in Ohio. At Kraton’s Belpre, Ohio, facilit... —
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SOAR Remembrance of USW President Leo W. Gerard
Julie SteinSOAR Director It is with great sadness, but also great honor, to reflect upon the recent passing of my good friend and our union’s longest serving International President, Leo W. Gerard. Le... —
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From the SOAR President – Building a Stronger SOAR: A Best Practices Toolkit for Chapters
Bill PientaSOAR President At this year’s SOAR conference, delegates expressed ongoing concerns about declining membership and low participation rates in their chapters. In response, the Board is worki... —
