Our history

1935

The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) establishes its own organizing committee for paperworkers.

1936

The Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) forms. The first Canadian meeting is held at the Labour Temple in Hamilton, where 18 Stelco workers form 1005.

1936

SWOC organizes 3,000 new members at Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, forming Local 2251. Quebec workers organize at Montreal’s Stelco operation and lay the foundation for Steelworkers Local 1195.

1936

"On the 13th of December (1936) we held our first meeting – now we were C.I.O., SWOC – started with 10 names. By March we must have had 3,000 members. Oh, they just flocked. We hired halls all over town," George MacEachern recalls in George MacEachern: An Autobiography – The Story of a Cape Breton Labour Radical. The independent Steel Workers of Nova Scotia becomes SWOC Local 1064, one of the earliest Steelworker locals in Canada. Dues were 25 cents a month.

1942

By 1942, with 700,000 members in Canada and the U.S., SWOC is ready to become an autonomous, international union. Delegates attend a SWOC convention in Cleveland to create the United Steelworkers of America (USWA). The USW adopts its own constitution, creates geographic districts, and elects its own officers, including Philip Murray as President and Charles Millard as Canadian National Director.

1942

"Our fundamental goals today are no different than they were in 1936 and 1942 – to improve the working and personal lives of our members and to bring these improvements to the total society – today, tomorrow, next year, next century." Lynn Williams, USW International President Emeritus, at the USW's 50th anniversary in 1992. Williams was one of the first staff representatives in Canada.

1945

USWA holds the first secret-ballot referendum for international officers, district directors and national director for Canada. Charlie Millard is elected as our first national director.

1946

Steelworkers in Hamilton win a historic strike for union recognition at Steel Company of Canada (later Stelco), using solidarity, organization and political and com­munity support to overcome more than 1,000 company scabs and firmly establish the USWA as the predominant union in Hamilton.

1950

Steelworkers negotiate a 40-hour workweek. The two first plants are Stelco in Hamilton and Algoma in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Steelworker activists throughout Canada use the victory as a new baseline to define the work week in contracts in every sector. A 40-hour workweek later becomes standard for all workers because of the widespread success of the labour movement

1957-1966

A long struggle establishes the Steelworkers as the union for miners at the Noranda-owned Gaspé Copper Mine in Murdochville, Que. A seven-month strike in 1957 for union recognition is one of the pivotal labour struggles in the province and sets the stage for the ‘Quiet Revolution.’ It takes another nine years after the ’57 strike for the union to be certified. The mine and smelter are closed by 2002, effectively turning Murdochville into a ghost town.

1961

Steelworkers join other trade unionists to help create the New Democratic Party (NDP) in Canada.

1962

The NDP government in Saskatchewan enacts the Medical Insurance Act, the beginning of universal health care in Canada

1963

Solbec miners in Quebec participate in a historical strike fighting for the remittance of union dues. Steelworkers have had to collect monthly dues from each worker. Winning in 1965 the remittance of dues, the right to negotiate in French with multi-employers becomes a very important victory for the FTQ. By the end of the '60s it allows the Steelworkers in Quebec to create an international strike and defense fund.

1974

Uranium miners in Elliott Lake take action for the necessary health and safety protections that the company refuses to provide. The result is a Royal Commission and changes to provincial legislation, which benefit every worker in Ontario. Without the leadership of the union and the activism of rank-and-file Steelworkers, the risks faced on the job would be even greater.

1979

The Steelworkers is one of the first unions to obtain collective agreement language around creating health and safety committees within workplaces. Activists in Quebec broaden the fight and advocate, demonstrate and take action to pass loi 17 by the Parti Québecois, the right to refuse unsafe work. This language is later adopted by provincial governments throughout Canada.

“Women Back into Stelco,” led by members Debbie Field, Joanne Holowchak, Jeanette (Abbott) Easson, Debbie Galivan and Suzanne Maye, file a human rights complaint and mount a major public campaign to force Stelco to hire women for high-paying production jobs at its Hamilton steel plant. They win – ending decades of sexist employment practices – and Stelco begins hiring women.

1980s

The first Women of Steel Committee is formed in Canada by USW Local 2900 shop stewards Nancy Farmer and Bev Brown. It is rare in industrialized workplaces for women to play leading roles in the union, but the progressive union executive creates a culture of respect in the workplace for women and 2SLGBTQIA+ people. These courageous activists like Nancy and Bev help shift the culture within our union to accept women and 2SLGBTQIA+ people as fellow trade unionists.

1984

Lynn R. Williams is elected as USWA President, the first Canadian to head an international AFL-CIO union.

1985

The USW creates its anti-harassment policy, in large part thanks to the strength of Steelworker Bonita Clarke. For years, she documented dozens of incidents of sexual harassment, intimidation and health and safety problems that created a poisonous work environment in her steel mill. She won compensation and forced the employer to install a women’s washroom in the workplace, among other changes.

1985

The Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) and the Humanity Fund are created.

1987

The Women of Steel program is officially formed in District 6, to support women’s involvement and leadership within the union. Women of Steel has since spread across our union and continues to break down workplace barriers, encourage women’s participation in union activities and develop leadership.

1990s

Women of Steel becomes formalized in the union structure with the creation of a woman’s leadership course and committees at each member local.

1992

Restructuring of Algoma Steel creates the largest employee-owned company in Canada, saving 6,000 jobs and the community of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and leads to the modernization of a company that continues to employ thousands of Steelworkers and serves as the economic anchor of its community.

1995

The USW National Women’s Committee is formed.

The first USW National Women’s Conference is convened, held in Toronto.

1998

Canadian Steelworkers, backed by 40 labour and human rights groups, file the first-ever complaint under NAFTA's labour side agreement, supporting the attempt by an independent Mexican steelworkers union to organize a brake manufacturing plant near Mexico City.

1999

Massive Steelworker participation in the 'Battle of Seattle' helps to establish a labour-environmental alliance against "globalization in the hands of multinational CEOs," which USW President George Becker says is "destroying millions of industrial jobs, degrading the environment, and undermining our basic rights as workers and citizens."

2000

More than 4,000 administrative and technical support staff at the University of Toronto ratify their first collective agreement as members of USW Local 1998, expanding the benefits of Steelworker representation to workers in higher education with the largest single organizing victory in years.

2002

USW Local 4120 is chartered at the University of Guelph in Ontario, bringing the number of university employees represented by the Steelworkers to more than 5,000.

2003

After a decade-long campaign led by Steelworkers in Canada, the 'Westray Bill' is finally passed into law, changing Canada's Criminal Code to make corporations, their directors and executives criminally accountable for putting workers' lives at risk.

2004

After a year-long campaign to win Steelworker representation, 3,000 former members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees at Canadian National Railway are certified as Steelworkers by the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

2006

The USW and the Sierra Club announce the formation of a strategic alliance to pursue a joint public policy agenda under the banner of Good Jobs, A Clean Environment, and A Safer World.

2008

The USW and Unite the Union form Workers Uniting, the first global union.

Canadian Steelworker Carol Landry makes history, becoming the first woman to serve on the USW International Executive Board. Landry joined USW 7619 at Highland Valley Copper in British Columbia in 1987. Landry rose through the ranks to become the local’s president before she was hired as a staff representative in 1999. She also worked as District 3 Education Co-ordinator and Women of Steel leader. She served as Assistant to the District 3 Director prior to joining the executive board as International Vice-President at Large.

2009

The USW in Canada and Environmental Defence join forces and found the working-class environmental organization Blue Green Canada

2011

The Steelworkers Vote program that trains and educates members to become engaged in the political process helps the federal NDP become the Official Opposition in Parliament. Nicknamed the Orange Wave, the rise of the NDP under Jack Layton’s leadership raises the expectations of working people and shifts the discourse in our country to begin talking about progressive taxation, urban issues and income inequality.

The NextGen program is created after successful passage of a resolution at the USW International Constitutional Convention. The Next Generation program ensures young and/or new activists have the knowledge and skills they need to continue the hard work and progress we’ve already made to build a stronger labour movement for generations to come.

2014

The USW National Indigenous Committee is formed.

The USW and the Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) sign a merger agreement, bringing together 12,000 TWU members (becoming Local 1944) and 225,000 USW members in Canada. The deal includes strong, mutual commitments around collective bargaining, education, organizing and legislative action.

2015

Rachel Notley leads the NDP to form its first provincial government in Alberta. Notley was a member of USW Local 1-207, while working for the Alberta nurses’ union.

The USW hosts the first National Gathering for Indigenous Steelworkers in Winnipeg, and the event becomes a regular USW conference. This gathering is a place for Indigenous Steelworkers to share their experiences and contribute to our union’s ongoing strategy for advancing the rights of Indigenous workers and communities.

2016

The Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers International Union (GMP) merges with the USW, bringing 25,000 members from the U.S. and Canada. Former GMP members are now represented within the USW through the USW GMP Council.

2017

Following the May 9 election, BC NDP Leader John Horgan, with the support of the Green Party, is sworn in as Premier of B.C. During the election, a strong Steelworkers Vote program turned out many USW volunteers in ridings across B.C. Steelworker Harry Bains serves as Minister of Labour from 2017-2024. In 2020, the BC NDP wins a historic majority government. In 2022, single-step certification is adopted, to make it easier for workers to form unions.

2018

USW’s first Trans Liaison Officer is created in District 6. Mayson Fulk from Local 2699 offers confidential support to members considering or undergoing gender transition and to local union leaders and staff representatives negotiating individualized accommodation plans and other supports.

The USW creates the first USW Bargaining Guide for Advancing Indigenous Rights. The guide contains examples of contract language from the USW and other collective agreements which aims to advance the rights of Indigenous workers and their communities.

The USW introduces a five-day education course, Unionism on Turtle Island, aimed at non-Indigenous Steelworkers (but open to all members) where they learn more about our shared history as Indigenous and non-Indigenous workers.

2019

USW’s National Policy Conference unanimously passes a resolution calling for action on women’s health and safety. The result is the Raising the Bar on Women’s Health and Safety campaign to increase awareness of women’s health and safety issues, making them core to the USW; increase women’s participation in health and safety activism, including on committees and in USW courses; and increase respect and space for women’s voices and ideas in workplaces and our union.

2021

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd is murdered by police in Minneapolis, Minn. Outrage follows, prompting a surge in activism to end anti-Black racism and other forms of racism. The USW in Canada believes that we should play a significant role in our union, and, in broader society, in the movement for racial justice. With a mandate from union leadership, a National Anti-Racism Working Group is formed and becomes an official national committee by way of a resolution to the USW National Policy Conference in April 2023.

2023

Two Indigenous Steelworkers are hired, based in Districts 3 and 6, as Indigenous Engagement Co-ordinators. For two years, they offer strategic support to local unions to build stronger relationships with Indigenous members and Indigenous communities. The co-ordinators also work with local unions and USW staff to create the Indigenous Engagement Guide: Building Trust, Becoming Allies. This guide is available to all USW locals to build those relationships and ensure respectful engagement with Indigenous members and communities.

A resolution passes at the National Policy Conference to create the National Steel Pride Working Group. Its mandate is to amplify the voices of 2SLGBTQIA+ Steelworkers and provide recommendations for action and allyship on issues affecting the rainbow community.

A Pay Equity Toolkit is launched to provide tools we can use and actions we can take to close the gender pay gap. The toolkit helps staff and activists take action to enforce pay equity and fix the historic, persistent and systemic discrimination in women’s wages and compensation.

2024

The Pharmacare Act passes in the Senate, marking a significant step toward ensuring everyone can access life-saving medications without financial barriers, moving the country closer to achieving a universal, single-payer pharmacare program. Initially, pharmacare in Canada provides contraception and diabetes medications and devices free-of-charge for everyone who needs them. The labour movement, civil society groups, and the tireless efforts of political leaders, particularly the NDP, lead to this historic achievement.

Anti-scab legislation is adopted federally after its inclusion in the 2022 NDP-Liberal Confidence and Supply Agreement. Banning the use of replacement workers in the event of a strike or lockout has long been a priority demand for the USW and the rest of organized labour because it brings greater fairness to labour relations across the country. The law comes into force on June 20, 2025.

Kevon Stewart is appointed USW District 6 Director, becoming the first Black district director in Canada and the U.S.