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The United Steelworkers is a proud international union. The full name of our union, since April of 2005, is the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union.

There are around 60,000 Steelworkers in Western Canada (the four western provinces and the territories) that form District 3, geographically the largest district in the union. 

The United Steelworkers of today barely resembles the mostly-male industrial union of the 1930s and '40s. Now more than 27per cent of Steelworkers are women, and there is as growing membership among visible minority workers and young workers.

Steelworkers innovative educational programs such as Women of Steel and young Worker Awareness have assisted in making our union attractive to every worker. The increasing diversity of the membership has worked to strengthen the basic principles on which the union was founded.

In communities like Thompson, Manitoba, Trail and Kimberley in BC., the Steelworkers' name is a household word. It started with breakthrough struggles to organize miners at Inco and Cominco. Now, when people talk about our union, Steelworkers can be found working in many industries and services, including fschool boards, municipalities, credit unions and day care centres.

In 2004 Steelworkers welcomed some 30,000 workers employed in British Columbia's lumber and forestry industries through the union's successful merger with the Industrial, Wood and Allied Workers of Canada (IWA Canada). The IWA was also a household word in many BC communities, having evolved to become the province's largest private sector union, that included a large base outside the traditional forest industry.

The Steelworkers, in Western Canada, have successfully merged with a range of other unions: IWA Canada in 2004; the Transportation Communications Union in 1999; the Aluminum, Brick & Glass International Union in 1996, and the United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum & Plastic Workers of America in 1995.

In 2004, as our union merged with the PACE (the Paper, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union) to form an international union of over 850,000 members, our District brought in new members in the Manitoba Forest industry.

In BC's Lower Mainland, Steelworkers can be found working in such diverses areas as bIngo halls, chocolate factories, the CIBC VISA Centre, and several manufacturing facilities. 

Membership in the union is not the only way Steelworkers are connected with their communities. In Flin Flon, Manitoba, the union operates a fishing camp every summer for kids who might not otherwise have the opportunity.

Steelworkers health and safety in Western Canada has included a long history of struggle. It has resulted in the Steelworkers’ involvement in the development of the B.C. Mines Act, and changes to the B.C. Workers’ Compensation Act.

Both Steelworkers and the IWA have played leading roles in establishing the best collective agreements to be found anywhere in the world.

Today the District 3 Women of Steel Commiitte helps develop strategies for organizing, collective bargaining and reaching out to other sisters in Western Canada and the northern territories.

Another Steelworkers innovation is the Steelworker Humanity Fund, which are district put on the collective bargaining agenda. Many Steelworker local unions have bargained contributions of one cent per hour per member into the Fund. The Fund, seen as a model by other unions, is used for international humanitarian relief, international trade union development and cooperation, and community projects in Canada.

Steelworkers’ policies combat racism and sexism in the workplace, reflecting changes in the union’s diverse membership. Women are more active than ever in all aspects of the union. Steelworker activists are also encouraged to participate in local union committees like human rights, organizing, education, and safety.

Steelworkers strength in collective bargaining has meant breakthroughs on pensions, pension-indexing and continued improvements in wages and working conditions.

The Steelworkers has many years of experience representing First Nations workers in the mining sector and forest industry sectors where we have successfully negotiated collective agreements which provide our Aboriginal sisters and brothers with strong and meaningful rights.

The union in Western Canada has 8 regional offices plus the District 3 headquarters in Burnaby. In addition, the IWA Canada merger brought our union 15 geographical locals. Experienced staff assist local unions in collective bargaining, organizing, research, health and safety, and more.

The United Steelworkers is committed to fighting for better wages, benefits and working conditions; to providing a democratic voice in the decisions that affect our working lives; and to acting as a progressive social movement to improve the lives of working men and women and their families.

We are Building Power. We are building unity and strength for workers!