US, UK Workers to Create First Trans-Atlantic Union

Steelworkers close to pact with huge guild in Britain
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted May 24, 2008 10:07 AM CDT
US, UK Workers to Create First Trans-Atlantic Union
In this April 23, 2007 file photo, a child flies a kite near the AK Steel plant in Middletown, Ohio.    (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

Workers from the US and UK are close to joining forces in what would be the first trans-Atlantic labor union, the Wall Street Journal reports. United Steelworkers is in talks with Britain’s Unite to create a 3-million-member group that would act as a single union in the US, Canada, Britain, and Ireland, fighting for workers’ interests amid multi-national companies.

“Now we've got globalization running rampant over workers all over the world, and there's not a counterforce in the labor movement,” said the president of United Steelworkers, made up of 850,000 workers from a variety of industries. A labor expert said while the move wouldn’t “fundamentally change the dynamics” of the union world, “having a presence in the UK will enable (the Steelworkers) to perhaps exert more economic power.” (More labor unions stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X