The United Steelworkers’ Political Action Committee (USW PAC) is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from members, including the members of Local 3657. Those contributions allow our union to run the most effective, member-driven political program in the labor movement.

With the 2020 Presidential and Congressional elections on the horizon, it’s never been more important for us to make our voices heard in the political process. The best way for members to contribute to the USW PAC is through payroll deductions. If you are not already contributing to PAC, or would like to change your contribution, please see Carolyn Stokes, Local 3657 PAC chair, or another member of the local’s PAC committee, Eric Russell or Beth Ussery.

Here are some testimonials from Local 3657 members about why PAC contributions are so important:

“The bank that holds your mortgage has a PAC, and the employers that USW members work for have PACs. We ought to have one, too. Members of USW Local 3657 have a vested interest in our union having a voice in electoral politics. A retired member from Local 13300 once told me, ‘Vote your job and lobby your hobby.’ It’s a message that I’ve never forgotten. The PAC program helps us get the right candidates on the ballot.”

– John Lepley

“I look at PAC as an extension of the ideas that lead us to form unions in the first place – because our voices, when we stand together, are more powerful than when we have to act alone. PAC lets us take the ideas of solidarity and strength in numbers and extend them from the workplace into politics. Politics are just as important as the contracts that govern our workplaces – maybe even more so. Politicians make decisions every day that affect our children’s education, our safety at work, whether we have access to health care, even whether we have the freedom to join a union at all. Through PAC, we can have a more powerful voice in those decisions.”

– R.J. Hufnagel

“In addition to federal law prohibiting our dues dollars from being used for many of our union’s political efforts, I want my monthly contributions in dues to support our union’s strike and defense fund, efforts to organize new workers, and our non-partisan work to improve workplace safety and defend workers’ rights in state and federal lawmaking. That is why I’m proud to voluntarily contribute 1 percent of my monthly paycheck to the USW Political Action Committee, which fully supports our union’s work to organize our members and families in the political process, and help elect state and federal officeholders who will fight for us. If we aren’t investing in ourselves, no one else will.”

– Eric Russell

DO YOU CONTRIBUTE TO PAC? If so, share your story about why you think it’s important, and we can add it to this page! Contact Carolyn Stokes at cstokes@usw.org.