Don’t just watch hunting or fishing shows from your couch. Be a guest star on Brotherhood Outdoors, a brand new outdoor TV series of the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance that will feature hardworking and hard playing union members like you.

You work hard to keep this country running.  You love your family and your union brothers and sisters.  You volunteer your time and talents to make a difference in your community.  And you’re passionate about the outdoors and passing on our hunting and fishing heritage to the next generation.  That makes you a star in our book, so we want you on Brotherhood Outdoors. 

The series, which will begin airing on Sportsman Channel in July 2011, will portray two kinds of adventure. In some episodes, host Tom Ackerman will take guests on an outfitted hunting or fishing trip in North America, often with a union member-owned outfitting operation.  In others, the tables will be turned as union guests play the guide, taking Tom to their secret hunting spot or honey-hole.

So whether you want to take a break from the do-it-yourself routine and join Tom for a guided hunting or fishing adventure OR show your union brothers and sisters and the rest of America that you’ve got the skill and experience to be the guide, get your application in today and be a star on Brotherhood Outdoors!

Click Here to download an application.

ABOUT USA

The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) is a hunting, fishing and conservation organization exclusively for union members, retirees and their families with a mission of expanding and improving hunting and fishing access and habitat for all, now and in the future.  As part of its mission, the USA recently initiated its Boots on the Ground program, which utilizes the diverse skill sets of union members to tackle on-the-ground, place-based conservation projects.  Learn more at www.unionsportsmen.org.  Find us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/unionsportsmen.

The United Steelworkers (USW) today condemned Grupo Mexico SAB, Mexico's largest mining company, for a mass firing of workers at its copper smelter in Esqueda, Sonora after the miners rejected a company-imposed union in a vote late last month.

“This blatant act of repression clearly puts Grupo Mexico’s anti-union vendetta ahead of the company’s interest in having stable labor relations,” declared Leo W. Gerard, USW international president.

The mass firing, enforced by a thousand heavily armed federal police who entered the town on Aug. 31, threatens to disrupt production at the smelter.  “Instead of deploying the police to protect its citizens from the drug cartels, the Mexican government is using them to bust democratic unions run by the workers and not the company,” Gerard said ... more

United Steelworkers (USW) International Vice President Gary Beevers issued the following statement concerning the explosion and fire of an offshore petroleum platform in the Gulf of Mexico today:

“We are thankful that no one was killed in the explosion today of an offshore petroleum platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, one person was injured and that is one person too many."

“This latest explosion shows that we need to make sure all these rigs in the Gulf are safe to operate before we put personnel back to work on them. I would hate to see a worker killed in our haste to reopen the Gulf to drilling. We need to give the government adequate time to do its inspections and ensure adequate health and safety provisions are in place ... more

Report Shows Obama’s Enforced Relief under Sect. 421 of Trade Law Working

With the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s decision to provide relief on imports of ‘Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from China’ approaching, the United Steelworkers (USW) pointed to a report issued today by the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) that shows the tariff is achieving the desired positive effect on U.S. tire manufacturers and their workforce.

“The relief provided by President Obama is fulfilling a promise that permitted China’s entry into the World Trade Organization – and that promise was American workers and companies would not be harmed by non-market economy distortions in China,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard.

“With relief in place, American workers are finally beginning to see jobs return to their communities. We must maintain that momentum and allow the tariffs to stay in effect for the full three years,” Gerard said. “To do otherwise would be to break the repeated promise to American workers and companies that they would not be unfairly harmed.” ... to read more

USW Notes Findings Of Other Subsidies In Exports Of Aluminum Extrusions

The United Steelworkers (USW) said today it is pleased by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s announcement of an affirmative, preliminary determination in the countervailing duty investigation of aluminum extrusions from China, but extremely disappointed that its undervalued currency was found not to be subject to tariffs. This decision applies to both the soft aluminum extrusion investigation and the coated paper investigation against China. 

“We deeply regret that the Commerce Department failed to use the anti-subsidy law as it was intended to utilize the anti-subsidy law, as was intended, to protect American workers and companies,” said USW International president Leo W. Gerard. “The decision flies in the face of the consensus that China is, in fact, undervaluing its currency by as much as 40 percent and ignores the thorough economic and legal analysis that was provided several months ago by the USW and the companies.”

The USW has 2,000 members working in aluminum extrusions and 10,000 in coated free sheet paper ... more

Strengthening bargaining policy and member activism to support it, improving health and safety, playing an active role in policy issues that affect the industry, while building stronger international ties were the focus for the Aug. 17-19 United Steelworkers (USW) paper sector conference here that drew more than 400 delegates.

“Our members are committed to aggressively moving our agenda forward in the paper industry,” said USW International Vice President Jon Geenen, who heads the union’s paper sector. “They exchanged information, discussed problems and developed strategies to strengthen our contracts and the industry.”

The delegates met separately with their company councils to devise action plans to increase communication between the locals and to mobilize the membership around collective bargaining and other industry issues. Each council also elected a delegate to a standing policy committee that will meet periodically to discuss progress and ideas and suggest course adjustments if necessary ... more

Citing Commerce Department statistics released this morning that indicate that economic growth is substantially lower than originally projected, the United Steelworkers (USW) sent letters to members of Congress today asking them to stop China’s currency manipulation.

The letter states: “Next month, when Congress returns, you will have the opportunity to cut our trade deficit in order to address lagging growth, and, at the same time, make a substantial down payment on the federal budget deficit while spurring job growth” by voting for and passing the Ryan-Murphy bill, HR 2378 (The Currency Reform Fair Trade Act) ... more

Calls on government to peacefully resolve 3-year dispute at Grupo Mexico

Leo W. Gerard, International President of the United Steelworkers (USW), today announced a cross-border effort is being undertaken to place a rotating team of international observers in northern Mexico’s city of Cananea to monitor the presence of 3,000 illegal federal police who are intimidating striking copper miners of the Los Mineros independent union.

“We are in full support of the Los Mineros strike that passed a three-year mark last month, where a constitutional appeal for a temporary injunction against government efforts and mining giant Grupo Mexico to break the union was just won,” Gerard declared.  “But we are concerned that the massive federal police presence is not in keeping with the court ruling and allows protection of the strikebreakers paid by Grupo Mexico to disregard the rights of the union miners.”

Gerard said the USW will sponsor the first group of international observers arriving in Cananea over this weekend with American volunteer workers recruited in the midwest and from southwest border states. He said international human rights groups will be joining the effort to train a rotating team of observers to be near the picket lines with the miners ... more

Members from across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom are gathered this week in Pittsburgh for the 2010 paper industry conference. Among the highlights has been the continued relationship with UK workers and joint work through Workers Uniting, the first global union. Click here to see daily blogs regarding that historic partnership.

And check out this photo slideshow:

Workers from the United Kingdom's Unite the Union and the United States' United Steelworkers continued their historic partnership this week during the USW's paper sector conference.

Members from both unions got together to discuss common issues and challenges and to talk about ideas for the unions' joint effort, Workers Uniting - the world's first global union.

During the conference, 30 councils made up of members representing 30 different paper industry companies elected a spokesperson to present their council's action plan and collective bargaining objectives to the entire paper conference.

In a move that shows just how far the Workers Uniting relationship has come, the MeadWestvaco Council elected Ian Eld - a paper worker from the UK - as their spokesperson. Check out his presentation in this short video clip:

Click here for more about Workers Uniting. And click here to follow members' blogs detailing their daily experience at the USW paper conference.