By David McCall

Author Bio: David McCall is the international president of the United Steelworkers Union (USW).

Credit Line: This article was produced by the Independent Media Institute.

’ll always remember how company bosses got red in the face, tried to water down our contract proposals, and made absurd demands for concessions at way too many bargaining sessions over the years.

“You’re not talking to Dave McCall,” I liked to remind them at these moments. “You’re talking to the members of the United Steelworkers.”

It was my way of cutting the bigwigs down to size, of forcing them to focus on the people who really matter—the tough-as-nails, make-no-excuses workers who deliver for America every day.

Working shoulder to shoulder with USW members—hundreds of thousands of them, in every sector of the economy—has been much more than an honor.

It’s been my life.

I’m retiring in the near future, confident that the union I joined more than 55 years ago will keep leading this nation forward.

USW members will continue to produce the highest quality materials, goods, and components anywhere, sustaining our country’s industrial might and security. They’ll continue to provide the greatest level of service in the public sector and health care, safeguarding us all.

I know that my coworkers also will double down on solidarity, the source of worker power, to build stronger communities and an economy that works for everyone.

USW members stand better equipped for this work than ever before. And that’s fortunate, because rarely has it been needed as much as it is right now.

As working people struggle to afford life’s essentials in an uncertain economy, they increasingly look to unions to balance the scales.

Union members make higher wages, have better access to affordable health care, and enjoy greater retirement security, on average, than other Americans.

That’s the union difference, created and sustained in large part by decades of strongly enforced, forward-looking USW contracts—the kind I relied on as an 18-year-old just starting out with Local 6787 at what was then Bethlehem Steel’s Burns Harbor, Ind., Works.

But it wasn’t only the good wages and benefits that made an indelible impression or shaped my future early on.

The union went to bat for me and a handful of coworkers, saving our jobs after a wave of unfair firings at the mill.

Afterward, when the local needed a steward, I knew it was my turn to step up for others. I picked up a set of grievance forms and got busy. I’ve been representing USW members in one capacity or another ever since.

The 1 percent will never understand the bond that unites us.

Employers chase quarterly profits. But we go all in for the long haul, investing decades of sweat equity in jobs that mean everything. The way we see it, shared prosperity is the only real kind.

That’s why a handful of USW activists, including me, stood strong one night many years ago in Canton, Ohio, when authorities demanded we end a protest inside the headquarters of Republic Engineered Steels.

The company wanted to cut hundreds of union jobs in the Midwest and open a non-union mini-mill in the South. We weren’t about to let that happen.

A judge arrived and threatened to arrest us if we didn’t leave, saying he’d taken an oath to enforce the law. We told him that, as union officials, we’d taken an oath as well—to our members—and that we weren’t leaving.

Our defiance cost us a night in jail. But that mini-mill never got built.

During the steel import crisis of the 1980s, we took care of each other in ways that left a lasting impression on me. Locals operated food banks and provided other assistance to those who lost their livelihoods while the entire union fought to preserve jobs and stabilize the industry.

We showed our collective mettle again a decade later when a wave of bankruptcies threatened steel once again.

USW members faced significant job losses with LTV’s bankruptcy alone. But we returned our members to work with a new owner, International Steel Group (ISG), and an innovative contract that required the company to invest in a voluntary employees’ beneficiary association (VEBA), saving the benefits of 70,000 LTV retirees and spouses.

Even better, this work served as a blueprint for rescues of other union-represented steel companies—including Georgetown Steel, Acme Steel, and Bethlehem Steel—and the extension of VEBA coverage for those companies’ retirees as well.

Sadly, we fight many of the same battles over and over.

The USW in recent years has supported workers’ union drives not only in traditional sectors, like chemicals and metals, but also in emerging industries such as electric vehicle and battery production. This kind of expansion ensures workers a seat at the table in an evolving economy where employers seek to cut corners on safety and maximize profits on the backs of those who actually create the wealth.

Winning these struggles also means building strength outside the workplace.

That’s why so many USW members double as ardent activists, championing legislation and policies that create jobs, build the middle class, and promote justice. I’m proud of Rapid Response, the union’s member-driven advocacy program, and NextGen, an initiative aimed at raising up the next group of union leaders.

Whenever and however working people are threatened, USW members rise to the occasion.

I leave office grateful for all the USW has afforded me and confident about the future. I know the USW will remain a force for good and ready to face the challenges to come.