Voting by an overwhelming 2-1 margin, the employees of 3-V Chemical in Georgetown, S.C. recently became the first workers to be organized under the new USW.

The National Labor Relations Board made election results official on April 14, 2005 – the same day that the PACE International Union voted to merge with the Steelworkers. The vote for the Union was 67-33, with 5 challenged votes. There are approximately 118 hourly employees in the bargaining unit.

Sheila Harris, Lead Organizer, along with the assistance of Hal James, a member organizer and local union president of IP in Georgetown, and International Representative Ben Montgomery ran the 2-½ month campaign.

Building an active, solid, representative in-plant committee along with numerous home visits and plenty of inoculation was the winning factor. 3-V made promises they did not keep during a previous organizing attempt but the employees remembered the company’s broken promises. A decline in health & safety and benefits also played a key role.

3-V Chemical is a privately owned Italian company and has been located in Georgetown for more than 25 years.

Our new members become part of USW District 9, where Connie Entrekin is Director. The USW is the largest industrial union in North America and represents over 850,000 workers.