PITTSBURGH —Roxanne Brown, the Steelworkers Legislative and Political Director and, as a vice president at large, the highest-ranking African-American on the union board, will become the union’s first-ever woman president on March 1. She succeeds David McCall, who is retiring after three years in the post. Brown and a new slate of USW officers were elected this fall.
Brown, a New Yorker and a member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, was also instrumental, working with the late union President Leo Gerard, in founding the BlueGreen Alliance. She also holds, and will retain, a seat on the AFL-CIO Executive Council. She became the union’s Legislative and Political Director in 2018 and was Assistant Legislative Director for almost 19 years before that.
That BlueGreen coalition of unions and environmental groups consistently advocates the position that U.S. manufacturing can be revitalized by creating well-paid union jobs in “green” industries and projects, such as windmill-powered electric generation off U.S. coastlines.
With USW and BlueGreen advocacy leading the way, those twin goals were enshrined in the Infrastructure and Jobs Act during the Democratic Biden administration. But fossil fuel advocate Republican Donald Trump is ripping that law and those projects to shreds.
McCall lauded Brown when her victory was announced. “Roxanne has devoted her life’s work to advancing the interests of working families, fighting for fair wages, affordable health care, dignified retirements, and strong labor rights,” he said in a USW release. “I can think of no one better qualified to lead our union as we navigate this unprecedented era of largely unchecked corporate greed.”
“I am beyond humbled and honored to serve as the USW’s next president,” Brown replied. “I’m committed to the work ahead and pledge to live up to the trust our members have shown in me. Together, we will build an economy that works for all of us, a system that rewards workers rather than corporations, and a bright future for generations to come.”
Brown’s goal in her BlueGreen work is to “shape environmental policies with the potential to affect USW jobs,” her bio on the union’s website says. “She led the USW’s work on the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, helping to avert unintended negative consequences on workers. Although the legislation stalled, the provisions she helped to develop became a model for job and manufacturing retention in climate measures.”
And Brown helped coordinate a 20,000-person USW rally on the Ellipse just south of the White House, demanding GOP President George W. Bush impose U.S. tariffs on dumped foreign steel. With an eye on the 2004 presidential election, he did. But a year after he won, the tariffs lapsed.
Amber Miller, director of USW’s Rapid Response Network, will take Brown’s board seat and her political-legislative responsibilities on March 1. The Rapid Response Network and its political activism and quick mobilization have become a model for other unions nationwide. The other members of the USW board, led by Secretary-Treasurer Myles Sullivan, were re-elected. All, including Brown, will serve 4-year terms.
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