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Wiegmann plant laying off 110 workers in Freeburg, Ill. By ELIZABETH DONALD Illinois Correspondent
Freeburg, IL – A southern Illinois manufacturing plant will lay off 110 workers to transfer its operations to Aurora, Ill. and Juarez, Mexico. Among the workers being laid off at Hubbell Inc.’s Wiegmann manufacturing plant in Freeburg, Ill., are 98 members of International Association of Sheet Metal Air Rail Transportation Workers, or SMART. The plant manufactures electrical enclosures. SMART Regional Organizer Richard Harris said the layoffs
be hired for just $21 a day, and that moving the operations there would generate $40 million in profits over the next 10 years. The union workers make an average of $23 an hour. “Those profits come at the direct expense of American jobs, families and a community that has supported this plant for generations,” Harris said. “For 96 years, our members dedicated their skill, labor and lives to building this company. In return, Hubbell turned its back on them – gutting jobs, closing a union shop, and walking away from a proud legacy of American manufacturing.”
HUBBELL INC.’S WIEGMANN PLANT in Freeburg, Ill. has announced plans to lay off 110 employees and close the plant. – Joshua Carter/Belleville News-Democrat photo
are the result of “pure corporate greed.” Harris said the company told shareholders Juarez workers could
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PROFIT OVER PEOPLE Harris said the union did everything in its power to convince Hubbell to keep the plant open, negotiating in good faith and appealing to the company’s responsibility to the workers and the community. “But in the end, profit won over people,” he said. Hubbell Inc. is an international corporation with annual revenue of $5.6 billion. It has operated in Freeburg since 1928 with the current location opening in 1964, according to the St. Louis Business Journal. See LAYOFFS page 15
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Midwest Tradeswomen Summit set for May 31 Page 3
Missouri Works Initiative’s Megan Price honored by Construction Forum By SHERI GASSAWAY Missouri Correspondent
Iron Workers Local 396 celebrates 2025 graduates Page 4
Sunset Hills, MO – Megan Price, executive director of the Missouri Works Initiative (MWI), has been honored by the Construction Forum with an Emerging Leader Award. Price received the prestigious award at the Forum’s 2025 Building Tomorrow Awards program May 7 at the LiUNA Event Center in Sunset Hills. The awards recognize those who have made contributions in alignment with the values and initiatives supported by the Forum’s strategic vision of social equity and economic opportunity and growth.
‘IMPRESSIVE’ “Megan has created a strong record of both achievement and
Laborers Local 42 treats retirees to a day at the ballpark Page 6
St. Louis Union Solidarity Ride/Poker Run set for June 22 Page 14
relationship building,” said Diana Wilhold, the Construction Forum’s deputy executive director/COO. “Whether its building partnerships among unions, employers, educators and government officials or managing the nuts and bolts of workforce efforts, her energy, knowledge and effectiveness are impressive.” Supported and sponsored by the Missouri AFL-CIO, the Missouri Works Initiative eliminates barriers to economic opportunities by connecting Missourians to the necessary resources to build life-sustaining careers through a variety of programs.
APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS Most in the construction indus-
MISSOURI WORKS INITIATIVE Executive Director Megan Price (left) receives the Construction Forum’s Emerging Leader Award from Justin Schmeltz, a Construction Forum board member and co-chair for the organization’s Emerging Leaders Network, during an award ceremony May 7 at the LiUNA Event Center in Sunset Hills, Mo. – Labor Tribune photo
try are familiar with the MWI’s Apprenticeship Ready Construction (ARC) program, formerly known as the St. Louis Building Union Diversity (BUD) program. The ARC program, which serves as a recruitment tool to encourage more minorities and women to get into the union building trades, provides potential pre-apprentices with the opportunity to visit participating local building trade unions to get hands-on basic training and a feel for each of the trades. It has a 92 percent graduation rate. Price has also been instrumental in launching a similar program called the Apprentice Ready Manufacturing (ARM) program, which is designed to address See PRICE page 15
Trump delivers ire with appointment of postmaster general David Steiner was CEO of Waste Management Inc. and served on the FedEx board Washington – President Trump’s choice for the new postmaster general immediately drew criticism from union leaders, postal worker representatives and pro-Labor elected officials alleging anti-union, pro-privatization agendas at work. U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski (DIllinois) criticized the choice of David P. Steiner to take over the U.S. Postal Service. “I’ve long fought to strengthen and improve the U.S. Postal Service for my constituents and have been outspoken against efforts to privatize the postal service,” she said. “Now we have a
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board of FedEx. In the past, FedEx collaborated with the USPS for package deliveries in hard-to-reach rural areas and on air transportation, but those partnerships ended last year.
STRAIGHT FROM COMPETITION, UNION-BUSTER new Postmaster General who comes directly from one of the Postal Service’s chief competitors and has a record of opposing the right of workers to join a union. This raises real concerns about the direction Mr. Steiner may take the Postal Service, where over 91 percent of the workforce is unionized.” Steiner is a former CEO of Waste Management and served on the
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Brian L. Renfroe, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, strongly condemned Steiner’s appointment. “Steiner didn’t just stroll in from the private sector – he comes straight from one of the Postal Service’s top competitors,” Renfroe said. “His selection isn’t just a conflict of interest — it’s an aggressive step toward handing America’s mail
system over to corporate interests. Private shippers have been waiting to get USPS out of parcel delivery for years. Steiner’s selection is an open invitation to do just that.” Renfroe alleged that Steiner built his brand at Waste Management on union-busting, slashing jobs and replacing workers with machines. “He has publicly bragged about shrinking the union footprint,” Renfroe said. “Now, he’s being handed the keys to one of the nation’s largest unionized employers. At a time when collaboration with workers helped USPS turn a $144 million profit in the last quarter of 2024, this decision flies in the face of everything that’s working.” See USPS page 10
Members of the following unions and councils see page 5 for changes in your notices ILLINOIS
• IBEW 309 Retirees • Southwestern Illinois Central Labor Council
MISSOURI
• St. Louis Labor Council