Union Chief Pushes Tough Line on Trade

washingtonpost.com — As visitors to this week's G-20 summit in Pittsburgh are frequently reminded, the host city has bounced back from the collapse of its steel industry in the 1980s.

But for the city's preeminent union, the United Steelworkers, the arguments that began here decades ago over the threat of foreign trade are far from settled.

On Friday, the United Steelworkers weighed whether to join a trade case accusing China of dumping seamless steel tubes in the United States. Earlier this week, it launched a lawsuit with three U.S. manufacturers against Chinese imports of coated paper. These actions closely followed two trade victories the union garnered earlier this month with a tariff on Chinese tires and a favorable decision on other steel products.

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