USW’s Women of Steel program changing the future for women in unions

Kisha Byrd from the United Steelworkers Local 10-00086 joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to talk about her journey in a male-dominated industry and the impact the Women of Steel Conference had on her. 

Byrd serves as one of the three coordinators for USW District 10 — a district made up of all USW Locals in Pennsylvania — for the Women of Steel Committee. The Women of Steel is a program from the USW that evolved from the early women’s caucuses and the USW Constitution requirement that each Local Union with female members form a Local Women’s Committee. All female members of the USW are considered Women of Steel regardless of their position or industry where they work.

In 2008, the USW organized the company where Byrd worked, and she became a union member. At the time, she wasn’t an active member of her Local, something Byrd says was due to the misconception that men were the only members of the union. It wasn’t until she was sent to a Women of Steel Conference years later that she wanted to get involved with the union. After being intimidated by the male-dominated union before the conference, Byrd talked about the way the event opened her view.

Had it not been for the Women of Steel program, Byrd may not have ever began actively working with the Local. Through the training offered in the program, Byrd has developed her abilities to help empower women in her union and educate them on what they can accomplish.

Since the pandemic, the program has shown marked improvement. The first Women of Steel Education Course that Byrd and her team saw featured 80 women, the most she’s seen in the class. As more women are being seen in union positions of power, Byrd has witnessed more women participating. Making sure women never feel like they are in the background or their voices are not being heard is the goal of Women of Steel.

For more on Byrd’s journey in the USW and with the Women of Steel, listen to the show above.