Former Eos worker Veronica Lattimore marches with the United Steelworkers Union during the Pittsburgh Labor Day Parade on September 2, 2024. (Photo by Quinn Glabicki)
Eos Energy received a $400 million federal commitment to build grid-scale batteries for a renewable future. Now its workers hope for a voice in a new era of green manufacturing in the Mon Valley.
“PublicSource is an independent nonprofit newsroom serving the Pittsburgh region. Sign up for our free newsletters.”
Workers at the Mon Valley battery manufacturer Eos Energy voted to join the United Steelworkers on Thursday.
“The United Steelworkers were elected to represent you as their union,” wrote Eos CEO Joe Mastrangelo in an email to workers late Thursday. “The company will fully support your choice. We look forward to partnering with USW to help our company achieve its full potential.”
According to USW Communications Director Jess Kamm, 70% of workers voted to unionize.
Now, the 850,000-member union will collectively bargain on behalf of Eos’ 160 new union members.
PublicSource reported on the effort to organize at the company before the election.
Last year, Eos was granted a conditional commitment for a loan of almost $400 million from the U.S. Department of Energy. The money would pay for the company to increase its production of industrial, grid-scale zinc-bromine batteries designed to store the electricity generated from renewable sources like solar and wind — a product increasingly in demand amid a national rush to decarbonize.
Mastrangelo previously cast doubt on the union’s ability to support an upstart clean energy company like Eos.
In an email to workers on Saturday before the vote, Mastrangelo wrote: “I only ask that you consider if the USW is the right union partner to allow each of you and Eos to reach its full potential.” He questioned if the USW would offer training programs specialized for the energy market, or if the union could help Eos secure future investment. “How can the USW help Eos grow in the energy market?”
Union supporters said they were organizing for greater workplace stability and protections and a say in how green manufacturing is built in the Mon Valley. Before the election, the company said it was “pro-union,” but three union organizers were terminated earlier this year, each with pending cases before the National Labor Relations Board that allege unfair labor practice. The company denied the allegation that the terminations were related to the union organizing effort.
“We’ve been here and paved the way,” said Dante Williams, an assembly technician who lives in Duquesne. “Had they treated us fairly, we wouldn’t have needed a union.”
Workers interviewed by PublicSource said they believed unionizing would help to stabilize a hectic workplace and foster goodwill among workers. “It would be a better place,” Williams said. “I want the company to grow. I want to see it thrive.”
Photographs by Quinn Glabicki.
Quinn Glabicki is the environment and climate reporter at PublicSource and a Report for America corps member. He can be reached at quinn@publicsource.org and on Instagram and X @quinnglabicki.
This article first appeared on PublicSource and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
