Tom Conway Obituary News; United Steelworkers Union Chief Tom Conway Dies

Thomas Conway, international president of the United Steelworkers (USW) union that represents 850,000 North American steel, paper, health, education and oil workers, has died at the age of 71, the USW said on Monday.

Conway joined the union in 1978 at a Bethlehem Steel plant in northwestern Indiana and became its top negotiator and later president in 2019.

Conway, a former U.S. Air Force officer and the son of a union member, immersed himself in operational details, money, and economics before entering negotiations, according to Michael Wright, a retired USW official who participated in contract negotiations with Conway.

U.S. President Joe Biden called Conway “an extraordinary champion” and “great friend”, describing him as a confidante and someone who would, on occasion, challenge him to “do better.”

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said she consulted closely with Conway and benefitted from his “unique, thoughtful and informed perspective” while developing the administration’s “inclusive, worker-centered trade agenda” in 2021.

In 2017, he told a union convention that workers must be prepared to act on their demands.

“Be ready for it, because the fights will come whether we want them or not. But when the fights do come, we can win those fights,” Conway said.