Harold Johnson

Harold Johnson Ohio Valley Aluminum Shelbyville, Ky.

Harold Johnson

Harold Johnson is a married father of five grown children and 17 grandchildren. Johnson worked for 33 years as a truck driver for Ohio Valley Aluminum in Shelbyville, Ky., hauling finished aluminum billets to sites all over the South and Midwest and picking up scrap metal to haul back to the plant.

Johnson worked hard and was happy with his job until about 10 years ago, when the company began raising their employees’ health insurance premiums while at the same time slowing wage increases to a trickle and discontinuing annual bonuses. Also, while the workers agreed to put part of their wages into 401(k) retirement accounts with the understanding the company would match the amounts weekly, the company,in fact, reserved the right to match the workers’ contribution at their own discretion, which, Johnson says, “was never.” 

In spring 2006, a co-worker called Johnson to ask what he thought about forming a union to help bargain with the company to reinstate some of their lost benefits. He decided it was a great idea and, over the next few months, became a vocal advocate for forming a union as part of the United Steelworkers (USW). 

But when Ohio Valley found out that Johnson and his co-workers wanted to form a union, management did everything possible to discourage them. The company sent letters to his house talking about how a union would do little to help workers, and every week the plant president held meetings with the truck drivers to talk to them or show them film about the negative consequences of forming unions. One week, when Johnson was out sick and missed the film, the plant manager gave him one of the videocassettes to take home and review on his own time.

Despite these efforts, in March 2006, they voted 4–to–1 in favor of forming a union. But the company would not bargain, so eventually the workers chose to go on strike to get the company to the bargaining table. Johnson stayed on the picket line between 12 and 24 hours per day, even though he says his every move was videotaped by a security firm the company hired to intimidate the workers. He was determined to make sure the company would negotiate the terms of his employment with him. 

That’s not what happened when Johnson returned to work.  Instead, he was immediately suspended from his job for alleged misconduct. One week later, the local USW received a letter saying that Johnson, along with four other suspended workers, was fired. Despite having worked there for 33 years, Johnson was never personally contacted by anyone from management supervision or human resources at Ohio Valley Aluminum. 

Although the USW has filed an appeal before the federal labor board, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has not issued a formal complaint on Johnson’s behalf against the company. Johnson doesn’t regret his actions in trying to form a union. “There comes a time in life when you have to take a stand,” he says.