The Professional Staff Organization issued the following statement of support for the members of United Steelworkers Local Union 12775 and 13796, who have been locked out of their jobs amid ongoing contract negotiations with NIPSCO.
The Professional Staff Organization stands in solidarity with the United Steelworkers facing a lockout at NIPSCO.
Locking out more than 1,600 trained, experienced union workers isn’t just an escalation in a labor dispute—it’s a decision that impacts every community that depends on the quality and reliability of their work. When employers sideline the very people who know the job best and replace them with less experienced alternatives, it’s not just workers who pay the price—it’s the public.
We’ve seen this approach before: Remove the workforce. Undermine their voice. Create pressure where cooperation should exist.
It’s the wrong path.
Working people deserve the opportunity to do their jobs with dignity, safety, and a meaningful voice in their conditions. And the communities they serve deserve better than decisions that put service quality at risk in pursuit of leverage at the bargaining table.
PSO stands with these workers and their families. We call on NIPSCO to end the lockout and return to good faith negotiations.
Because when you take skilled union workers off the job, it hurts us all.
