Corning workers and supporters rally in Charlotte for expanding union in NC
On a chilly Monday afternoon in northwest Charlotte, United Steelworkers union members and Corning employees rallied across the street from the company’s six-story building in support of expanding unionization and better working conditions.
“Wendell Weeks, you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side,” the crowd chanted, calling out Corning’s CEO. Tiny snowflakes were made visible via a light projector displaying a message on one of the company’s largest structures: “Stop Union Busting.”
Around 60 people, including a mix of supporters and Corning workers from manufacturing sites in North Carolina, attended the rally at the headquarters of Corning’s Optical Communications division.
Employees and the union have been trying to expand unionization efforts in North Carolina for nearly three years. The USW called on Weeks to allow employees to organize their union “free of fear and intimidation.”
Corning values its long-standing partnership with labor unions like USW and respects employees’ choices on union representation, the company said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer. Corning said it will continue to prioritize employee well-being and invest in its workforce while fostering constructive relationships, whether workers are unionized or not.
The USW represents roughly 3,000 Corning workers in New York, Virginia, Kentucky, and Wilmington, North Carolina — the only site in the state so far. The union has represented workers in North Carolina for nearly three years now.
In North Carolina, Corning has more than 5,000 workers across several manufacturing sites and at its Charlotte headquarters office, home to white-collar workers.
At the union rally
Corning employee Shamaal Thomas is part of a union organizing committee for the state, and drove from Durham to the rally to show support. “We pretty much just want to be respected on the job,” Thomas told the Observer.
Former Charlotte city councilman Braxton Winston addressed the rally. He’s president of the state AFL CIO, and said he wanted the public to know that Charlotte is a “union town.”
“Corporations and politicians are working together here in North Carolina to exploit workers,” Winston told the Observer. “We’re standing in front of (a building), made possible by Mecklenburg County and Charlotte taxpayers because they received economic incentives.”
Ben Smith, head trustee of United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America Local 5287, agreed. He encouraged workers to keep pushing for unions.
“Business at Corning is booming,” Smith said. “The company is generating record profits on your backs, and yet the bosses want to keep you overworked, underpaid and divided. But you have the power to overcome this through organization and solidarity.”
NLRB complaints
In 2024, the USW filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that Corning violated employees right to unionize at its Durham facility. The allegations involved coercive statements such as threats to take away benefits if workers formed a union, according to the union.
The dispute before the NLRB is ongoing.
In two additional cases filed in May with the NLRB, the union alleged Corning was surveilling workers at Durham and Winston-Salem facilities, according to the union.
“A couple of years back, when they held their anti-union campaigns, they scared a lot of people out of forming a union by saying their retirement packages would be affected — mainly their pensions,” Thomas said.
Corning cannot comment on specific claims due to pending legal actions, a company spokesperson said in a statement.
“Corning deeply respects the right of our non-union employees to seek union representation if they choose to do so,” the company stated, “and we believe that question of whether to be represented by a union is ultimately a matter of employee choice.
For several decades, Corning has had a relationship with labor unions, including a strong one with USW, a company spokesperson stated. This includes working to build relationships “rooted in trust, respect and shared success.”
The company said it intended to continue to share its views with workers in a way that complies with the law, respects its relationship with USW and is consistent with its corporate values.
The USW represents about 850,000 people in a range of fields, including steel, mining, paper, chemicals and energy production. It also represents workers in health care, education, technology and other service industries.
North Carolina is a right-to-work state without a strong union presence. In right-to-work states, workers can choose to join a union and pay a membership fee, but joining a union is not a condition of employment.
“It’s not impossible to organize, but it is challenging (in North Carolina),” said USW Organizing Director Maria Somma.
More on Corning Optical’s HQ
Corning Optical is a division of New York-based Corning, Inc. It builds glass components for fiber-optic cable and communications equipment.
Corning Optical operates several facilities throughout North Carolina, including in Newton, Winston-Salem and Concord.
In October, Corning Optical announced an expansion of its manufacturing operation in Catawba County. This included hiring more than 130 people and an investment of between $170 million and $268 million.
