The news couldn’t have been worse. Not only was the plant shutting down, this little in-tegrated steel mill was being

bought by a scrap dealer. What would the workers do?

These are a few thoughts that ran through the mind of USPA Coordinator Ernie Galgozy when he heard the news about RG Steel in Warren, Ohio, this past August. He was a 48-year old, married man with two children. He had persisted through other layoffs when the company had changed hands but this time it was different. The company had been lever-aged to the point where it would not be able to survive.

Years ago, enrolled at Kent State University, he planned to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Business. He volunteered to write articles for a non-profit organization that helped victims of domestic violence. Though he was mostly responsible for copying and past-ing the stories and pictures, he was still required to piece it together and have it printed. That experience enabled him to

get a taste of communications and how to develop publication.

But as life happens, his plans moved in another direction. He found himself married with a house payment and a baby on the way. He settled for an Associate’s Degree instead and a job at WCI Steel.

He recalled the day, 13 years ago, when he heard the Local 1375 newsletter editor for USW was moving on and the officers were concerned for the fate of their long-time publication.

“I always enjoyed reading it and was amazed at the straight talk, and the in-your-face style it had,” said Galgozy. “With the limited publication knowledge I had gained in college, I expressed my interest to our new local union president and the next thing I knew, I was the edi-tor of The Warren Steelworker and had been approved to attend my first confer-ence with the United Steelworkers Press Association.”

He began to study other publications, writing, editing, layout and design. He read magazines to learn more about what workers were reading. Eventually, he

became his own worst critic and strived for continued improvement. It was his obsession to do better.

He mentioned, “Reductions in the work force had made working in the mill an unpleasant place to be. The only thing I looked forward to was our newsletter. I wanted to become more involved with it and anything associated with it. I attend-ed all the USPA conferences and training seminars that I possibly could, meeting some exciting and talented individuals.”

His work began to get noticed. He won top honors for publications and became the first communicator to take home the first USPA Video Award.

During various layoffs, his interest in communications continued to grow. He wrote business and labor stories which were posted on a news channel web site. He used a video camera at rallies and press conferences and put together his own video stories.

“What I discovered during this dif-ficult time of unemployment was that I loved what I was doing,” said Galgozy. “Communicating!”

Today, he can be found at Hi-ram College finishing his Bachelor’s Degree in communications. He has given speeches on why we need to buy products made in the USA, and has spoken about wages and working condi-tions in places like Bangladesh. He has even produced a video for the school illustrating the triumphs and sacrifices facing adult learners today.

“More than anything else, I’ll miss publishing the newsletter and working with the USPA,” said Galgozy. “Our newsletter kept our local connected and if nothing else, recorded our history. I owe so much to the USPA and past presidents of our local for allowing me to grow and continue the newsletter tradition.”

Ernie will remain a USPA Coordi-nator until the 2013 USPA Conference in the spring. Below are a few of the awards he brought home to Local 1375.

• 2010 Howard J. McCartney Award• 2010 Raymond W. Pasnick Award• 2010 Best Video or Visual• 2010 Best Local Union Coverage• 2008 Raymond W. Pasnick Award• 2008 Best Feature Story• 2004 Best Original Photo• 2000 Raymond W. Pasnick Award

Continued on the back.

Continued from front.

We are pleased to announce that the USPA website has been rede-signed. In order to see content within the USPA website, you will need to create an account. The account will not be active until it is approved by an administrator. Please follow the instructions below.

Creating an Account on the USPA Website1. Go to http://www.theuspa.org and click on the link that says “Log in or Sign up” located underneath the search box in the right column.

2. Type in a username and e-mail for your new account and press the “Sign Up” button.

3. You will receive an e-mail in your inbox shortly. If it does not appear in your inbox, check your spam folder. Click on the link in the email.

4. After clicking the link from the e-mail, there will be a box with a “Login” button. Click on the “Login” button, create a password, and press the “Save” button.

5. Your account has been created and needs to be approved by an administrator. Once it is approved, you will receive an e-mail stating you have full access to the USPA website.

In 1964, American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan released a record (the disc that preceded CDs and DVDs) called The Times They Are a-Chan-

gin’. Little did he know then, how his words would have a reflective meaning 50 years later.

Just over eight years ago, one of the first major social networking service Facebook was launched. A year later, another social media service, YouTube was created and then one year after that,

rounding out the “big three,” Twitter was introduced. What started out as comput-er programs for college kids to hook up, became the foundation for a relatively unknown Senator from Illinois to use in his campaign to become president.

The introduction of social media enabled the masses to create newsworthy conversations by sharing their views about important and timely issues. These unfiltered posts served as a way for them to state their support, record their pro-tests or bring attention to their cause.

“News is inherently social,” said Santiago Alonso-Lord, the Director of Project Management for Engagement at the New York Times. “News stories already have social elements: people, locations, issues: social media makes it

easier to tap into these.”Online media has the ability to il-

lustrate points in a way print journalism cannot. The Web can create a virtual space in which every element of a story comes together to give audiences a nu-anced view of a story.

Photo galleries combine information and images, supplementing a traditional article. Videos from important events are never seen in full length on television, but can be viewed in whole on the Web for everyone willing to search.

During the first presidential debates between President Obama and Governor Romney, over 10.3 million tweets were recorded on Twitter during the 90-min-ute debate.

The following day, the President had

29.3 million “likes” on his Facebook page as compared to 8.2 million “likes” for Governor Romney. An even greater split on Twitter showed Obama with 20.5 million as compared to Mitt with 1.3 million “followers.”

The growth of social media has had a direct impact on traditional journalism and how news sources distribute their information. Income for most traditional newspapers has plummeted leading to fewer journalists and resources.

Many journalists and their employ-ers reluctantly held back from posting articles on the Web with the belief that this trend would decrease the value of an article and that this social media trend would be dangerous for the future of the newspaper business.

But making news articles more read-ily available is not entirely negative. By moving stories to Web-based media like Twitter and Facebook has allowed interesting stories to be read more often than they would have if they were buried deep in the middle of a newspaper.

Electronic media also give journalists the ability to spread important informa-tion that might not have enough details to fill out traditional newspaper articles. Smaller stories can find a life on the Internet instead of being shelved because of larger story spacing.

Using social media gives the tradi-tional media the opportunity to provide users with information on breaking news when it happens as it happens and since many Web stories do not contain all

the detail, journalists have the ability to quench the thirst of the public at the mo-ment of importance rather than waiting till the newspaper is printed.

The growth of social media has been nothing short of phenomenal. Face-book has over one billion users since it launched in 2004. Twitter has over 520 million users since 2006 and YouTube has over 750 million unique users visit each month since it was created in 2005.

Social media has proven to be an important and integral part of modern day business operations, and cannot be ignored. It is safe to say that the future of social media and journalism will remain linked for the foreseeable future.

Groups and/or organizations, wishing to grow, should remember The Times They Are a-Changin’ and consider inte-grating traditional and social media to enhance their communication plans.

For more on the USW social networks, go to: www.facebook.com/steelworkers, www.twitter.com/steelworkers, www.youtube.com/steelworkers or www.flickr.com/photos/unitedsteelworkers.

Come writers and criticsWho prophesize with your pen

And keep your eyes wideThe chance won’t come again

And don’t speak too soonFor the wheel’s still in spinAnd there’s no tellin’ who

That it’s namin’For the loser now

Will be later to winFor the times they are a-changin’.

Maybe you’ve asked yourself this question before. Don’t worry – you’re not the only one.

From Twitter’s 140 character updates to shout-outs and mentions to hashtags and trends, the free social media website can seem overwhelming to someone just starting out with online networking. However, Twitter is actually quite simple and once you know the lingo, you’ll be on your way to being a Twitter-addict in no time.

A lot of what your job as a USPA communicator involves is collecting news relevant to the USW and helping our local unions communicate it to their members. Maybe you reference multiple websites a day in order to get the infor-mation you need? Imagine being able to take a majority of those sites and putting them all in one place. That’s what Twit-ter does!

From your Twitter home page, it will appear to look like a collection of head-lines of 140 characters or less.

Newspapers, radio stations and news channels are starting to use Twitter as

an instant way for their fans to get their content. Most of the time, breaking news will make it to their Twitter account be-fore they can post it to their website.

To sign up for a Twitter account, go to https://twitter.com/signup. All you need to provide is your full name and an e-mail address. You will be asked to choose a password and a user name to complete the process. For more detailed steps on how to create an account, visit www.usw.org/socialmedia.

Why is Twitter a great resource for news and information? It’s quick.

Direct MessageAlso called a DM and most recently called

simply a “message,” these Tweets are private between the sender and recipient. Tweets sent over SMS become DMs when they begin with “d username” to specify who the message is for.Follow

To follow someone on Twitter is to sub-scribe to their Tweets or updates on the site.Following

Your following number reflects the quantity of other Twitter users you have chosen to follow on the site.Handle/User Name

A user’s “Twitter handle” is the username they have selected and the accompanying URL, like so: http://twitter.com/username.

Hashtag (#)The # symbol is used to mark keywords or

topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users.Home

A real-time list of Tweets from those you follow. It appears on your Twitter home page.Mention

Mention another user in your Tweet by including the @ sign followed directly by their username. Also refers to Tweets in which your username was included.Name

A name that can be different from your username and is used to locate you on Twitter. Must be 20-characters or fewer.Profile

A Twitter page displaying information about a user, as well as all the Tweets they have posted from their account.

ReplyA Tweet posted in reply to another user’s

message, usually posted by clicking the “reply” button next to their Tweet in your timeline. Always begins with @username.Retweet

(Noun) A Tweet by another user, forwarded to you by someone you follow. Often used to spread news or share valuable findings on Twit-ter. (Verb) To retweet, retweeting, retweeted. The act of forwarding another user’s Tweet to all of your followers.Tweet

(Noun) A message posted via Twitter con-taining 140 characters or fewer. (Verb) Tweet, tweeting, tweeted. The act of posting a message, often called a “Tweet”, on Twitter.URL Shortener

URL shorteners are used to turn long URLs into shorter URLs. Shortening services can be found online.

Frequently Used Twitter Terms

Basically a browser is your window to the internet, and while most people use Internet Explorer, there are a growing number of options

available. We will expand upon those later. An internet browser is a software application that allows you to view web pages, watch videos, listen to audio files, and interpret hyperlinks by translating HTML code.

The three most important characteristics to consider when choosing which browser to use are speed, security, and simplicity. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari are all excellent browsers in these categories and while all browsers are similar they are not all the same and web pages may look different in the different browsers. You should compare multiple browsers and do some online research when deciding which browser will be best for your needs.

It is a good idea to have two browsers available to you, as a browser could encoun-ter a software glitch and be unavailable.

PC Features and ShortfallsFirefox tends to lead with emerging Web

standards and continues to improve its speed. It has improved tab handling and is excel-lent for customizability. Google Chrome has one of the speediest browsers but trails in convenience and customizability. Internet Explorer is the world’s leading browser but it is pre-installed on most PC models. It offers

fairly good security and some pretty slick browsing aids. A downfall is its lack of a download manager. Opera has some speed, a good standards support and includes lots of unique browsing helpers. One downfall is that it doesn’t work well with some sites.

Apple Safari offers a good history display, near-Chrome speed and site compatibility.

Mac Features and Shortfalls Safari is usually the default browser

installed on most Macs. It looks great, has good speed and supports most modern CSS. It tends to lack in updates. Firefox has fairly good speed and has quite a few features and while it may be an alternative on a Mac, it has problems preforming and is a bit unsta-ble. Chrome is very fast, has an exceptional plug-in catalog, and has some of the best web features you might find in most web brows-ers. The problem is its stability and interfac-ing with some programs. Opera is fairly fast for speed and maintains great tab features, it doesn’t have the developer community that you would find with Firefox or Chrome.

Why do browsers change?The web browser market is ever-chang-

ing with the developers from each browser company striving to stay ahead of the curve. It can be a challenge for web designers and web developers to keep up in trying to make sure that their pages are available to be viewed correctly in all the various browser versions available.

Currently Internet Explorer 8 is the most widely used web browser in the world, with Internet Explorer 9 being pushed out through Windows updates. Safari 5 is the latest Mac browser, but like we said earlier, Mac users may use other browsers as well. Firefox 4 is already available and there is a new version of Google Chrome due out this spring.

Time to make your choice.Choose your web browser, but do so

knowing there are a world of options and that you don’t have to be married to the one you choose. Your next option is but a few clicks away, but remember to get to know your browser well before making the decision to move on as security, memory and viewing options will be different with each one.

Also, keep in mind also that if you are building a web page in a browser that the end user may be using any one of a number of browsers, that your page may look different in each one if you aren’t careful. Research as much as possible and your decision making will be much easier.