The 39th Constitutional Convention was held at an important time in the labor movement. Recent times have seen attacks on public sector workers from the Trump administration, heavy investment in AI threatening jobs, and at the same time, auto workers in the South have struggled to win union recognition. All of these things directly impact the UAW and its members. At the convention, UAW members reflected on the past four years of developments.

At the 38th convention in 2022, members passed a resolution creating the “one member, one vote” system for the first time, creating a direct democratic election of leadership. The passage of that resolution is seen as having played a significant role in the election of UAW President Shawn Fain’s victory. The convention held this month saw members come out and organize for measures to protect their democratic gains and make advances toward a more bold and powerful international union.

Significant changes were made regarding strike pay. The Constitution Committee recommended a strike package that included an increase of minimum weekly strike pay from $400 to $550, an increase to the maximum strike fund withdrawals for organizing drives from 60 million to 100 million, and an increase to the Strike & Defense Fund thresholds. This allows the strike fund to grow to approximately $1 billion. The recommended package was debated on the convention floor and passed after delegates argued that the package would enable the union to prepare for a major upcoming battle they expect to see with the Big Three automakers when contracts expire in May 2028. The big three refers to General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Stellantis (formerly known as Fiat Chrysler).

Newly-organized UAW Local 42 members won their first contract at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee this year, and were honored with the UAW Social Justice Award. Their victory is a breakthrough in the UAW’s strategy to unionize auto production in the South.

“They [Local 42] sent a message across Tennessee, across Region 8 and across America: the South is not for sale,” declared Tim Smith, the director of UAW Region 8, “Workers cannot be bought, and when workers stand together, corporate greed can be defeated!”

Alongside the resolutions that passed to build a more powerful and militant UAW, there is still an ongoing struggle to maintain and strengthen democratic reforms that the membership won in 2022. An amendment was raised on the convention floor, proposing that any changes to the current policy of direct democratic election of the International executive board, known as the “one member, one vote” system, only be permitted by a referendum of the entire union membership. The “one member, one vote” system that was won in 2022 replaced a previous delegate system that had been used to elect the International executive board.

This amendment’s intention was to protect democratic gains and practically enshrine direct democracy in the membership. To the confusion and frustration of membership on the convention floor, UAW General Counsel Bill Karges recommended to Convention Chair Laura Dickerson that the amendment be struck down as unconstitutional, and, as such, the membership was denied the opportunity to vote on it. The same day, a separate amendment, also deemed unconstitutional by Karges, was allowed to be debated and voted on. In the past four years, Karges has reportedly opposed President Fain’s efforts to create a more aggressive legal counsel in bargaining. Continued behaviors, such as opposing the “one member, one vote” amendment this year, are in alignment with the positions taken by the old guard leadership that opposed the democratic reforms that were passed.

“We feel that the UAW counsel made an improper interpretation of the amendment for one member one vote. We feel that this interpretation is not consistent with other earlier decisions at the Constitutional Convention,” said Gary Chynowrth, vice chair of the UAW Member Action caucus and Local 160 member, “Member Action is going to do everything in our power to help members keep their right to vote, as that is the cornerstone right to prevent the fraud perpetrated by the Administration Caucus leaders.”

A resolution was also passed that around international solidarity. UAW members won an estimated $400,000 divestment of their union from bonds in the state of Israel, after an over 50-year campaign, which began when Arab American members led strikes across Detroit and Dearborn in 1973 to demand divestment.

In an interview posted by UAW4Democracy, UAW Local 2325 member Olga Karounus stated, “This is a moment that is going to resonate far beyond just this room. I know we just answered the call of the Palestinian trade workers, who have been calling for this for over 50 years.”

The UAW is set to convene again for the 40th Constitutional Convention in 2030. In the next four years, rank-and-file members who worked to win the recent reforms say they will continue to chart the path ahead for a more militant, powerful and democratic international union.

“We’ve got to build a global movement of workers everywhere,” said UAW President Shawn Fain, “not pitted against each other across borders, but united in a common cause for a society that works for the working class.”

#DetroitMI #MI #Labor #UAW #Feature

New York, NY – On March 23, the Contract Faculty Union at NYU (CFU-UAW) called a strike at 11 a.m. after contract negotiations failed to advance by the strike deadline. Over 200 faculty, students and community members convened at the John A. Paulson Center to picket in response to the strike call. Several classes were cancelled, which created a massive disruption amongst the university community.

Before the strike call, the NYU administration stated their intention to hire substitute professors to replace striking professors, which would make these substitutes scabs. In response, the CFU-UAW called on non-contract faculty to not take on struck work. Student groups such as YDSA, SDS and SILS called on their student peers to not attend classes with substitute professors.

The picketing went on for two days, from March 23 to March 24, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

During the picket, hundreds of students, faculty and community members joined in to express solidarity with their striking professors. Protesters chanted “What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now!” and “Get up! Get Down! New York is a union town!”

Politicians, faculty and student organizers spoke to the crowd about the importance of standing in solidarity with striking professors and why the administration should provide them with a fair contract. Student organizers from YDSA, SILS, SDS and Yecao Collective organized “Freedom Schools” that took place alongside pickets, which spoke on different topics related to NYU campus, labor or immigration.

At around 3 a.m. on March 25, the bargaining committee of the CFU-UAW announced that a tentative agreement between the administration and the union was reached. There will be a vote to ratify the contract from March 31 to April 6. If ratified, the contract will mark a major victory for faculty after years of organizing.

#NewYorkNY #NY #Labor #NYU #UAW

New York, NY – On February 25, over 20 NYU students, faculty and workers picketed the board of trustees meeting demanding they disclose and divest from all companies supplying Israel in its genocidal occupation of Palestine.

In addition to disclosure and divestment, the NYU People’s Solidarity Coalition demanded the closure of the NYU Tel Aviv campus, built upon stolen Palestinian land, and the reversal of all suspensions and probation charges of Palestine student activists. The coalition’s demands aim to cut the university’s ties to the state of Israel.

As board of trustee members were escorted into their meeting by campus security officers, they were confronted by picketersdemanding that they disclose and divest. As the meeting went on, picketers chanted “Trustees pick a side, justice or genocide” and “We want justice you say how! Answer our demands now!”

The picket was called for by the NYU People’s Solidarity Coalition, which consists of the NYU Students for a Democratic Society, NYU Students for Justice in Palestine, Shut It Down NYU, NYU Graduate Student Workers Union – UAW, and several other organizations.

The participating organizations vow to continue their fight against NYU, no matter what repressive tactics are thrown their way. They will continue struggling until they win all their demands.

#NewYorkCityNY #NewYorkNY #NYC #NYU NYUPSC #SDS #NYUSDS #NYUSJP #SJP #BDS #UAW #NYUGSWU #FreePalestine #Disclose #Divest

Los Angeles CA – On Tuesday, May 28, hundreds of workers and students at the University of California Los Angeles walked off the job in response to the university’s brutal crackdown on pro-Palestine encampments earlier this month.

The striking workers are graduate students and academic researchers represented by the United Auto Workers union local 4811 (UAW) which represents 50,000 workers across the UC school system. The UAW declared the university’s response to the protest an unfair labor practice and will be on strike until at least June 30 or later if the strike is extended.

The walkouts began at 9 a.m. and culminated in a rally at noon at the Bruin Bear statue, where students and workers demanded the university divest its investments from Israel and respect their free speech. After the rally the protesters marched to Royce Hall where they gathered on the grass to learn more about the strike.

According to one union activist, Ethan Friedland, “The university bringing these violent cops onto our campus is really just a symptom of a larger issue which is this university doesn’t care about its students or its workers; it cares about making money and investing money into arms, genocide, into death and it will use violent force to repress any attempt to change that.”

When asked about the strike, Friedland added, “The school has signaled that they want to crack down on any student organizing, any dissent and free speech, of course they want to crack down on labor.”

Earlier this month, UCLA, along with the University of Southern California and dozens of other college campuses across the country, erupted in protest as students constructed encampments to try and force their universities to divest from Israel. The encampment at UCLA was violently attacked by Zionist counter-protesters. In response to the violence, the police swept through the encampment and brutalized the protesters, beating and arresting hundreds in the process.

UAW members and students both are united in their demand that their universities divest from Israel and stop funding the genocide in Palestine and that campuses respect their right to free speech and will keep fighting until they’ve won.

#LosAngelesCA #CA #Labor #UAW #Strike #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #Palestine #StudentMovement #Feature

Milwaukee, WI – Trade unionists, community members, and elected officials gathered for a commemoration of the “Bay View Massacre” on Sunday, May 5, in Milwaukee. A sunny afternoon of activities paid homage to the seven martyrs who were shot and killed by the Wisconsin State Militia during the 1886 nationwide general strike for the eight-hour day. The historic event followed closely on the heels of the actions in Chicago which would eventually lead to the creation of May Day. The Wisconsin Labor History Society has organized the commemoration of the Bay View Massacre every year since 1986, and it has become an important labor tradition.

This year, the Young Workers Committee of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council organized a march to the commemoration, starting from the site where the massacre took place on Bay Street and Lincoln Avenue in the Bay View neighborhood of Milwaukee. The theme of the march was “Carry the Struggle Forward.” About 60 unionists representing several local unions gathered to place seven white crosses at the site of the massacre, and then picked up the banners and marched to the commemoration. Marchers chanted “What do we want? The eight hour day!” and “The four day week!”

Over 200 people attended the program which featured live music, a re-enactment of the events that led to the massacre, and speeches. Speakers included labor historian Joe Walzer and unionists leading current campaigns in their workplaces and in the Milwaukee community.

Aurelia Ceja, co-chair of the Coalition to March on the RNC, got the crowd fired up to protest when the Republican National Convention comes to Milwaukee on July 15. “We are fighting against the racist and reactionary Republican agenda, and telling the Republicans: not here in Bay View, not here in Wisconsin, not anywhere!” Ceja said.

Rhen Lutz, a member of Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Healthcare Professionals (WFNHP) 5000, spoke about the union’s campaign to pass a city ordinance to keep healthcare services open in Black, Latino and immigrant neighborhoods of Milwaukee.

Representing United Auto Workers, John Drew read a statement from UAW President Shawn Fain, condemning the mass arrests of pro-Palestine protesters on campuses. “The UAW will never support the mass arrest or intimidation of those exercising their right to protest, strike, or speak out against injustice. Our union has been calling for a ceasefire for six months. This war is wrong, and this response against students and academic workers, many of them UAW members, is wrong.”

Drew also highlighted UAW’s record contract at the Big Three automakers, and their groundbreaking organizing win at Volkswagen in Tennessee.

The program ended with the singing of Solidarity Forever and was followed by more labor songs and socializing at Puddler’s Hall, an historic bar for rolling mill workers in Bay View.

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #Labor #MayDay #UAW #RNC2024 #YWC #WFNHP #Feature

The National Labor Relations Board said the vote was 262 to 985, or 73% approval. The voting started at 4:45 a.m. Wednesday and ran until 8 p.m. Friday.

“In a historic victory, an overwhelming majority of Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, have voted to join the UAW,” said union spokesman Jonah Furman. “The outcome is clear; Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga are the first Southern autoworkers outside of the Big Three to win their union.”

After the vote, UAW President Shawn Fain told reporters at the plant that the vote reflects the fact that working-class people are “fed up with being left behind” and living paycheck to paycheck.

“This gives workers everywhere else the indication that it's OK and it can be done,” Fain said about organizing the VW plant. “All we heard for years is that we can't do this in the South. And you can. Workers can do it. It's time for workers to take more control of their lives. The only way they can take control of their work lives is by forming a union.”

The union will now represent the only VW plant in the United States, winning by a landslide after failed votes in 2014 and 2019. The victory came in spite of opposition by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, who joined five other Republican governors in issuing a joint statement in opposition to the UAW’s organizing efforts in the South. The union was able to successfully capitalize on the momentum from its successful strike against the Big Three automakers this fall.

The UAW hopes to further build on this momentum by organizing the Mercedes-Benz plants in Vance and Woodstock, Alabama this May.

#ChattanoogaTN #Labor #UAW #Unionize #VW

Chicago, IL – On April 17, around 60 members of the United Legal Workers (ULW) picketed in front of the downtown offices of Legal Aid Chicago in an effort to get management back to the table. During the past three months bargaining, workers have advocated for livable wages, cost of living increases, workload relief, and more paid time off.

“The turnout and energy that ULW members showed at the practice picket is a perfect example of what a union does for people,” said Ernie Gordon, a staff attorney and the union’s lead bargainer. “This whole bargaining process has gotten so many people engaged in the common cause we all share as workers who want to improve the working conditions of those around us.”

The practice picket comes after Legal Aid Chicago management’s last, best and final offer. Voting on the management proposal opened on Tuesday, April 18 and will close at the end of the week. Members have expressed frustration with the messaging coming from management about the value of their work.

“Compassion and commitment do not pay for childcare expenses,” said Roslyn Cruz, a public benefits paralegal. “Gratitude does not pay for groceries. We make Legal Aid Chicago work; it is time to make Legal Aid Chicago work for us.”

ULW members provide free legal services to those most in need in Chicago, Cook County, and across Illinois. After the onset of the pandemic increased the need for services like benefit appeals and eviction relief, ULW members faced heavier caseloads. A contract has not been bargained for since 2019.

“I’ve seen coworker after coworker leave. Our union members love what we do but people can literally not afford to work here,” said Hannah Bernard, a social worker. “How can we fight for the justice of others when workers don’t have their most basic needs met?”

Supporters from other legal aid agencies in the city joined the rally, along with members of the ULW’s parent, the United Automobile Workers, the Cook County Public Defender’s Office, and the City of Chicago.

“We are asking management to make this agency one where employees can stay, where we can make a living wage, [and] where we can focus on doing our job: fighting for the people of Cook County,” Bernard said.

#ChicagoIL #IL #Labor #ULW #UAW

The vote was triggered after UAW filed cards with the NLRB. Union spokespeople say that they turned in “super majority” on signed union cards in February. This super majority on cards signed came about after a two month campaign to organize a union, signaling strong energy around the idea of unionizing.

Isaac Meadows is an assembly worker at Volkswagen said, “We’re voting yes to win a better life for ourselves and our families.” Meadows went on to say, “We need a say in our schedules, benefits, pay and more. We’re proud to work at Volkswagen, but we also know the value of a voice at work.”

At the same time as the vote is occurring in Tennessee, UAW has now secured a vote for thousands of auto workers at a Mercedes-Benz plant outside of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The NLRB announced on Thursday that the vote for the Mercedes-Benz workers will take place from May 13 to May 17, with the voted being counted on May 17.

These votes to join UAW happening in the South follow a contract fight at the Big Three automakers in 2023 that saw thousands of UAW members striking in a highly successful wave of “stand up strikes” across the U.S. which resulted in major contract gains. UAW has long talked about and even attempted organizing in the South, however previous attempts have all floundered and the elections were filed for without ever seeing a majority on cards.

While the results of these elections are still to be seen, it is clear that UAW is serious about its intention to organize the South, and to organize across more auto companies. According to the union, more than 10,000 non-union auto workers have signed cards to join UAW in the last few months. They now also launched organizing campaigns publicly at Mercedes in Vance, Alabama, at Hyundai in Montgomery, Alabama, and at Toyota in Troy, Missouri. The UAW says that workers at more than two dozen other facilities are also actively organizing.

One clear way to see the difference between this attempt and previous ones is that UAW says that over 5000 autoworkers who will be part of the Mercedes vote in Alabama have signed union cards, and as of 2023 the total bargaining unit affected was around 6100 workers, signaling a dominant majority in support of forming their union.

#ChattanoogaTN #TN #Labor #Auto #UAW #NLRB

Seattle, WA – On March 29, United Auto Workers (UAW) 4121 held a rally in the quad of the University of Washington-Seattle campus to demand a strong contract. With over 1000 attendees at the rally, the UAW made clear that they will not abide by UW administration’s attacks on their healthcare, wages and their international workers.

After this rally, the UAW 4121 led a march from the quad to Gerberding Hall, UW’s administrative building, to stage a “work-in” to make their demands clear. While UW police attempted to lock the doors to prevent this action from occurring, the crowd rushed past them to fill the halls of the building. The rest of the union workers marched around the building until other entrances were opened up. Once inside, workers presented their demands to those administrators still in the building; most had left their offices earlier. Union members also continued to discuss next steps in the contract campaign, and how to organize their coworkers.

In the previous year, postdocs and research scientists, also members of UAW 4121, went on strike to fight for a strong contract as well. Higher minimum, and overall, pay was won, as well as better protections for job security. University administration attempted to intimidate workers, such as by threatening to report international workers to the government if they went on strike. The union responded by rallying public support and holding a rally until the threats were dropped.

Soohyung Hur, graduate student worker at the UW Department of Geography and one of the head stewards of UAW 4121, said, “The University of Washington is proposing to make academic student employees (ASEs) pay $1000 more a year for the healthcare plan we currently have, while giving us a 3% wage increase that they themselves admitted does not keep up with inflation. Altogether, this is a pay cut to the ASE salary which is already below poverty wage. Almost 1000 of us gathered at the rally to tell the UW that we will fight back against the increasing income inequality at the UW, in higher education, and the broader Puget Sound region.”

Mathieu Chabaud, a member of Progressive Student Union, said, “You can’t have admin be both your employer, and charge you fees. The only way to stop that is collective action.” Removing pay to work fees for graduate students are another key demand of the union; because academic student employees are also students, the university is trying to recapture any increases in pay by increasing fees in turn. The union’s demands would eliminate these fees, while also keeping the workload protections the university is trying to gut.

When asked about if the union would be able to keep up pressure, teaching assistant Zawad Chowdhury said, “I think so, there’s a lot of grad student energy.” With the contract expiring in a month, the union is preparing to intensify its contract campaign and win its demands.

#SeattleWA #WA #Labor #UAW #UAW4121 #SDS #PSU #GradWorkers #Feature

#DetroitMI #AntiWarMovement #International #Palestine #Biden #UAW