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UAW Members Out in Force in Key Midterm Districts Could Shape the Next Congress

With less than two weeks until Election Day, the UAW is leading its most ambitious political operation in decades in some of the country’s most critical and high-profile races. These contests will shape the next two years of government in Washington, D.C., and beyond. The UAW has deployed over 130 full-time political organizers and 1,000 volunteers across the country in swing districts where UAW member density exceeds the previous margin of victory.

“Our political program is like everything else about the UAW: it’s member-driven,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “We’ve been flexing our member-driven muscle at the bargaining table for the last few years. Now we’re building that same muscle in our politics. This year, our members are leading a bold political program, shaking up the political status quo.  We’ll start by electing UAW champions to office – but our members will lead the work that comes after election day to win a working class agenda in the halls of power.

Overview of Program
UAW members in the field are having tough conversations at the doors and on the phone about the union’s core issues: wages, job security, health care, retirement, and time off. The approach is designed to counter negative ads and misinformation from corporate PACs and engage UAW members across the political spectrum who have felt left behind by the political establishment in recent elections.

The 2026 field program is also an opportunity to hear from members and develop a working-class-led political agenda for the new Congress in 2027.

“Every UAW vote matters in these razor-thin elections,” said UAW Local 2000 member Sara Noonan from Grafton, Ohio. “We’re not telling people how to vote when we talk to UAW members and their families. We’re talking about the issues and what’s at stake for both our communities and workplaces. Our vote is our voice and opportunity to stand together as working people to protect the rights that generations of union members fought to secure.”

“I’ve been part of the UAW’s political program in Michigan as a member for 13 years, and I haven’t seen this much open conversation about the election in years,” said UAW Local 228 member JJ Jewell from Sterling Heights, MI. “When we hit the doors to talk to UAW members and their families about things like cost and affordability or the imbalance of power between workers and corporations, we are talking about issues that matter to voters of all political persuasions. UAW members are helping reshape US politics to put power back where it belongs: not with the corporations, not with the elite and wealthy — but with the people.”

The UAW is prioritizing must-win races in districts where the union’s membership density exceeds recent margins of victory. These members could make the difference in razor-thin elections. Select examples of these races include:

  • Michigan U.S. Senate: Abdul El-Sayed
  • Michigan U.S. House: Districts 04, 07, 08, and 10
  • Ohio U.S. Senate: Sherrod Brown
  • Ohio U.S. House: Districts 07 and 09
  • Pennsylvania U.S. House: District 07
  • Iowa U.S. House: Districts 01 and 02
  • Governor’s races: Michigan, Ohio

Since launching in July, the UAW has contacted hundreds of thousands of working-class voters in key districts in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, California, Nevada, Alaska, Arizona, Washington, North Carolina, Kansas, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, and Maine. The program has:

  • Knocked over 125,000 doors
  • Made 450,000 calls
  • Recruited over 3,200 volunteers, including 850 in Michigan alone

The UAW’s 2026 program is focused on heavily working-class districts that could help decide the balance of power in Congress. The UAW has invested heavily in two states – Michigan and Ohio — where de-industrialization and job insecurity have played a major role in shaping the politics of the states. The Union sees 2026 as an opportunity to make up significant political ground.

In Michigan, the UAW was an early endorser of Abdul El-Sayed in the high-profile U.S. Senate race. Three priority House races in the union’s home state—Districts 04, 07, and 10—could flip to Republican control. In each district, UAW membership density exceeds the margin of victory in recent elections.

In Ohio, the UAW has committed significant resources to reelect Sherrod Brown, a longtime ally of working-class people. The union is also working to protect Marcy Kaptur’s seat in District 09, one of the country’s densest UAW districts. UAW members make up 10% of all voters there. Members in Ohio are also working to flip District 07 for fellow union member Brian Poindexter.

In Lorain County—the only Ohio county to vote for both Sherrod Brown and Donald Trump in 2024—the UAW is adding a contentious County Commission race to its campaign. UAW-represented county workers have been on strike since February 18.

The final three weeks of the UAW program will focus on making the case to all : together, we can put an end to status quo politics and make real change in Washington with working class fighters in Congress.

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Statement from UAW President Shawn Fain on Corporate Greed at GM

Espaňol

This morning, GM announced the largest stock buyback in US automaker history. The company is planning to give another $20 billion in profits to Wall Street while tens of thousands of autoworkers have no retirement security, while plants sit under-utilized, and while the global auto industry overtakes GM. This company has spent $30 billion on stock buybacks and dividends in the past 5 years alone, while kicking and screaming about costs during our 2023 negotiations. We will remember when we are back at the bargaining table in 2028.

Let’s be clear about what stock buybacks really are. They are a form of legalized mass looting, sending billions of dollars generated by the working class directly to Wall Street investors who’ve never seen the inside of a factory.

Why don’t 80 percent of GM’s autoworkers have a pension and retirement healthcare, as they did for half a century? Because someone on Wall Street is collecting their pension check in the form of a goddamn stock buyback. Why is GM nickel and diming their retirees while lavishing shareholders with billions? Because this company has sold its soul to Wall Street.

Who benefits? The majority of stocks in this country are held by the wealthiest one percent. Who’s the largest individual shareholder at GM? CEO Mary Barra, who made $48 million in 2025, a 60 percent raise in a year.  And just five Wall Street firms — companies like Blackrock and State Street — will get nearly $7 billion out of this scam.

Corporate America is destroying this country by looting the rust belt to pay off millionaires and billionaires for short term gain, while our factories sit empty and our working class falls further behind. GM hasn’t built a new plant in this country in 20 years. When GM is spending $20 billion buying back their own stock but only half that investing in factories, equipment, and productive capacity, they are choosing Wall Street profits over blue collar America.

When we bargained our UAW contract with GM in 2023, the media and the company acted like it was the end of the world for autoworkers to get a raise. But there’s always tens of billions of dollars for Wall Street. So when we return to the bargaining table with GM in 2028, I want the American public, the American politicians, and the American autoworker to remember this day. If there’s $20 billion for Wall Street, you better believe there’s our fair share for the working class.

🚨 DECLARACIÓN DEL PRESIDENTE DE LA UAW, SHAWN FAIN, SOBRE LA CODICIA CORPORATIVA EN GM 🚨

Esta mañana, GM anunció la mayor recompra de acciones de la historia de la industria automotriz estadounidense. La empresa planea destinar otros 20,000 millones de dólares de sus ganancias a Wall Street, mientras decenas de miles de trabajadores del sector carecen de seguridad para su jubilación, las plantas operan muy por debajo de su capacidad y la industria automotriz mundial supera a GM. Solo en los últimos cinco años, esta compañía ha gastado 30,000 millones de dólares en recompras de acciones y dividendos, a pesar de que durante nuestras negociaciones de 2023 se quejaron amargamente de los costos. Lo tendremos presente cuando volvamos a la mesa de negociación en 2028.

Seamos claros sobre lo que realmente son las recompras de acciones: se trata de una forma de saqueo masivo legalizado, que transfiere miles de millones de dólares —generados por la clase trabajadora— directamente a inversionistas de Wall Street que jamás han pisado una fábrica.

¿Por qué el 80 por ciento de los trabajadores de GM carece de pensión y de cobertura médica para su jubilación, como lo tuvieron durante medio siglo? Porque alguien en Wall Street está cobrando su pensión bajo la forma de una maldita recompra de acciones. ¿Por qué GM escatima recursos a sus jubilados mientras colma a sus accionistas con miles de millones? Porque esta empresa ha vendido su alma a Wall Street.

¿Quién se beneficia? La mayor parte de las acciones en este país está en manos del 1% más rico. ¿Quién es la mayor accionista individual de GM? La directora ejecutiva, Mary Barra, quien ganó 48 millones de dólares en 2025, lo que supone un aumento del 60 por ciento en un solo año. Además, apenas cinco firmas de Wall Street —como BlackRock y State Street— obtendrán cerca de 7,000 millones de dólares gracias a esta estafa.

El sector corporativo estadounidense está destruyendo este país al saquear el cinturón industrial (“Rust Belt”) para enriquecer a millonarios y multimillonarios en busca de ganancias a corto plazo, mientras nuestras fábricas permanecen vacías y nuestra clase trabajadora se queda cada vez más rezagada. GM no ha construido una sola planta nueva en este país en los últimos 20 años. Cuando GM destina 20 000 millones de dólares a la recompra de sus propias acciones, pero invierte solo la mitad de esa cantidad en fábricas, equipamiento y capacidad productiva, prioriza los beneficios de Wall Street por encima de los trabajadores industriales de Estados Unidos.

Cuando nosotros en la UAW negociamos nuestro contrato con GM en 2023, tanto los medios de comunicación como la empresa actuaron como si el hecho de que los trabajadores del sector automotriz recibieran un aumento salarial fuera el fin del mundo. Sin embargo, siempre hay decenas de miles de millones de dólares disponibles para Wall Street. Por eso, cuando volvamos a la mesa de negociación con GM en 2028, quiero que el público estadounidense, los políticos de este país y los trabajadores del sector automotriz recuerden este día. Si hay 20,000 millones de dólares para Wall Street, pueden estar seguros de que también existe la parte que le corresponde a la clase trabajadora.

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UAW President Shawn Fain, International Executive Board Sworn In for New Four-Year Term

United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain and the union’s newly elected International Executive Board (IEB) were sworn into office for a new four-year term in a ceremony honoring the will of the membership and reaffirming the union’s commitment to fighting for its members and all working-class people.

Press is encouraged to use photos from the swearing-in ceremony.

The ceremony marked the beginning of a new term for Fain and the International Executive Board, who pledged to faithfully serve the union’s membership and advance the interests of UAW members, families, and their communities.

UAW member and longtime union leader Paul Caucci administered the oath of office to Fain, who begins his second term as International Union president. Fain then administered the constitutional obligation to the newly elected members of the International Executive Board.

In remarks following the ceremony, Fain reflected on the responsibility of union leadership and outlined the priorities for the next four years: growing the UAW, building worker power and winning improvements for working-class people.

Fain connected the UAW’s history of collective action to the challenges facing workers today, pointing to the legacy of the 1930s sit-down strikes and the union’s more recent Stand Up Strike in 2023.

“Our union built the American Dream,” Fain said. “From the Sit Down Strikers of the 1930’s to the Stand-Up Strikers since 2023, regular working-class people have led this union and led this country from the ground up.”

“Over the next four years, our job is to do more than just to ensure the survival of our organization,” Fain said. “We need to grow. We need to build. We need to win. And to do that, we need each other.”

Fain emphasized that the UAW is a democratic, member-driven organization and that the union’s future depends on members being prepared and empowered to fight for their interests.

“This is a democracy,” Fain said. “We are only in this room because the members put us in this room. And we will only win what the members are prepared and empowered to fight for.”

The president also highlighted the broader stakes of the labor movement, citing wealth inequality and the influence of corporate power as challenges facing working people. He urged UAW leaders to meet those challenges through faith, solidarity and collective action.

“The only path to turning this situation around is by abandoning fear and having faith that’s rooted in solidarity,” Fain said.

Fain closed his remarks by calling on the board to approach the next four years with a shared sense of purpose and responsibility.

“It’s not our individual legacies on the line. It’s not just our union on the line,” Fain said. “It’s the fate of the working class and the fate of humanity.”

“And together, we will rise to the occasion—to meet our generation’s defining moment. And we will do it as a United UAW.”

Newly Sworn-In UAW International Executive Board

The International Executive Board members sworn into office alongside President Fain are:

  • President: Shawn Fain
  • Secretary-Treasurer: Brandon Campbell
  • Vice President: Laura Dickerson
  • Vice President: Kevin Gotinsky
  • Vice President: Ryan Hiestand
  • Region 1 Director: LaShawn English
  • Region 1A Director: Mark DePaoli
  • Region 1D Director: Scott Zuckschwerdt
  • Region 2B Director: David Green
  • Region 4 Director: Lucas DeSpain
  • Region 6 Director: Mike Miller
  • Region 8 Director: Tim Smith
  • Region 9 Director: Jimmy Lakeman
  • Region 9A Director: Brandon Mancilla

The UAW enters its new term focused on expanding the union’s reach through a $100 million investment in new organizing, building worker power and fighting for a better future for workers and their families.

As growing wealth inequality threatens the foundations of democracy, the union will confront the challenges and opportunities posed by artificial intelligence and automation, fight for a new trade policy that puts workers first, and fight for a political system that puts workers at the center. The focus of this work will remain the UAW’s core priorities: higher wages, quality health care, retirement security and more time off the job.

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UAW President Shawn Fain, Abdul El-Sayed in Candid Conversation on 2026 Midterm Stakes

Today, the UAW released an hour-long conversation between UAW President Shawn Fain and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Recorded the previous week at the UAW’s Solidarity House in Detroit, MI, the two Midwest-made trailblazers in their respective fields covered a wide range of topics — from faith and family to healthcare, retirement security, trade, AI and technology, and other important issues that matter to working-class voters ahead of Election Day.

Michigan is one of several states where the UAW is running its most ambitious political operation in decades. As an early endorser of Abdul El-Sayed in the high-profile U.S. Senate race in Michigan, the UAW is also throwing down in several priority House races and potential Republican flip districts where the UAW’s density is larger than the margin of victory in recent elections: CD-04, CD-07, and CD-10.

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Unofficial Results of the 2026 UAW International Officer Election

Members of the United Auto Workers have cast their ballots by mail for the union’s top officers for the second time in the union’s 91-year history.

Newly elected UAW International Officers will be sworn in on Friday, October 16 and will serve a four- year term.

UAW International Officer Election Results:

International President: Shawn Fain
International Secretary-Treasurer: Brandon Campbell
International Vice-President: Laura Dickerson, Kevin Gotinsky, Ryan Hiestand
Region 1 Regional Director: LaShawn English
Region 1A Regional Director: Mark DePaoli
Region 1D Regional Director: Scott Zuckschwerdt
Region 2B Regional Director: David Green
Region 4 Regional Director: Lucas DeSpain
Region 6 Regional Director: Mike Miller
Region 8 Regional Director: Tim Smith
Region 9 Regional Director: James Lakeman
Region 9A Regional Director: Brandon Mancilla

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UAW Leads 6 Unions in Call for Ban on Stock Buybacks and Dividends at US Defense Contractors

The United Auto Workers, along with six unions representing members at the largest U.S. defense contractors, are calling on members of Congress to support a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would ban defense contractors from stock buybacks and dividends. Since 2020, the big five prime defense contractors have spent twice as much on stock buybacks and dividends than capital expenditures, while defense workers fall further behind.

“The working class makes the defense industry run, but instead of investing in our national and economic security, companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Woodward, and dozens more spend taxpayer dollars on Wall Street payoffs to enrich the billionaires,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “It’s time we put an end to defense contractors paying off Wall Street while defense workers and taxpayers pay the price.”

In a letter to members of Congress, the unions call on legislators to “stand with America’s defense workers and seize this opportunity to enshrine” the provision called Section 815 into law, following on an executive order by the Trump administration enacted in January. Section 815 would implement legislation introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) by imposing a blanket ban on Wall Street payouts to incentivize investment in the facilities and workers that make the industry run, instead of short-term stock market paydays.

“With the industry’s center of gravity progressively shifting to investor returns, workers too have paid an enormous price,” the letter continues. “In contract negotiations and organizing campaigns with these employers, we hear time and again that there are not enough resources to provide workers with job security and fair compensation. In just the past two years, this has led to labor disputes and work stoppages at major defense contractors such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Textron, GE Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and more.”

The press is invited to read the full letter here, signed by the following labor organizations:

United Auto Workers (UAW)
United Steelworkers (USW)
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE)
Communications Workers of America (CWA)
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB)
International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)
International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART)

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UAW Statement on Michigan Proposals 1 and 2 on Ballot in November Election

In addition to a slate of endorsed candidates up and down the ticket, the UAW is weighing in on two proposals on the ballot in November as the Union reboots its member-led political program across the state of Michigan.

The UAW is encouraging members and union households to vote No on Proposal 1 to protect the state’s constitution from billionaire and corporate influence that could undermine hard fought victories in recent years like voting rights, fair redistricting, and reproductive freedom.

The UAW is also encouraging union voters to vote Yes on Proposal 2, the initiative that would ban monopoly utility companies like DTE Energy and other corporations from flooding money into Michigan politics.

“Nothing has shaped the current corrupt state of our government like the rise of corporate money and influence,” said UAW President Shawn Fain on the Union’s endorsement of Proposal 2. “Billionaires and corporations are pouring billions of dollars into our elections in America this year alone. They do it to rig the system in their favor, and working-class families pay the price. We’re done with a system that allows corporate greed to dictate our politics. That’s why the UAW endorses a Yes vote on Proposal 2, Michigan Money Out of Politics. This initiative would at least stop a monopoly utility company like DTE from owning elected officials in Lansing, so our elected officials are accountable to the people, not a corporate checkbook.”

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UAW Statement on the 25th Anniversary of 9/11

The members of the UAW remember and mourn the workers, first responders, and all those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. We honor their memory by recognizing the courage and solidarity of working people who, in a moment of unimaginable tragedy, stepped forward to help one another. We reject violence, hatred, racism, and religious bigotry in all forms.

In memory of those we lost, we recommit ourselves to building a more just society—one where working people stand together, every worker is valued, every family can thrive, and no one is targeted because of who they are or what they believe.

Our strength is in our solidarity

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