The 2024 International UAW Women’s and TOP Conference will be held at the Marriott Marquis Chicago, August 25 – August 30, 2024. Attendance is limited to delegates. Please see the call letter for the agenda, more Regional Guidelines, Local Union Guidelines, and Conference Themed Day’s, which include registration, transportation information, and cancellation information.
As the first African American woman in the history of the UAW to be elected to the International Executive Board, I come before you with immense gratitude and a deep sense of responsibility.
My journey to this historic achievement has been guided by the wisdom and support of incredible mentors like Liz Jackson, Dottie Jones, and Eunice Stokes. Their unwavering belief in me and their commitment to lifting as they climbed have shaped my path and instilled in me the importance of paying it forward.
Today, as I reflect on my journey, I am humbled. Deeply humbled to be surrounded by incredible women who are making a difference in Michigan and across America. Together, we possess the power to lead and affect change in every sector we engage in. But let us never forget that our successes are built upon the foundation laid by those who came before us. It is our duty to honor their legacies by extending a hand to lift others as we continue to climb higher.
In recent years, we have seen a notable increase in women assuming leadership positions. In Michigan we elected women to the positions of Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State. These women serve as shining examples of what can be achieved when barriers are broken, and progress is fostered.
However, our work is far from finished. We must persist in sharing information, encouraging one another, and empowering our fellow sisters. Women from all walks of life recognize that an uneven playing field will never yield equality or justice. It falls upon us to raise our voices and double down on our efforts to promote fairness in our institution as well as others that we belong to.
I urge each of you to engage with your local standing committees, participate in women’s organizations supported by this International Union, and become politically active. Remember, a woman’s place is in her union, advocating for the rights and well-being of all workers. I encourage to find your seat at the table.
Together, let us continue to drive progress, champion equality, and stand in solidarity with one another on the journey towards a more just and equitable future.
In solidarity,
Laura Dickerson
TOP Department Director,
Region 1A Director
NORTH ADAMS, MA — Unionized employees of MASS MoCA will go on strike starting Wednesday, March 6 if no agreement on wages is reached with the Museum before then. Employees will begin picketing the Museum starting 8 am on Wednesday, March 6 and will picket daily until an agreement is reached.
The employees’ union, part of Local 2110 UAW, was originally formed in April of 2021. After a one day strike in August of 2022, employees reached an agreement on a first contract which allowed them to re-open the agreement in October 2023 to negotiate further wage increases. Negotiations on the wage reopener have been ongoing for four months but no agreement has been reached.
Fifty-eight percent (58%) of the 120 employees are earning just $16.25 per hour. Average pay for full-time employees is $43,600. According to The Economic Policy Institute’s family budget calculator, for a modest living in Berkshire County, a single individual with no children needs to earn approximately $47,000 per year while a family of four needs about $118,000. The Union is seeking to raise the hourly minimum rate to $18.25 by October of 2023 and is also seeking a minimum 4.5% increase this year.
MASS MoCA sent out a March 1 email to union members characterizing its rejection of the Union’s offer: “The Museum cannot agree to terms that will diminish our mission or operational sustainability, upend vital partnerships, reduce our programs, or fundamentally change our creative workplace culture. Simply put, MASS MoCA has been and will continue to be moved to adopt proposals that are balanced, fair, sustainable, and honest.”
The Union says the difference between its and the Museum’s base wage proposal is only an additional $150,000 for this year, and that workers need the money just to make ends meet. Moreover, the Union asserts that the Museum has increased the number of higher-paid management positions at the expense of the unionized staff.
“MASS MoCA seems out of touch with our needs and concerns as employees,” said Meg Labbee, a 25 year employee of the Museum who works in Artists Services. “They say the arts and artists come first but they need to show some regard for the people who work here. We love the work, but we deserve respect and fair conditions.”
Labbee, who is from the nearby town of Adams, adds, “Many of us live locally and our pay has not kept pace with the cost of living. By raising pay to something more livable, MASS MoCA would not only be supporting its employees, but helping lift the community, MASS MoCA’s rejection of our reasonable proposal has left us with no choice but to strike the institution we love.”
The March 6 strike deadline is not the first time bargaining with the Museum has been contentious. In 2022, during initial contract bargaining, the Union filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board over the Museum’s bad faith bargaining, and employees engaged in a one-day strike. Then, this past November, the Union filed a complaint against the Museum with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) when the Museum ordered workers to remove flooring contaminated with loose asbestos without proper equipment or training. OSHA has since issued test results confirming the presence of asbestos, cited necessary corrections to the Museum and is conducting an ongoing investigation.
In April 2021, the MASS MoCA staff voted overwhelmingly to unionize with UAW Local 2110. The bargaining unit includes approximately 120 employees who work as educators, curators, custodians, museum attendants, box office staff, art fabricators, technicians, and other administrative and professional staff. UAW Local 2110 is a technical, office and professional union that represents many museums and cultural institutions in the northeast including the Museum of Modern Art, the MFA, Boston, the Portland Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Guggenheim, the Jewish Museum, the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and other non-profit and educational institutions.
After an 11-week strike, 1,360 UAW members have voted by nearly 90% to ratify a new 3.7 year contract at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network. The agreement will run to May 1, 2027.
The deal secures historic gains for workers including a major reduction of seniority needed to reach the top pay rate reduced from 22 years to five years, significant wage increases, ratification bonuses, inflation protection bonuses, and improved job security language. All workers will receive a minimum 10% wage increase in the first six months of the agreement.
“I’m extremely proud of our members for standing strong for 88 days,” said UAW Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock, who also serves as the Director of the Union’s Technical, Office and Professional Departments. “Because of their courage and determination, we were able to win a record contract. This is a huge step in the right direction for our members, and one that we will build on moving forward.”
Workers walked out on strike on September 13 after company negotiators refused to take their demands seriously. The primary issues members wanted addressed during negotiations were ending the multi-tiered wage scale that required workers to acquire twenty-two years of seniority to reach the top pay rate and the company outsourcing jobs to outside contractors.
The UAW was able to make significant improvements on both fronts. The wage scale was shortened to just five years under the new agreement. Union negotiators were also able to secure contractual language that will strengthen the union’s hand in safeguarding worker jobs.
The contract covers UAW members from four local unions: Locals 2500 and 1781 out of Detroit, Region 1, Director LaShawn English, and Locals 2145 (Grand Rapids) and 2256 (Lansing) Region 1D, Director Steve Dawes.
Eighty-two percent of workers at the Brooklyn Academy of Music voted to join the UAW last week joining UAW Local 2110.
The administrative and cinema workers will now be able to bargain following reductions in benefits such as health care and 401(k) matching, and conversion of full-time jobs to part-time jobs among other issues. The 145 employees petitioned for an election in April.
“We are here because we believe in BAM’s mission,” Jesse Trussell, a film programmer who helped organize at BAM, said on Twitter when petitions were filed. “Our union will make BAM stronger, more democratic and more sustainable.”
Trussell said that BAM administrative staff needs a “powerful voice” and said workers were inspired by similar successful campaigns at the Tenement Museum and the New Museum.
