UAW Members helping their communities

UAW-Ford Partnership Provides 120 Million Masks
Last year, the UAW and Ford partnered to combat the shortage of personal protective equipment and medical supplies across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UAW members volunteered to return to work in order to produce masks, ventilators, and other supplies to combat the spread of the virus. Since then, the partnership has provided

Join us for the 18th Annual WWJ Winter Survival Radiothon
PRESENTED BY & 18th Annual WWJ Winter Survival Radiothon Friday, February 12, 2021 | 5 a.m. – 7 p.m. For more information, visit www.thawfundevents.org Radiothon donations 888.579.4950 Returning for the 18th year, The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW) will partner with WWJ Newsradio 950 for the Winter Survival Radiothon on February 12, 2021. Since 2003,

blackpressusa OP-ED: Better Angels and How They Travel
Ray Curry, Secretary-Treasurer, UAW What is the distance a good deed can travel? What does a warm bowl of soup mean? What does a warm bed mean? A new bike or a kind gesture from a stranger? All these things are small in and of themselves, but the smallest gesture to someone in need can

Keeping the Toys for Tots Tradition Going
During the holidays, UAW Local 685 has a tradition of helping their community. The local teamed up with the Goodfellows organization and the Marine Toys for Tots Program to provide hope and toys for less fortunate families in the community. The groups have worked together for several years purchasing toys and then distributing them locally.

UAW Cosponsors with KISS-FM, EMG Foundation on Sleeping bag drive to benefit homeless
Countless people are facing staggering statistics of homelessness throughout the country in 2020. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, 8,351 people are homeless on any given night in the state of Michigan alone. That is why the UAW joined and the EMG Foundation to cosponsor a sleeping bag drive for the homeless. The

UAW President Rory L. Gamble helps launch “Day of Giving” for Detroit Goodfellows on WJR
UAW President Rory L. Gamble helped launch “Day of Giving” for Detroit’s original and only Goodfellows Organization on the WJR Paul W. Smith show on Friday. The show was devoted to discussing and supporting the important work of the Detroit Goodfellows.

UAW lends helping hand to Detroit’s Feeding the Frontlines
The brave men and women who are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis are getting a little help from a group of dedicated Detroiters who got together to deliver daily meals to these hardworking frontline responders. The UAW has supported the project with a donation of $25,000. “We are so pleased to be able

Labor Voices – Opinion: UAW members support community
When UAW members pledge to support each other, they do not mean just fellow UAW members. The sense of brotherhood and sisterhood is not only about working conditions, fair wages and benefits for UAW members — it’s about supporting the whole community, ensuring healthy lives and doing our part as a family of people creating

Community Supports Local 211 Members During the Strike, Members Return the Generosity
The nearly 900 members of UAW Local 211 know the true reason for the holiday season is giving. And give, they do. The local’s members, nearly half from GM Powertrain in Defiance, Ohio, are gearing up for their annual Quarter Auction to benefit those in need in the Defiance area. Nicole Neth is chair of

Union Sportsmen’s Alliance, UAW Help Improve Access to Flint River
Via Union Sportsmen’s Alliance: Anglers and paddle-sports enthusiasts of all ages and physical abilities are enjoying better access to Michigan’s scenic Flint River, thanks in part to a $7,000 donation raised during the inaugural Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) United Auto Workers (UAW) Region 1-D Conservation Dinner. The funds, along with a matching grant from the

Local 2250 sends area kids to school with the tools they need
The start of school is an important time for kids and having the materials they need to succeed makes all the difference. Thanks to UAW Local 2250 members at General Motors’ Wentzville, Missouri, Assembly Plant, hundreds of kids who might not otherwise have had those materials will be all set this year. Over the summer,

Local 1588 and area community business join together to help a union brother
When a fellow union brother at Local 1588 at PPG Industries in Delaware, Ohio, became ill and doctors said he couldn’t leave the hospital until his house had an entrance wheelchair ramp, Local 1588 members stepped up and made it happen as a team and included the generosity of the local community. Local 1588

UAW Members helping youth across the nation
International Youth Day was first coined by the United Nations General Assembly in 1999, and now the 12th day of August serves as an annual celebration of the role of young women and men as essential partners in change, and an opportunity to raise awareness of challenges and problems facing the world’s youth. It’s no

Celebrating friends in our communities on National Friendship Day
National Friendship day encourages people from across the globe to connect with friends. This is the day to make a new friend or connect with an old friend. For UAW members and their families, the community is as much of a friend as any other. And that is reflected by the connections and lives impacted

Local 1853 members reel in service to their local community’s children
Sometimes something as basic as going fishing can remind a child that they matter. Members of UAW Local 1853 and Region 8 partnered with the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency at the Tennessee Children’s Home Spring Hill Campus recently to drive that point home. Local 1853 members spent time planning

UAW Members: Giving Big Assistance With Tiny Homes for Homeless Vets
UAW Local 249’s Wheelchair Ramp Crew and the UAW-Ford Department are going strong in their sixth year of helping hundreds of area homebound veterans with their latest ramp building project. The crew also spends time working for Habitat for Humanity and VCP (Veterans Community Project). For the past several weeks the team has been tackling

UAW local makes sure kids don’t go without for Christmas
The holidays may be over but the memories will last for kids at Local 211’s annual Christmas Party for Kids in Defiance, Ohio, thanks to efforts of the local’s committees joining together with retirees to produce the event. Games, food and a visit from Santa and his elves rounded out the event that included cookie

Fort Wayne, Indiana’s 100-mile trail system gets help from local UAW’s Monster Fun Run and Pedal Poker Run
UAW Local 2209’s Conservation and Recreation Committee shows the true UAW spirit of helping their local community by raising $5,000 for the 100-mile Ft. Wayne Trails with an annual Monster Dash Fun Run & 5K and Pedal Poker Run.

UAW members make Christmas happier for 400 children in Niagara County
Continuing a 10-year Christmas tradition, members of Local 686/GM Lockport collected hundreds of toys in a one-day toy drive December 19 for children served by the United Way of Greater Niagara. The toys were distributed to over 400 kids in time for the holidays. Thanks for showing how much UAW members care about their communities,

Automotive News: UAW delivers 4,000-plus community letters to GM HQ
Workers criticize Barra for plans to shutter plant she once ran DETROIT — UAW officials hand-delivered more than 4,000 community letters addressed to General Motors leadership on Friday in another effort to reverse the automaker’s decision to end production at four U.S. plants in 2019…. Read more on www.autonews.com >>>

UAW Members Reach Out to Homeless families
PHOTO CAPTION: (L to R) Denise Wood, Local 163 financial secretary; Alfreada Wallace, Local 163 vice president; Tamieka Andrews, Westland Samaritas facility coordinator; Ralph Morris Jr., Local 163 president; Malisa Donner, Local 163 Women’s Committee chair. If the community struggles, we struggle, too (WESTLAND, Mich.) – Life is a little easier now for dozens of homeless families

UAW Members Distribute Hundreds of Winter Coats to Those in Need in Michigan and Canada
(WARREN, Mich.) – Just in time for the cold weather descending on Michigan and Ontario, UAW members from locals throughout Region 1 recently distributed hundreds of warm coats to men, women and children in need during the region’s 7th Annual Coat Drive, part of the region’s longstanding tradition of giving back to local communities in

Detroit area UAW local stands by Flint residents, continues bottled water donations that began in 2014
Members of UAW Local 228 donated a semi-truck filled with bottled water to residents of Flint, continuing their donation program that began when the water crisis began in Flint four years ago. Many Flint residents still struggle with water issues as the state works to complete pipe replacement while ending its bottled water distribution program.

Local 1178 Retiree Devotes Life to Disaster Relief
“I get the blessing” It’s about church in your life and in your heart, says Local 1178 retiree Jody Bratcher. After retiring 10 years ago, the 70-year-old former FCA Chicago Parts Depot worker has devoted her life to what’s in her heart — a desire to serve the Lord by helping victims of natural disasters

Local 2320 Members Donate Their Time and Expertise to Help Families in Need
When help is needed in local neighborhoods or across the country, UAW members don’t hesitate to step up. That couldn’t be more true for legal services workers with the Legal Staff Services Association, represented by UAW Local 2320. More than a dozen members will head to Texas to volunteer their legal knowledge and expertise for

Local 3000 Gives Back
UAW members serve their local communities in many ways. Local 3000 members prove that more than 15 times a year sponsoring charity events for those in need. Their latest give back to the community? An annual mobile food pantry in August run by local members at Ford Motor Co.’s Flat Rock, Michigan, Assembly Plant where

Union Members Renovate Boat Ramp This Earth Day
This Earth Day weekend, members of the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance, including members of UAW Local 42, came together to rebuild a boat ramp on Chickamauga Lake outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The union members partnered with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to rebuild the boat ramp, making it safer and accessible to individuals with disabilities. “Unions

Kokomo Union Members Support Students
The UAW isn’t only about collective bargaining and giving a voice to workers. It’s also about supporting local communities like UAW locals in Kokomo did when they donated supplies to kids throughout Howard County: On Feb. 2, UAW 1302 members made their rounds at the area schools, dropping off supplies. The union, headed up by

Cover Story: Weathering the Storm Pt. 2 – Puerto Rican Member Glad to Help Island Recover
Answering the Call UAW Members Step Up When Hurricanes Blast Puerto Rico, Florida and Texas Local 686’s Lumi Irizarry, a cell operator at General Motors’ Lockport, New York, components plant, saw the devastation hit the island and it was personal to him. A native Puerto Rican, the fates of his grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins

Region 1A MLK Day of Service
Next Monday, radio host Mildred Gaddis and Region 1A Director Rory L. Gamble will host their annual sleeping bag drive to help homeless members of the community. They’re accepting donations of sleeping bags, socks, blankets, and other cold weather items. They’re also looking for volunteers to help distribute the items.

Battered by a Hurricane, But Still Helping Others
Local 1921 Bargaining Chairman Paul Herrin, left, and President Dennis Fauver kept their local together after Hurricane Katrina. ‘It’s Who We Are’ On Aug. 26, 2005, Dennis Fauver, president of UAW Local 1921 in New Orleans, was busy loading up his F-150 pickup truck with all manner of papers and files that he thought he

Cover Story: Weathering the Storm Pt. 1 – The UAW Mission Helps Out Our Fellow Americans in Puerto Rico
Answering the Call UAW Members Step Up When Hurricanes Blast Puerto Rico, Florida and Texas Jorge Rodriguez, an international representative from Region 5, led a group of UAW volunteers who worked tirelessly in six cities on the island for two weeks: When we arrived, it had already been two weeks since island residents had been

Union Front: Caring in the Community
UAW Members at Ford Build Deer Blinds to Help the Disabled Enjoy the Outdoors different from others in their desire to enjoy the natural world around them. But getting out into the woods to hunt, birdwatch or otherwise en-joy the outdoors is problematic for those confined to a wheelchair. That’s why some UAW members at

Donate to the Florida Workers Relief Fund
As millions of our fellow Floridians continue the immediate work of digging out after Hurricane Irma by dealing with the loss of electricity, needing food, water and basic necessities, the Florida AFL-CIO is working to help provide assistance for both the short and long term for the victims of this terrible storm. The Florida AFL-CIO

UAW Local 3303 Car Cruise and Baseball Night
Once again, UAW Local 3303 in Butler, Pennsylvania sponsored a night at the ballpark to watch the Blue Sox baseball game. It was a great night for the members to get together and support the local baseball team, along with showing their spirit to the community. On Memorial Day weekend, there was a Car Cruise through

Lend a Helping Hand in Gaston County, NC
UAW Local 5286 members are proud to be an integral part of the community where they live in Gaston County, North Carolina. So much so that they have been recognized by several towns in the county for their dedication. Local 5286’s Standing Committees have been working on being involved in the community for years on

UAW Region 4 supports Milwaukee CBTU/Labor Council efforts to teach young people about the union movement and more
The Milwaukee, Wisconsin Chapter of CBTU (Coalition of Black Trade Unionists) held its first annual “Camp Union” from June 19-23. The Milwaukee Chapter headed by UAW Local 469 member DiAndre Jackson put together the initiative to hold the weeklong day camp where junior high and senior high school students would have the opportunity to learn

UAW Chaplains Highlight 30th Anniversary with Community Outreach that Makes a Difference
One Voice It was clear that the 20 choir students waiting for their visitors to arrive at the front entrance of Inland Lakes School in northern Michigan had no idea what to expect. It was the same for the six students from Detroit’s Martin Luther King Jr. High School who were arriving for a visit

Almost 70 years battling long distances, segregation and a tornado haven’t stopped Region 4 members at the Pat Greathouse Center
21 years before Walter Reuther unveiled his education center for UAW members in Black Lake, Michigan, Pat Greathouse delivered on his vision in 1949 for uniting UAW members in the Illinois and Iowa area with the Ottawa Union Center. Not only did the center unite members from distant farming and city communities, it provided fellowship

Wear jeans 4/26 to show support for sexual assault victims
The UAW is recognizing National Denim Day by supporting a fundraising campaign by Enough Sexual Assault in Detroit (Enough SAID) to process rape kits found in a Detroit Police Department storage unit in 2009. Of the 11,000 kits that were discovered, over 1,000 still need to be processed. For the past 18 years, Peace Over

From the director, Ronald McInroy, Region 4: UAW National Community Service Conference Delegates Share Stories on What Works
Historically, this conference has been held at the UAW Walter and May Reuther Facility Education Center in Onaway, Michigan. However, the moderate size of the National Community Service Conference made it a natural to be held at the Pat Greathouse Education Center, which is a smaller venue. One of the highlights of the conference was

Community Service: It’s Who We Are
There is no greater calling than to serve your fellow men. There is no greater contribution than to help the weak. There is no greater satisfaction than to have done it well. – Walter Reuther There’s something special about union people. If someone is in need, we respond. We don’t judge or make excuses not

Helping in the community is a natural fit for our union
UAW members throughout the country give back to their communities in many ways. In addition to helping Flint residents during the water crisis, UAW members have stepped up throughout the years whenever their communities have been in need. Two examples of many actions members have taken to help others include a recent day of service

Putting the community first
Program in Ohio shows that CAP is much more than politics Many UAW members, when they see the letters C-A-P, automatically associate them with the UAW’s efforts to elect working family-friendly candidates through the union’s Community Action Program. But CAP is much more than a political lobbying tool: It’s how we stay connected in our