In his closing remarks to our union’s Special Bargaining Convention, UAW President Shawn Fain addressed delegates about how we move forward, together.

President Fain spoke of his personal experience coming into the union while raising a young child. “Thirty years ago, I was a young parent in Kokomo, Indiana, just trying to make ends meet. Times were tough. Work was slow.”

“But then, something changed,” Fain recalled. “I became a member of the UAW and found you all… I want the UAW of tomorrow to be the life-changing experience it was for me.”

President Fain also spoke about the fights ahead. “This week I’ve heard some talk about what we can’t do,” said Fain. “About what the law says. And the law has its place. But the UAW wasn’t founded by asking for permission.”

Fain told the assembled delegates that he sees “a union that’s ready to go from defense to offense.”

He asked the room:

“When are we, all of us, going to rebuild our power as the working class?”

“When are we going to reclaim our dignity as working people?”

“When are we going to unite for justice on and off the job?”

The assembled delegates answered, in unison: “Right now.”