DIRECTOR MIKE MILLER

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Mike Miller was elected Region 6 Director in December of 2022 under the UAW’s first direct ballot election.   

Miller’s involvement with the UAW started in 1992 when he was a Teaching Assistant at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). In that year, Miller and his co-workers began what would be a long process of forming their union as academic student employees at the University of California (UC). After many years of struggle, including several recognition strikes and numerous other creative tactics, UC recognized their union and bargained a first agreement with what became UAW Local 2865.  

Since then, he has worked with organizing committees at several universities across now-Region 6 to help them form their unions. These 47,000 workers include: Academic Student Employees at the California State University system; Academic Student Employees, Postdocs, and Research Scientists and Engineers at the University of Washington; and Postdocs, Academic Researchers, and Graduate Student Researchers at the University of California. With each organizing drive, Miller and the workers improved on successful organizing models in ways that have led to the UAW being one of the most successful unions representing workers in higher education. 

On an ongoing basis, Miller organizes with workers across all sectors of Region 6 to form new unions, bargain standard-setting agreements through militant and participatory contract campaign tactics, and fight for progressive change. Some areas of focus include: organizing in the electric vehicle manufacturing industry, taxing the rich, fighting climate change, promoting racial and gender justice, expanding immigrants’ rights, advancing housing justice, and helping elect progressive candidates to office.  

He lives in Los Angeles with his family.