Tag Archive for: Mike Miller

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UAW’s Four Core Issues Take Center Stage on Day 2 of 2026 National CAP Conference

The UAW kicked off an event-filled Day 2 of its 2026 National CAP Conference, calling out corporate greed and focusing on the four core issues that will guide the union into 2028.

UAW President Shawn Fain gave an impassioned keynote address to the nearly 1,000 UAW members in attendance. “12 billionaires own as much wealth as the bottom half of society,” Fain said. “Our democracy is dying at the hands of an authoritarian billionaire class. The question we are here to answer is, how do we rise to the occasion? This is our defining moment. We need to send a clear message as a working class: A Billionaire dictatorship is not an option for the American people. Divide-and-conquer politics has no place in the working class!”

UAW Vice Presidents Mike Booth, Rich Boyer, and Laura Dickerson stressed the importance of winning real retirement security, not just in collective bargaining agreements for UAW members, but for the entire working class.

“If we want to win back real retirement security in this country, we have to win big at the Big Three in 2028. But then we have to keep going,” Booth told attendees. “Our union has always connected the bargaining table to the ballot box. What we win for our members, we want for every working-class person. We have to take our fight from the union hall to the halls of Congress.”

“These companies make billions of dollars off of our members’ work. And after we give decades to these companies, we’re asking for something simple: the right to a dignified retirement,” Boyer said. “But not just for us. We believe that every American should have access to quality, affordable healthcare.”

“We have retirees living in poverty. We have retirees working minimum wage jobs to survive. We have working people early in their career wondering how they ever retire,” Dickerson said. “In 2026, in the United States of America, at Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, is that something we can accept? I say hell no.”

Region 9A Director Brandon Mancilla spoke on the need to fight for more time off the job for UAW members: “It’s about more than just a paycheck. It’s about more than just our rights on the job. It’s about a much bigger question: What kind of life does the working class deserve? In the richest country in the history of the world, what kind of life can working class people expect to have?”

Guest speakers for Monday’s session included Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-6), SEIU-USWW President David Huerta, and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14).

“For too long, healthcare has been used as a weapon against workers,” Dingell stated. “The time is now to ensure every American has quality health care. We’ve made a lot of progress, but we’re not going to stop until every single American is guaranteed health care. This is a human right.”

“Our country needs a labor movement that is ready to lean in,” Huerta implored, calling for worker solidarity in the labor fights ahead. “We should be preparing now for May Day 2028 to shut the whole thing down. Right now, our union is working to align our contracts with yours. When you go on strike, we’ll go with you!”

“We do not pledge of allegiance to Wall Street. We don’t pledge of allegiance to greed,” Ocasio-Cortez told an energetic crowd. “We pledge allegiance to no one president. We pledge allegiance to a nation. Our nation. The United States of America. To the betterment of all people.”

UAW Local 2250 member, Don Looney, who is running to represent Missouri House District 63, fired up the crowd, calling on UAW members to stand up and be the change needed in legislative halls across the country and to “kick ass for the working class!” You can find out more about Brother Looney’s campaign here.

In the afternoon, delegates attended various workshops to sharpen their knowledge on political topics based on the union’s four core issues.

Day Three of the 2026 National CAP Conference will convene at 9 am tomorrow.

Recap of Day One of the National CAP Conference

For more information on this year’s event, visit UAW.org/CAP2026.

 

 

Additional Day Two speaker remarks:

 

Region 2B Director Dave Green on the fight to save the Conn-Selmer plant in Eastlake, OH: “The epitome of hypocrisy and greed: the owner of Conn-Selmer, billionaire John Paulson, has been on TV talking about bringing jobs back to America. But when it saves him a penny, it’s fine to kill those jobs and ship them overseas. The system is broken. We need to fix this broken system.”

Region 4 Director Brandon Campbell on how UAW members win: “These companies don’t move an inch because of who you’ve got in negotiations, or how tough you talk, or how hard you pound the table. These companies respond to power. As a union, the real power we’ve got is our membership. If the membership is ready to strike, ready to protest, ready to vote, ready to move in unity, then, we’ve got real power.”

Region 6 Director Mike Miller on the need for the labor movement to take on the Trump administration: “We’ve got to remember that whether it’s funding cuts in California and Washington State, or plant closures in the Midwest – the story is the same. These are threats to our job security, to our basic ability to earn a decent wage and to live a decent life. And the task in front of us is the same too. Our only option, as a union and as a broader labor movement, is to organize and fight back on a massive scale.”

 

Photos courtesy of Brian Hedger and UAW Comms Staff

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UAW Statement on the Passing of Kent Wong

The UAW mourns the passing of Kent Wong, who dedicated his life to defending and advocating for the rights of working people in the Los Angeles area and beyond.

Deeply committed to social and economic justice, Wong served as director of the UCLA Labor Center for over 30 years, mentoring and inspiring countless students and activists while leading efforts to expand the center’s ability to better serve the educational needs of the community.

Wong was a champion for immigrant rights and undocumented communities, helping to establish the first Dream Resource Center and the Dream Summer Fellowship program. He also understood the importance of international solidarity, working to foster relationships across borders and advocating for peaceful collective action to take on powerful interests.

Kent supported all of UAW workers’ efforts to organize at the University of California, fought alongside us in countless political battles in Los Angeles and California, provided invaluable leadership in the immigrants’ rights movement, and helped the U.S. labor movement connect with workers’ struggles around the globe.

We extend our deepest condolences to his family, colleagues, and the countless people Kent Wong positively affected during his brilliant and profound life.

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Lucid Workers Win Substantial Back Pay and Reinstatement in Dramatic Settlement

If you are a worker at Lucid who wants to get in contact to organize your workplace, click here.

Workers organizing at the electric vehicle maker Lucid have won a settlement with a quarter-million dollars in back pay, the right to return to work, and a sweeping cease and desist order that stops the company from committing a long list of unfair labor practices.

The settlement, approved on Dec. 31 by the National Labor Relations Board, is a Formal Board Settlement. Formal settlements are typically reserved for companies committing serious labor law violations. The Lucid settlement stems from unfair labor practice charges filed by the UAW for the 2023 firing of three workers organizing with the union. Those firings and other anti-union efforts by Lucid were found to be so extreme that the NLRB sought and obtained a rare 10(j) injunction against the company this September. 

“This settlement shows a better way forward for Lucid and companies like it,” said Lucid worker Amie Hansen, who received $120,000 in back pay in the settlement and the right to return permanently to her job. “Instead of trying to block our right to organize, Lucid should have been working with us all along as we’ve struggled to get this company off the ground. Respect for the voice of workers is critical to the long-term success of this company.”

The settlement ensures that Lucid workers will have the right to make their voices heard. In the settlement, Lucid accepts the Board’s order that it must cease and desist committing a list of nine unfair labor practices including:  

  • Firing or threatening employees for engaging in protected organizing activities 
  • Surveilling employees to discover if they’re engaged in organizing 
  • Confiscating union literature from non-work areas 


Lucid also must take positive steps to make whole three fired workers with back pay, damages and interest payments totaling $258,000. In addition, within 14 days of the Dec. 31 order, the company must distribute a video about the settlement to workers at Lucid’s two facilities in Casa Grande, Ariz. The video will be recorded in a company cafe area by a Board agent who will inform workers of the settlement and their rights to organize under U.S. law. The company will also post physical notices of the settlement and workers’ rights at its Casa Grande locations.

“Every autoworker in America can take heart from this settlement,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “Lucid is backed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the deepest pockets in the world. But Lucid workers stood up and won justice. They showed that no matter how big the challenge workers can win when they stand together and fight for a better life.”

“This is a significant victory for worker and climate justice,” said UAW Region 6 Director Mike Miller.  “We’re building the green economy to create a more sustainable future. But we will only have a truly sustainable future if we build our economy around protecting both the planet and workers’ right to organize for justice on the job without employer interference.” 

The UAW has aggressively supported the Lucid workers’ fight to form their union. When Lucid fired the workers for organizing in February 2023, the UAW filed multiple unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB. Acting on the union’s charges, the Board sought and won the 10(j) injunction, which ordered the company to offer interim reinstatement to the workers even before the settlement was approved on Dec. 31.

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US District Court Issues Rare Injunction Against Automaker Lucid for Firing Union Supporters

Click here to read the summary of the injunction that the court ordered Lucid to read to employees in the Casa Grande factory.

 

The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona issued a temporary injunction Friday against the automaker Lucid and ordered it to reinstate two employees fired during an ongoing union drive.

The rare 10(j) injunction stems from unfair labor practice (ULP) charges that the UAW filed with the National Labor Relations Board over the firing of Lucid workers Amie Begay and Chad Brewer in early 2023. Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act allows the Board to request temporary injunctions from federal district courts to stop serious ULPs while a case moves through the Board’s process. The Board found merit to the UAW’s charges that the company had fired Begay and Brewer for their union activity and sought the injunction from the court.

One human resources official at Lucid wrote in an email that she would do “anything” to end the workers’ union drive.

“Lucid management said they would do anything to stop us from winning our union. Yesterday’s decision shows we’re not going to be stopped,” said Lucid worker Chad Brewer. “The court has called out Lucid for their outrageous conduct and protected our right to form our union. The company tried to silence us, but they have made our voice even stronger.”

“Workers at Lucid, and autoworkers everywhere, won justice yesterday,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “This decision tells rogue employers like Lucid that they won’t get away with attacking workers. The union-busting bullies of corporate America need to understand it’s a new day. Autoworkers are not going to be intimidated anymore. They are fed up and they are fired up. They are standing up to win their union and the UAW has their back.”

“This decision reaffirms that workers at electric-vehicle makers like Lucid have the right to form unions and win justice on the job,” said UAW Region 6 Director Mike Miller. “Our nation is investing billions in the EV industry. Our investment in the climate economy shouldn’t shortchange climate workers. We need to make sure that the green economy is a just economy.”

The court’s decision to issue the 10(j) injunction indicates the severity of the ULP charges against Lucid and their chilling impact on the workers’ organizing efforts. The NLRB petitioned for just seven 10(j) injunctions nationwide in 2023.

The ULP against Lucid includes charges that Lucid: fired Brewer and Begay for their union support; surveilled them; confiscated union literature; solicited grievances from potential union supporters; and offered a supervisory position to Begay to encourage her to abandon her efforts. (Begay’s last name was Hansen in early 2023, but she married in Oct. 2023 and changed it.)

The court agreed with the Board that the injunction against Lucid was necessary “to prevent irreparable harm to employees’ rights and the Board’s remedial powers.” While the Board further adjudicates the ULP against Lucid, the court has ordered the company to offer interim reinstatement to Begay and Brewer, enjoined the company from making any further violations, and to publicly post and read the court’s order to employees.

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Department of Energy Awards $2 Million to UAW-CMGE to Build High Road Training Pathways for America’s Climate Workforce

As part of the Biden-Harris administration’s continued commitment to its Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded UAW Region 6 and the UAW Center for Manufacturing a Green Economy (UAW-CMGE) $2 million to further develop the High Road Battery Training Program in partnership with the Sparkz corporation.

The UAW-CMGE is one of 21 new projects recently selected by the DOE to receive a total of $24 million in funding to expand clean energy and support sustainable manufacturing in the U.S.

The UAW-CMGE was created in 2023 to lead the union’s recruitment and training for careers in climate manufacturing, empowering a well-trained, mission-driven green workforce to meet the growing needs of manufacturing operations created by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

“The UAW-CMGE is developing a groundbreaking training model for rapidly growing climate industries, starting with the critically important domestic battery industry,” Priyanka Mohanty, Executive Director of the UAW-CMGE, said about the $2 million investment. “Our model, which focuses on equitable recruitment, technical battery knowledge, and the build-out of innovative new green apprenticeship programs, represents the high-road pathway central to the climate transition. This model will empower and protect workers on the shop floor, ensure that their voices are amplified, and build a just transition towards new, diverse, climate industries. The DOE’s 2 million dollar investment in the UAW and our center highlights the importance of high-road training programs to decarbonization, and we look forward to showing that an investment in workers is an investment in the American climate economy.”

“The UAW has shown the central role of an empowered manufacturing workforce in American decarbonization,” said Mike Miller, Chairperson, UAW-CMGE and UAW Region 6 Director. “The 2023 UAW’s contract negotiations with the Big 3 automakers were a seismic event in the struggle for a just transition. The strike brought thousands of EV and battery jobs under union national agreements with strong job quality protections and billion-dollar investments in the retooling of previously closed facilities. It showed the country that manufacturing electric vehicles and batteries – critical to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building new climate industries – can and must be built with good union jobs. The UAW wants to bring the expertise in training, workforce development, and good job creation to new green and advanced manufacturing production because it understands the critical importance of a just transition to broader decarbonization efforts.”

In 2023 the UAW and Sparkz announced they had signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a national labor-management agreement and statement of neutrality at the manufacturer’s the manufacturer’s facilities.

Sparkz, founded in 2019, develops and produces zero-cobalt, American-made Lithium-ion batteries. Eliminating cobalt from the battery-making process reduces the cost of producing lithium batteries and also addresses environmental concerns.

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UAW Region 6 Director Mike Miller Statement on Attacks on Students and Workers at UCLA

Over the last 2 days, the UCLA Administration has condoned the brutal attack of students and workers as they peacefully protested for justice for Palestine. Rather than negotiating with protestors and de-escalating, UCLA Administration’s actions have caused dozens to seek medical attention and hospitalizations, a militarized police presence on campus and the arrest of more than 130 students & workers, including UAW 4811 members. As a former Teaching Assistant, Reader, and Tutor at UCLA, I am outraged by the Administration’s actions – using newly applied standards and force to discriminate against students & workers for their political viewpoints. 

UAW 4811 members have taken swift action to respond, working alongside thousands of other students and workers at UCLA to mobilize for free speech and safety on campus, and to demand justice for Palestine. Today, UAW 4811 members are preparing to file Unfair Labor Practice charges over UC’s actions, and are moving towards a strike authorization vote. This comes less than a week after UAW 872 members at University of Southern California also filed an Unfair Labor Practice over similar failures by the USC Administration.  

As Local 4811 members move towards a strike authorization vote, know that you have the full support of your Region 6 siblings across the West Coast, and your UAW siblings across the continent, as you stand up for your rights and give voice to those impacted by the war in Gaza.  

Our union has taken a clear stance calling for a permanent ceasefire and justice for Palestine. I am proud to work alongside my fellow IEB members and UAW members across the country to continue escalating the call for a ceasefire, and an end to the death, destruction, and human suffering in Palestine.   

UAW members across the country are prepared to do what it takes to win justice for working people across the world, and to secure a permanent ceasefire in Palestine. I am immensely proud of the actions members across Region 6 have been taking for months to fight for peace and justice in Gaza, and to demand action from their employers and elected officials alike. As Brother Shawn Fain said so well yesterday: if you can’t take the outcry, stop supporting this war.  

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Graduate Student Workers at USC Vote to Ratify First-Ever Contract with University

Over 80% of Graduate Student Workers at the University of Southern California (USC) have voted to ratify a first-ever contract.

The Graduate Student Workers Organizing Committee, GSWOC-UAW, announced the results on their website and the social media platform X on December 7, after three days of voting had concluded.

The agreement includes significant wage increases, lump sum bonuses for every graduate worker and arbitrable protections from harassment and discrimination. The deal also ends the university’s ability to implement wage freezes.

“I am incredibly proud of this contract and all the work that went into it,” said Maile McCann, a PhD Candidate in the Civil Engineering department and bargaining team member. “Together, thousands of GSWs built a credible strike threat that forced USC admin to reach a deal that sets a new standard for compensation and workplace protections, both at USC and across the country.”

“I would say that we are all really excited about this contract because in the private sector we have an industry leading contract that sets us up for bargaining in years to come,” Jackie Johnson, a fifth-year doctoral candidate studying cinema and media studies, told the Daily Trojan. “I think that sends a real message about the strength of the graduate student workers at USC, as we see a wave of unionization across higher education.”

“Graduate Student Workers at USC power the research and instruction that makes the university run, but for far too long, they have not had sufficient input into their working conditions,” said Region 6 Director Mike Miller. “Through the power of their collective action and strike threat, Graduate Student Workers moved the USC Administration to meet their demands for a strong first contract that will make the university more inclusive and equitable. This campaign is part of a growing surge of militant organizing in higher ed and will be an inspiration to many more to follow.”

The bargaining team and the university first reached a tentative agreement on November 26, just one day before workers were set to strike and after nearly eight months of negotiations.

GSWOC-UAW represents 3,400 workers at USC. Workers voted by 93% to form their union in February of this year.

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