Today, Ultium workers voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining the UAW by a vote of 710 to 16 (1 void). “Our entire union welcomes our latest members from Ultium,” says UAW President Ray Curry. “As the auto industry transitions to electric vehicles, new workers entering the auto sector at plants like Ultium are thinking about their value and worth. This vote shows that they want to be a part of maintaining the high standards and wages that UAW members have built in the auto industry.” “Region 2B has stood with Ultium workers since the moment they said they wanted to ...
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Region 4 members meet with Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) The morning gets busy Day three of the National Cap Conference began as the delegates attended Regional breakfasts to plan their lobby day. Among elected officials who also shared breakfast with UAW delegates were Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI 8th), Debbie Dingell (D-MI 12th) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI 13th) among others. While CAP Conference Delegates planned their day, the National Veterans Advisory Council met to discuss issues affecting our many UAW members who have served in the military. President Curry – himself an Army veteran – addressed them at ...
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Delegates arrive From all over the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, almost 1000 UAW members converged in National Harbor, Maryland this week for the 2022 UAW National CAP Conference. Just a stone’s throw from the steps of the nation’s capital, the delegates are meeting to learn about the pressing matters of the UAW, get the latest training on lobbying and advocacy as well as the opportunity to raise our issues in front of their elected representatives. Jessie Jesson, Local 686, Region 9 For Jessie Jesson from Local 686 in Region 9, this week is about fighting for the members back ...
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TOLEDO – UAW elected delegates in Ohio and Indiana met today to fill the vacancy of the Regional Director – a position with a seat on the UAW International Executive Board and elected Wayne Blanchard to fill the remainder of the term which ends in June 2022. The UAW Constitutional procedure made accommodations for Ohio and Indiana social distancing guidelines by conducting meetings at five locations connected remotely. Region 2B has had a vacancy since the resignation of Rich Rankin earlier this summer. UAW Region 2B is home to a diverse range of industries including autoworkers at Ford, General Motors, ...
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The International Union, UAW and Region 2B Director Richard Rankin have reached a resolution that includes the UAW International Union withdrawing with prejudice the Article 30 charges and Director Rankin resigning from his position as Regional Director and as an employee of the International Union. Director Rankin’s resignation was a personal decision and does not reflect an admission of any kind. Director Rankin is proud of the work that he has performed advocating for workplace rights of men and women in Region 2B over two decades in various UAW leadership positions. No Article 30 hearing will be held.
Debby Hollis doesn’t make a big fuss about things. She just acts. That is exactly what she did when she signed on to make Ventec critical care ventilators capable of supporting patients fighting COVID-19. “I don’t like to get into a panic about things. I just do what is needed,” says the Local 292 member. “There was no question that I would do this. I feel like it is my obligation as a union member and as an employee.” Hollis, who usually makes circuit boards for airbags, has worked at the GMCH Kokomo plant for nearly 21 years. Her husband, ...
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Making life-savings ventilators On March 13, Penni Cox was laid off from her job at the General Motors plant in Kokomo, Indiana. “Business wasn’t good, and the company was downsizing. We prayed for more work. We were willing to build anything. We just wanted to work,” says Cox. “And now, here we are building ventilators.” Cox, a mother and grandmother, is a third-generation autoworker and member of UAW Local 292, and is proud and excited to contribute to the COVID-19 fight. Her husband John, and son Kevin, are members of UAW Local 685. Kevin is laid off from FCA and ...
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On Thursday, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown released a letter calling on Oberlin College to do the right thing and maintain 108 UAW member jobs. The college has announced plans to outsource the dining and custodial jobs in a cost-saving measure. In February, over 800 members of the Oberlin community protested the plan and called on college administrators to make quality, good-paying jobs a priority. Read Senator Brown’s letter below:
At midnight over 850 Aramark workers in Michigan and Ohio walked off the job over better wages, health care and retirement. “We have UAW members who work long, hard hours and are still on public assistance,” said Gerald Kariem, Director of UAW Region 1D. “It’s shameful.” Aramark maintenance workers in Hamtramck, Warren, Flint, Grand Blanc and Parma, Ohio have been working on an extended contract since March of 2018. Key issues involve wages, caps on health insurance, vacation time and 401k retirement. “Every day, UAW members go to work and keep these plants profitable,” said UAW Region 1 Director Frank ...
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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 President Jeff Gase tapped the local’s Veterans Committee chair, Sean Jones, to put the plan in motion. He contacted Home Depot which donated gift cards for ramp landscaping while the committee put a 50/50 raffle together that collected needed funds from Local 1588 sisters and ...
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