Tag Archive for: Shawn Fain

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UAW Releases New Video Condemning Stellantis for Broken Promises and Mismanagement as Protests Against the Company Go Global

Today, the UAW released a powerful new video calling out Stellantis for failing to honor its commitments to UAW members and criticizing CEO Carlos Tavares for mismanaging the company. The release coincides with a one-day general strike by Italian unions to protest Stellantis’ significant production cuts and the broader impact on metalworkers across Italy.

The video can be accessed here and the media is invited to use the footage. 

UAW members from Belvidere, Illinois, including UAW Region 4 Director Brandon Campbell and UAW Local 1268 President Matt Frantzen, joined the strike and spoke to the hundreds of thousands gathered to protest Stellantis’ baldfaced corporate greed. UAW members secured a commitment to reopen the idled Belvidere plant in their 2023 contract, but the company has not fulfilled its promise.

Pictures from the general strike in Rome can be accessed here and the media is invited to use the images.

The UAW’s new video highlights Stellantis’ refusal to follow through on the $19 billion in product and investment commitments made during the 2023 Stand Up Strike. These promises include reopening the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois—a crucial agreement that Stellantis is now trying to backtrack on. In the video, UAW President Shawn Fain directly addresses Stellantis members , urging them to stand up and fight for their jobs and futures by going to ShitcanCarlos.com to sign a strike authorization pledge.

“This is about your job, your life, and the question is, are you going to let Carlos Tavares tell you to sit down and shut up?” Fain asks in the video. “Or are you going to stand up and fight for what’s right, for what you deserve?”

As Stellantis has filed frivolous lawsuits and robocalled members in a desperate effort to block the union’s actions, three UAW locals have already passed strike authorization votes, with more locals preparing to follow. The union’s grievance process, initiated due to Stellantis’ failure to reopen Belvidere and invest in future production, is moving forward. If grievances remain unresolved, a strike at one or more Stellantis facilities could begin within weeks.

The UAW video serves as a call to action for members and allies, clearly stating that the union will not back down in its fight to hold Stellantis accountable.

For more information, visit ShitcanCarlos.com, where viewers can learn about the campaign to “Keep The Promise” and find the latest updates on the fight against Stellantis’ mismanagement.

The full transcript of President Fain’s narration is below:  

UAW family, as you may have heard, Stellantis has filed more than a dozen frivolous lawsuits against our Union. This is an act of desperation, plain and simple.  

Two weeks ago, nearly 200 leaders from UAW locals across the country came to Detroit to discuss the situation at Stellantis.  

At the meeting, we reviewed the clear evidence that CEO Carlos Tavares and Stellantis are seriously violating the product commitments in our national agreement. Stellantis has not kept its commitment in Belvedere and has unallocated the Dodge Durango from the Jefferson North Assembly Plant.  

For years, this company has picked us off, plant by plant, and our leadership lacked the will and the means to fight back. The Stellantis Council unanimously decided that those days are over. All 200 UAW leaders unanimously recommended to the membership that every UAW worker at Stellantis prepare for a fight and that we all get ready to vote yes to authorize a strike at Stellantis.  

Now in response, Stellantis is trying to use the federal courts to stop our campaign to get this company to keep the promises they made to American auto workers in our 2023 contract.  

Stellantis management has launched a campaign of intimidation and harassment against our members, our local unions, and the International UAW to try to get us to back down from the fight to save our jobs.  

I have bad news for Stellantis: we’re not going anywhere.  

Their corporate lawyers are claiming that our fight to keep jobs in Belvedere, Detroit, and America is based on what they call “sham grievances.”  

But here’s the real sham: over the past nine weeks, Stellantis has spent over a billion dollars on stock buybacks, all while saying they can’t afford to keep their commitments to their own employees. In fact, Stellantis has spent $3 billion on stock buybacks this year alone.  

Our proposal would cost a fraction of what Carlos Tavares has pissed away on Wall Street to save his stock price, which is down 55% since March.  

The real sham is this campaign of intimidation and interference in our Union’s business.  

Stellantis managers are calling members, threatening their jobs. They’re emailing our local presidents threatening lawsuits.  

This is what happens when a CEO is cornered and isolated. His dealers in America and Europe are turning against him. His suppliers and shareholders are suing him, and he’s pushing our customers away. 

And the sham is that he will walk away with a golden parachute of millions and millions of dollars, while American autoworkers are left holding the bag.  

The sham took place this week when he was asked about stepping down or being replaced. Carlos Tavares said, and I quote, “I signed a contract.”  

Well, Carlos, the workers at Stellantis signed a contract too, and it’s time for you to honor it.  

Our fight is about honoring a contract that Carlos Tavares signed. Our fight is about tens of thousands of American auto worker jobs, our families, and our communities.  

This is about your job, your life, and the question is, are you going to let Carlos Tavares tell you to sit down and shut up? Or are you going to stand up and fight for what’s right, for what you deserve?  

These aren’t sham grievances. These are our lives. Carlos Tavares is a sham CEO with a sham strategy to drive this company into the ground.  

We will once again save this company from mismanagement, from corporate greed, and from killing tens of thousands of good jobs, but only if we stick together. Only if we stand up.  

So, are you in? If you are, sign your strike authorization pledge today. And you can do that by going to shitcancarlos.com.  

Let me repeat that: you can sign a strike authorization pledge by going to shitcancarlos.com.  

Let the company know where you stand. And together, let’s tell Stellantis, the days of plant closures are over, and Carlos Tavares needs to go. 

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UAW President Shawn Fain Headlining Allentown “Rally with the Working Class” with Rep. Susan Wild, UAW Members and Leaders

The rally kicks off a day of union-led door-to-door canvassing to elect UAW champions in the Allentown, PA area. 

 

WHAT: UAW “Rally with the Working Class” to elect Harris-Walz

WHO: UAW President Shawn Fain, PA-07 Rep. Susan Wild, UAW Region 9 Director Daniel Vicente, UAW Region 9A Director Brandon Mancilla

WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 20, 10:30 a.m. ET

WHERE: UAW Local 677, 2101 Mack Blvd. #1, Allentown, PA 18103

RSVP to team@feldmanstrategies.com

 

ALLENTOWN, PA – On Sunday, UAW President Shawn Fain and U.S. Rep. Susan Wild (CD-7) will join UAW members, leaders, and allies at the “Rally with the Working Class” to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and Democrats up and down the ballot. Sunday’s rally is a joint event hosted by UAW Regions 9 and 9A.

“Kamala Harris is the candidate of the working class,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “She stood with us on the picket line while Donald Trump did nothing. She and President Biden bet on the American worker and brought manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. Donald Trump doubled down on NAFTA and sent our jobs to Mexico. He is a con man and a scab. He will side with the billionaires and sell out to the working class. Kamala Harris stands with us and that’s why UAW members are standing up, speaking up and showing up to elect her president.”

In August, the UAW launched its most ambitious political program in decades. The Union’s program includes mobilizing UAW members online, at worksites, and in the field with a door-to-door program to reach members, retirees, and their families around a pro-worker, anti-Corporate Greed agenda. The Union’s one million active and retired members form a core base of support for the Harris-Walz campaign and will provide a major piece of the campaign’s margin of victory in key races in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

The UAW’s plan to win stems from the vision that launched 2023’s Stand Up strike and movement. By putting out the facts, uniting the working class, and letting members lead the way, the UAW’s “Stand Up, Speak Up, Show Up” campaign will mobilize a mass campaign to defeat the billionaire class at the ballot box.

At UAWStandUp2024.org, UAW members will find resources, videos, flyers, and links to factual information around the candidates’ records, and why the UAW is ready to stand up, speak up, and show up in November.

Press must RSVP to team@feldmanstrategies.com

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President Fain Statement on Donald Trump’s Recent Remarks Disparaging American Autoworkers

UAW President Shawn Fain issued the following statement regarding recent comments made by Donald Trump disparaging American autoworkers:

“Donald Trump is a billionaire who’s never worked a real job in his life. He doesn’t know the first thing about hard work, and he wouldn’t last a day in an auto plant. He isn’t fit to be an autoworker, and he certainly isn’t fit to be the President. Trump doesn’t understand us, he doesn’t respect us, and he certainly doesn’t represent us. Trump doesn’t care about autoworkers. The only thing Donald Trump wants from autoworkers is a vote. Donald Trump is a scab!”

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UAW Goes to Washington with Campaign to Keep the Promise at Stellantis

UAW members from Stellantis plants across the country rallying Thursday with allies to make sure company meets its U.S. investment commitments


WHAT:       Keep The Promise at Stellantis Rally

WHERE:     Near the Washington Hilton – Rally will be in courtyard at Southwest Corner of Florida Ave NW & T Street NW

WHEN:      Thursday, Oct. 10, 1:00 p.m.


WASHINGTON — The campaign to Keep The Promise at Stellantis is coming to Washington.

UAW members, lawmakers and allies are rallying on Thursday to demand that Stellantis keep its promise to invest in good American jobs.

UAW members at Stellantis won $19 billion in product and investment commitments from the company during last year’s Stand Up Strike. Those commitments include the reopening of an idled assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois. Now, the company is trying to backtrack on that and other contractually required investments.

“Stellantis made a promise to invest in America and we’re making sure they keep the promise,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “The commitments we won in our contract aren’t goals, they’re guarantees. The company claims they don’t have the money to make these investments. But since the year began, they’ve dumped more than $3 billion into stock buybacks. They have the money to Keep The Promise.”

In the 2023 contract, the UAW won the right to file grievances and to strike if the company fails to meet product and investment commitments.

This August, UAW locals representing tens of thousands of Stellantis workers began filing grievances with the company over the failure to reopen the assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, and to build the next generation Dodge Durango in Detroit. Once the grievance procedure is exhausted under the national contract, the union may authorize a strike.

Two UAW locals at Stellantis have already passed strike authorization votes and more locals are on track to hold strike votes soon. A strike at one or more Stellantis facilities could begin within weeks.

Thursday’s Keep the Promise Rally will begin at 1:00 p.m. near the Washington Hilton.

For more information on the fight to make Stellantis Keep The Promise, visit UAW.org/KeepThePromise.

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UAW Issues Statements on Stellantis’ Misleading Claims on Its Legal Commitments

DETROIT — UAW President Shawn Fain and UAW Stellantis Department Director Kevin Gotinsky issued the following statements about Stellantis’ misleading claims on its product and investment commitments in the United States.

UAW President Shawn Fain issued the following statement: 

“Stellantis, formerly FCA, formerly Cerberus, formerly Daimler, formerly Chrysler, is following in a long line of failing corporate executives blaming autoworkers for their own mismanagement.”

“It is gross mismanagement by top executives that is killing this company. It is laughable that Stellantis claims our proposal to reopen Belvidere is ‘outrageous.’ In just the last 9 weeks, Stellantis has pissed away $1 billion in stock buybacks for a total of $3 billion in stock buybacks this year. Our proposal would cost a fraction of that and would go directly to the autoworkers who have built this company.

“Everyone knows the so-called ‘jobs bank’ didn’t cause the 2008 bankruptcies, and autoworkers aren’t responsible for CEO Carlos Tavares’ mismanagement today. We are asking that Stellantis keep their contractual commitments and do right by Belvidere autoworkers and autoworkers across the country. If they can’t do that, then the only answer is for autoworkers to join with dealers, suppliers, and shareholders in demanding that Carlos be shitcanned.”

UAW Stellantis Department Director Kevin Gotinsky issued the following statement: 

“Stellantis is falsely comparing its commitments in our current contract to the jobs bank program from decades ago. The jobs bank program offered protection for jobs that were outsourced. If Stellantis lives up to its commitments and reopens Belvidere Assembly and builds the Belvidere parts Megahub, our members will be back to work soon and the cost to the company will be minimal. These employees can and are willing to perform work today. That is all they want, to have a future and be able to provide for their families as agreed to in our contract.”

For more information on the fight to make Stellantis Keep The Promise, visit UAW.org/KeepThePromise.

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In First Strike Authorization Vote at Stellantis, UAW Members at Los Angeles Parts Center Overwhelmingly Approve a Walkout if U.S. Investments Aren’t Made

ONTARIO, Calif. — On Thursday night, a supermajority of UAW members at Stellantis’ Los Angeles Parts Distribution Center voted to request strike authorization from the International Executive Board if the company and union can’t settle the grievance over the company’s refusal to meet contractually required investments in America.

They are the first UAW members at Stellantis to hold such a vote since UAW locals began filing grievances against the company in August. The locals have charged Stellantis with violating product and investment commitments in the current contract. As the grievances proceed, more UAW locals at Stellantis could be holding strike authorization votes soon.

“Stellantis made a contractual promise to invest in America and we are not going to let them weasel out of it,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “Our members won those investments during the Stand Up strike, and we will strike again to make Stellantis keep the promise if we have to.”

In the UAW’s 2023 contract, the union won $19 billion in investment commitments, securing a future for tens-of-thousands of good union jobs in the United States. The UAW also made history by winning the right to strike if the company fails to fulfill those commitments. A year into the collective bargaining agreement, the company has put forward investment plans equal to only about 2% of the $19 billion in commitments and is now publicly backtracking on its commitments to reopen the idled assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, and to build the Dodge Durango in Detroit.

“If Stellantis can give CEO Carlos Tavares a 56% raise and spend billions lavishing rich shareholders with stock buybacks and dividends, then they sure as hell have the money for productive investments in our plants,” said Fain.

Stellantis is mounting a desperate effort to intervene in the union’s constitutional strike authorization process. This week, the company has been making robocalls to tens of thousands of UAW members across the country telling them to vote no on strike authorization. Yesterday’s overwhelming yes vote at the Los Angeles parts center shows members are ready to fight and that Stellantis’ campaign is backfiring. The company has additionally filed frivolous suits in federal court to try and stop UAW members from utilizing their contractual right to strike over the company’s broken promises.

“Carlos Tavares is being sued by suppliers and shareholders, the national dealers network is up in arms against him, and he is now facing down a strike from the mighty UAW. If an autoworker in the plant did as piss-poor of a job as Tavares, they would be fired. It’s time for Stellantis to shitcan Carlos!” said Fain.

For more information on the fight to make Stellantis Keep The Promise, visit UAW.org/KeepThePromise.

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“Stellantis Is Scared”: New UAW Video Exposes Company’s Robocalls to UAW Members Urging a No Vote on Strike Authorization

DETROIT – Today, the UAW released a video exposing a robocall campaign by Stellantis telling tens of thousands of UAW members to vote no on a potential strike authorization vote. In August, the union filed grievances against Stellantis for violating product and investment commitments in its current contract and the grievance process could escalate to a strike.

The video can be accessed here and the media is invited to use the footage. 

The new video is narrated by UAW President Shawn Fain. “Stellantis management is literally saying we’re going to eliminate your job and gut your community, but we would appreciate your support,” Fain says in the video. “The company has NO BUSINESS telling you how to vote. But it’s clear that Stellantis is scared.”

The video is dropping on the same day that Stellantis members and allies are holding a 3:30 p.m. rally and march at UAW Local 1264 at Stellantis’ Sterling Stamping Plant. 

In the UAW’s 2023 contract, the union won major gains, including a commitment from Stellantis to reopen an idled assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, and to build the Dodge Durango in Detroit. Now the company is trying to backtrack on those commitments.

In the 2023 contract, the UAW also won the right to strike over product and investment commitments, and the union’s members are preparing to strike if necessary to make Stellantis Keep the Promise.

The full transcript of President Fain’s narration is below:  

Carlos Tavares is out of control, and it’s once again up to UAW members to save this company from itself.

The company has sent robocalls to tens of thousands of UAW members trying to tell us how to vote on a strike authorization.

Let me break this down for you.

Stellantis management is literally saying we’re going to eliminate your job and gut your community, but we would appreciate your support.

The company has NO BUSINESS telling you how to vote.

But it’s clear that Stellantis is scared.

They’re scared that our union will finally start fighting back to save our plants and save our jobs.

For years this company picked us off plant by plant and our union took no action.

That’s why it was so important for us to win the right to strike over violations of the product commitments in our historic 2023 contract.

And now the company is scared.

They’re scared because rather than picking us off we now have the power to stand up together.

They’re scared of the power of our membership.

Stellantis is desperate to keep going down a path of cutting short-term costs even if it kills this company.

That path is a DEAD END.

And if UAW members have to strike to make them change course and keep their promise to America, that’s exactly what we’ll do.

Here’s Carlos Tavares’ plan for this company:

Carlos Tavares wants to kill good jobs in America and shift 80 percent of production to so-called “low-cost countries.”

These are high-exploitation, low-wage countries where workers make pennies on the dollar so Stellantis can ship the product back into the USA at an insane profit.

And Tavares is going to have his way, unless we in the UAW join together to stop him.

Carlos Tavares also wants to cut staffing and investment to the bone.

And that has real consequences for real people.

The lives of thousands of families in Belvidere, Ill., are hanging in the balance, as Stellantis tries to back out of their promise to reopen that plant.

Thousands of Michigan workers are under threat as Stellantis tries to back out of their commitments for the Dodge Durango at the Detroit Assembly Complex.

Carlos Tavares is also turning good union jobs into dangerous jobs.

At Stellantis’ Toledo Assembly plant in Ohio, one of our union brothers recently lost his life on the assembly line.

That’s what happens when you cut staffing to the bone, and force people to work endless hours.

It’s not safe. It’s not fair. And it’s not right.

Carlos Tavares is driving this company into the ground. Literally.

In Toledo, a smokestack recently collapsed and crushed an employee’s car – a Dodge Durango.

But we will not let Carlos Tavares continue to tear this company down.

For decades Stellantis management has been more than happy to sacrifice autoworker jobs and our communities at the altar of corporate greed.

The UAW has two words for Carlos Taveres and Stellantis: HELL NO.

If it takes a fight, we’ll fight.

If it takes a strike, we’ll strike.

Carlos, we’re voting yes.

To make Stellantis Keep The Promise.

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UAW Escalating Campaign to Keep the Promise at Stellantis with Detroit-Area Rally and March on Thursday

WHAT:    Keep the Promise Rally and March
WHEN:   Thursday, Oct. 3, 3:30 PM
WHERE: UAW Local 1264, 7450 15 Mile Rd, #2, Sterling Heights, MI 48312

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. — UAW President Shawn Fain will headline a Detroit-area rally and march on Thursday demanding that Stellantis fulfill its promise to invest in good American jobs. Stellantis is trying to backtrack on its contractual commitments to build the Dodge Durango in Detroit and to reopen the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois.

“We are done with the days of plant closings,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “During the Stand Up Strike, UAW members at Stellantis fought and won a commitment from the company to reopen Belvidere and invest billions in our plants across the country. That was a promise to invest in America and we’re going to make sure they keep the promise.”

Thursday’s Keep the Promise Rally will begin at 3:30 p.m. at UAW Local 1264 in Sterling Heights. Rally-goers will then march roughly half a mile to Stellantis’ Sterling Stamping Plant. ** UAW members will not be picketing or striking, this is not a work stoppage.  Attendees will not block traffic or driveways. Workers must work their shifts as scheduled. **

The rally and march are part of the UAW’s ongoing campaign to enforce the union’s contract at Stellantis. The campaign began when UAW locals representing tens of thousands of Stellantis workers filed grievances with the company over its failure to Keep the Promise made in contract negotiations in 2023. Once the grievance procedure is exhausted under the national contract, the union may authorize a strike.

Last week, nearly 200 leaders from UAW locals representing Stellantis workers from across the country met and voted unanimously to recommend that members get ready to vote YES to authorize a strike at Stellantis if the company refuses to fulfill its product and investment commitments.

For more information on the fight to make Stellantis Keep The Promise, visit UAW.org/KeepThePromise.

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UAW President Shawn Fain, Elissa Slotkin Fire Up Michigan Union Members at Flint Canvassing Event

FLINT — UAW workers and supportive community members rallied earlier today in Flint at a canvassing kick-off for U.S. Senate candidate Elissa Slotkin. With Michigan at the heart of U.S. manufacturing and the fight for good union jobs, the event promoted the UAW’s endorsement of Slotkin and highlighted the large field program Michigan UAW members are running to elect her as their next senator.

UAW President Shawn Fain, UAW Region 1D Director Steve Dawes, and Rep. Slotkin all delivered remarks at the rally.

The Flint event is part of a broader election effort by the union in Michigan. Across the state, UAW members are canvassing to engage co-workers, retirees, and UAW households. They’re holding conversations that emphasize the importance of supporting candidates who back a pro-worker, anti-corporate greed agenda to secure the future of manufacturing in Michigan and beyond.

“Rep. Slotkin has been a champion for autoworkers and union members in Michigan while her opponent has consistently voted to weaken workers’ rights. We need Rep. Slotkin to be Michigan’s next senator,” said Steve Dawes, UAW Region 1D Director.  “We also know that the path to the White House could run through Michigan. Vice President Kamala Harris has walked our picket lines, showing her support not only for labor but for all working-class people.”

In August, UAW launched its most ambitious political program in decades for an all-out effort to elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States and to put other pro-worker candidates in office. The Union’s program includes mobilizing UAW members online, at worksites, and in the field with a door-to-door program to reach members, retirees, and their families.

The Union’s one million active and retired members will form a core base of support for the Harris-Walz campaign and will provide a major piece of the campaign’s margin of victory in Michigan. In 2020, the UAW’s membership accounted for 9.2% of Biden-Harris’ votes in Michigan alone.

The UAW’s plan to win stems from the vision that launched 2023’s Stand Up strike and movement. By putting out the facts, uniting the working class, and letting members lead the way, the UAW’s “Stand Up, Speak Up, Show Up” campaign will mobilize workers to defeat the billionaire class at the ballot box.

Photos and videos from the event can be access here.

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UAW President Shawn Fain, Elissa Slotkin to fire up Michigan union members at Flint canvassing event on Saturday

FLINT — With Michigan at the heart of U.S. manufacturing and the fight for good union jobs, the UAW will host a rally and canvass kick-off with U.S. Senate candidate Elissa Slotkin in Flint, Michigan on Saturday, September 28. The event will promote the UAW’s endorsement of Slotkin and highlight the large field program Michigan UAW members are running to elect her as their next senator.

UAW President Shawn Fain, UAW Region 1D Director Steve Dawes, and Rep. Slotkin will deliver remarks to kick off the rally.

The Flint event is part of a broader election effort by the union in Michigan. Across the state, UAW members are canvassing to engage co-workers, retirees, and UAW households. They’re holding conversations that emphasize the importance of supporting candidates who back a pro-worker, anti-corporate greed agenda to secure the future of manufacturing in Michigan and beyond.

“Rep. Slotkin has been a champion for autoworkers and union members in Michigan while her opponent has consistently voted to weaken workers’ rights. We need Rep. Slotkin to be Michigan’s next senator,” said Steve Dawes, UAW Region 1D Director.  “We also know that the path to the White House could run through Michigan. Vice President Kamala Harris has walked our picket lines, showing her support not only for labor but for all working-class people.”

WHAT:
UAW Canvassing Kickoff in Flint with featured speakers UAW President Shawn Fain, UAW Region 1D Regional Director Steve Dawes, and Rep. Elissa Slotkin

WHEN:
Saturday, September 28, at 3:00 p.m. ET

WHERE:
UAW Local 659
4549 Van Slyke Rd, Flint, MI 48507

WHO:
UAW President Shawn Fain
UAW Region 1D Director Steve Dawes
Elissa Slotkin, candidate for U.S. Senate
UAW workers and allies

In August, UAW launched its most ambitious political program in decades for an all-out effort to elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States and to put other pro-worker candidates in office. The Union’s program includes mobilizing UAW members online, at worksites, and in the field with a door-to-door program to reach members, retirees, and their families.

The Union’s one million active and retired members will form a core base of support for the Harris-Walz campaign and will provide a major piece of the campaign’s margin of victory in Michigan. In 2020, the UAW’s membership accounted for 9.2% of Biden-Harris’ votes in Michigan alone.

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