UAW Mounts Largest Electoral Engagement Program in Decades to Beat Back Billionaire Class
DETROIT – Embracing the energy of the Stand Up Strike, the United Auto Workers (UAW) has run its largest and most aggressive get-out-the-vote (GOTV) effort in recent history, aimed at activating members and countering the influence of billionaires in government.
Since August, more than 5,000 UAW volunteers nationwide have engaged other union members, retirees, and their families with a strong pro-worker, anti-corporate-greed message. The army of canvassers joined mobilization events, phone banks, worksite contact, and door-to-door canvassing to reach hundreds of thousands of voters. UAW members knocked on more than 250,000 doors in Michigan alone in the final month of the campaign, underscoring the union’s commitment to engaging its members in key battleground states.
“When members hear directly from other members about what’s at stake, we break through and change minds,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “By engaging our members and highlighting the issues that matter—their paychecks, their families, and their futures—our union has been critical to defeating Trump and making sure working-class issues are at the forefront of this election.”
With over 300,000 active and retired members in Michigan, the UAW is the state’s largest working-class political force. The union has recruited more than 3,000 members in the battleground state since August to hold one-on-one conversations with other members at worksites and within their communities, and run a worker-centered digital, mail, and phone program.
So far, the union has exceeded its internal goals and flexed its field muscle, sending out 2,000 shifts to hit 100,000 union households in Michigan just this last weekend in a final GOTV push.
“All our work in this election has come down to one question, ‘Which side are you on?’” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “In this election, we made sure our members had the information they needed to cast their vote based on each candidate’s own words and action. For our union, the choice is clear: Harris stands with us and Trump is a scab.”
Fain popularized the phrase “Trump Is a Scab” when he wore a T-shirt featuring the words during his speech at the Democratic National Convention in August.
The UAW has also thrown down for down-ballot candidates like Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Dan Osborn in Nebraska, Elissa Slotkin in Michigan, holding events, rallies, and canvass launches in dozens of states across the country.
A recent internal survey across these states shows Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump by 22 points among UAW members and member households, with her lead growing to 29 points among members who heard from the UAW about the election. Importantly, Harris now holds a five-point lead among white UAW members without a college degree—a demographic that has leaned towards Trump in past elections.
The UAW’s 2023 Stand Up strike inspired this winning strategy: by sharing the facts, uniting the working class, and putting members in leadership, the “Stand Up, Speak Up, Show Up” campaign mobilized a mass effort to counter corporate interests at the polls.
UAW members can visit UAWStandUp2024.org to access resources, videos, flyers, and factual information on candidate records as we head toward November 5th.
