Posts tagged UAW Members United
Narrow win adds to challenges for new UAW President Shawn Fain
March 28, 2023 // Curry’s team argued that “tens of thousands of ballots” were returned to the union as undeliverable and questioned whether the monitor’s office made “all reasonable efforts” to ensure those members could vote. They also called into question the validity of Daniel Vicente’s victory as director of Region 9, which represents workers in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Curry argued that Vicente was not able to run because he had not paid the dues necessary to be a UAW member in good standing until after the original November vote. Curry also said campaign rules were not consistently enforced and that campaign donations to his opponent came from employers with whom the union has a bargaining relationship, which would be against the rules. The monitor dismissed Curry’s calls for a new election, although it’s unclear if he’ll take additional steps to challenge the results. In the meantime, Fain will have to build out his staff within a UAW bureaucracy he criticized as a candidate. According to a transition memo first reported by the Detroit Free Press, he plans big shakeups within the union’s staff.
Detroit’s giant auto union is having a historic election after a series of scandals. Get ready for more strikes and higher car prices.
March 1, 2023 // This is the first direct election of the union’s leadership in the UAW’s 88-year history, following a series of corruption scandals that sent two former presidents to prison. In the races that have already been counted in the election, it’s clear that, for the first time in decades, the union leadership will be closely divided between the old guard and the challengers. This transformation of how the UAW is governed sets up what is widely expected to be a more adversarial relationship between the union and the Big Three domestic car producers. Regardless of who wins the presidency, a more combative stance with automakers is likely to result in more strikes, higher car prices and also greater competitive pressure on domestic companies to outsource or challenge unionization at new plants opening to make electric vehicles and their components.