Posts tagged UAW
AUTOS UAW Q&A: Presidential candidates on monitorship, future of oversight
August 10, 2026 // Five members are challenging Fain, a popular president and political figure. Fain was at the helm of the union in 2023 when it secured handsome raises after a simultaneous strike of all three Detroit automakers (Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Stellantis). The upcoming election was complicated by news that Fain is facing a grand jury investigation directed by the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations that he improperly used his post to seek benefits for his family members. Fain has denied the allegations.
United Academic Workers
August 8, 2026 // On campus, the same bloc has changed what a strike is about. In May 2024, UAW Local 4811 called a strike against the University of California over the university’s handling of pro-Palestinian encampments, demanding divestment from weapons manufacturers, amnesty for arrested protesters, and a right for researchers to opt out of military-tied funding. UC warned that the precedent would expose every public employer in California to work stoppages “advancing political and/or social viewpoints.” The UC contract ratified this March carried politics into the agreement itself, featuring a $400,000 legal fund for international workers and a commitment to “non-collaboration with ICE.” The bargaining committee described the deal as having “compelled management to side with workers and not with Trump.”
Second public defender union calls off strike
August 6, 2026 // The Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys – UAW Local 2325 union, which represents NDS staff, shared details of the temporary agreement with members on Tuesday. NDS also employs staff in Detroit and Texas, who were also on strike the past week.
Unions Are Coming for Your Uber Driver
August 4, 2026 // The sectoral-bargaining approach made headway in 2022, when California signed the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Act, or FAST, into law. The act was replaced by a compromise agreement before going into full effect. But under the original provisions, it would have established a 10-member Fast Food Council appointed by the governor and state Legislature to set labor rules for the Golden State’s fast-food industry. The FAST Act marked a pivot toward sectoral-bargaining strategies in America, importing the tactic from Europe and Australia. For decades before the FAST Act, the United Auto Workers used tactics like “pattern bargaining” in negotiations with the Big Three automakers.
UAW ignores federal monitor’s guidance to create budget, track finances
August 3, 2026 // The monitor has also reported on a previous investment blunder that cost the union potentially millions of dollars in unrealized stock gains. Barofsky did not find evidence of misconduct by Mock in that case, but did highlight broad governance and communication failures, including in her office, that contributed to the investment mistakes. The last UAW election, in 2022, was expected to be a reset for the union as it sought to move past a recent history of corruption. But some candidates — including during a vice president debate earlier this week — argue more leadership change is needed. Some raised concerns that Barofsky may seek to extend his oversight of the union beyond the current expiration of early 2027 — oversight that has also been a financial drag on the union, costing tens of millions of dollars.
She never worked in a steel mill. Now she leads the United Steelworkers.
July 31, 2026 // “She’s going to have to get the trust of the steelworkers,” said Richard Tikey, a union local vice president at the coking coal plant for U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works south of Pittsburgh. He said the union should have pushed for additional benefits or a new contract during the sale process. “The union had more leverage then,” Tikey said. U.S. Steel’s initial proposal included an 18.2% pay increase over five years and a $4,000 contract bonus, but would implement employee copays for health insurance. Union negotiators said this was insufficient. They will counter in August.
Columbia student workers’ union drops Israel divestment demand amid contract negotiations
July 30, 2026 // Student Workers of Columbia-United Auto Workers made pro-Palestinian activism a central tenet of its presence on campus since the start of the war in Gaza.
Op-ed: Republicans should stop helping Democrats empower union bosses
July 29, 2026 // Policies built on employee choice, such as right-to-work protections, reflect what American workers actually want. The partisan legislation now moving through Congress reflects only what union leadership wants. Pro-worker legislation is not synonymous with pro-union legislation; in fact, they often are opposites. It is time for Congress to wake up and realize this.
DOJ Probe Stands to Undercut UAW Election, Organizing Goals
July 22, 2026 // The investigation is something anti-union advocates could cite as evidence that the UAW won’t be a good steward of union resources, particularly in the south where there is already a more hostile environment for organized labor. Organizing southern auto plants has been a chief goal for Fain and the UAW as it battles falling membership. Current numbers stand at about 400,000, down from a peak of about 1.5 million in the 1970s.
How UAW’s Bold Leader Got Caught in New Wave of Union Infighting
July 17, 2026 // Others worry internal conflicts detract from the union’s effectiveness. “We’re in an awkward time, because everybody who was on Fain’s team, they’re divided now, and they’re fighting each other, and that’s not good for a union,” said Tony Totty, president of a UAW local in Ohio, and a candidate for a national vice presidential slot.