UAW President Shawn Fain Is Showing How to Build Working-Class Struggle
Shawn Fain, the firebrand president of the UAW, is modeling exactly the kind of labor leader we need right now: one who boldly names the billionaire class as the enemy — and galvanizes workers themselves to fight back.
Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers (UAW), center, walks with demonstrators during a UAW practice picket outside the Stellantis Mack Assembly Plant in Detroit, Michigan, on August 23, 2023. (Jeff Kowalsky / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
He has the unassuming look and demeanor of someone we all know. A friendly neighbor you would run into at little league games, Sunday church services, or small-town fairs. While United Auto Workers (UAW) president Shawn Fain doesn’t profile as a firebrand, the last few months have shown that beneath the calm exterior lies a radical union leader with grand ambitions for the US working class.
The UAW strike at the Big Three (Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis) auto manufacturers began on September 15. From the beginning of this contract campaign Fain has displayed a bold, innovative, and effective approach to his relatively new role as union leader. By clearly naming the enemy, defining the stakes, and putting his faith in the membership, Fain has rallied the American public to the cause of the autoworkers and forced both political parties to pick a side.
Over the last few years, too often public attention and the media cycle has been dominated by petty culture wars and partisan bickering. But the UAW strike has brought class politics back to the fore and refocused anger where it should be: on the multibillion dollar corporations that have ruined the economy for working people. Shawn Fain is the union leader America needs right now.
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