UAW’s Convention Doubled Down on the Union’s New Direction
The United Auto Workers reaffirmed the more militant approach that the union has taken under President Shawn Fain at its convention last week, voting for more funding for new organizing, a bigger strike fund, and divestment from Israel.
The UAW has taken a new direction under President Shawn Fain, as illustrated by its historic 2023 strike against the Big Three automakers. At the union’s convention last week, members largely affirmed this more militant approach. (Jim West / UCG / Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Delegates to the United Auto Workers (UAW) constitutional convention affirmed last week the aggressive direction the union has taken under President Shawn Fain, who took office in 2023 and immediately set the 400,000-member union on a new path, illustrated in bold campaigns like the “stand-up strike” against the Big Three automakers.
The one thousand delegates who assembled in Detroit voted to increase the money designated for new organizing and to maintain dues at 2.5 hours per month in order to bulk up the strike fund. The union is looking ahead to a projected rematch with the Big Three on May Day 2028, when contracts covering 150,000 auto workers expire. The UAW has called on other unions to align their fights then, too, to build more leverage on employers and politicians and win big demands.
“Keep in mind how far we’ve come in the last four years,” Fain said in his speech at the convention, which is held quadrennially. “We’ve gone from defense to offense. We’ve once again become a leading force in the labor movement.”
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