I have questions about this event.
First of all,
Democratically Elected
As the first-ever democratically elected leader of the UAW, Fain, a long-time union member himself, has taken a more confrontational approach to negotiations than his predecessors — including filming himself throwing Big Three automaker proposals in the trash.
What was the process before? Was it worse?
Has UAW been a sleeping giant this whole time on account of its leadership selection process?
Stand Up Strikes
But the strike won’t involve all of the nearly 150,000 union members who work at the three automakers walking off their jobs en masse.
Instead, workers at three Midwest auto plants — a General Motors assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri, a Stellantis assembly plant in Toledo, Ohio, and part of a Ford plant in Wayne, Mich. – were the first to walk off the job under UAW president Shawn Fain’s “stand up strike” strategy.
Are stand up strikes common? Do they win concessions?
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How was the process before
I could find this on the process from theconversation.com:
For decades, UAW leaders were chosen through an indirect process common to many unions. Delegates to the UAW convention chose top officers, and regional conventions picked regional directors.
Has UAW been a sleeping giant this whole time on account of its leadership selection process?
I’m not sure how this affects overall union operations, but it appears there was a lot of corruption involved in UAW leadership that lead to this new voting process. Wikipedia has a summary on these events:
A corruption probe by the Justice Department against UAW and 3 Fiat Chrysler executives was conducted during 2020 regarding several charges such as racketeering, embezzlement, and tax evasion. It resulted in convictions of 12 union officials and 3 Fiat Chrysler executives, including two former Union Presidents, UAW paying back over $15 million in improper chargebacks to worker training centers, payment of $1.5 million to the IRS to settle tax issues, commitment to independent oversight for six years, and a referendum that reformed the election mode for leadership. The “One Member One Vote” referendum vote in 2022 determined that UAW members could directly elect the members of the UAW International Executive Board (IEB), the highest ruling body of the UAW.
Are stand up strikes common? Do they win concessions?
I can not answer to the commonality or how successful these “stand up” strikes are. Overall, striking in any capacity is a tool at the union’s disposal when contract negotiations reach a disagreement. How effective this will be is yet to be seen.
Delegates to the UAW convention chose top officers
So exactly how the US President is selected? I like that the article (accidentally? Definitely truthfully) implies that the EC is undemocratic 😁
Electoral college was designed to be undemocratic.
Yeah I know. Should be abolished asap.
Thank you so much for all the information!
Damn. The old leadership – on top of being subservient – sounds like a bunch of crooks. I’m happy the UAW has its new process.
Excellent questions, solid answers, both are appreciated, and I leave smarter than when I arrived. Thanks.
