United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW)

ESTABLISHED: August 26, 1935
EMPLOYEES: 500
MEMBERS: 1,275,000
PAC: Community Action Program

Contact Information:
ADDRESS: 8000 E. Jefferson Detroit, MI 48214
PHONE: (313) 926-5000
TOLL FREE: (800) 243-8829
FAX: (313) 331-1520
E-MAIL: uaw@uaw.org
URL: http://www.uaw.org
PRESIDENT: Stephen P. Yokich

WHAT IS ITS MISSION?

The mission of the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), in the words of its constitution's preamble, is to guarantee working people "a meaningful voice in maintaining a safe and healthful workplace with decent working conditions, and . . . secured rights, together with a satisfactory standard of living and maximum job security." The UAW considers itself more than a labor union. In the words of UAW President Steve Yokich, "We in organized labor are a social movement. We're the only institution that stands up for working men and women." To achieve this aim, the UAW uses solidarity and collective action to help workers obtain decent wages, benefits, and working conditions. The organization is committed to helping its members, and other working people, stand up for their rights and live lives of dignity.

HOW IS IT STRUCTURED?

The UAW represents workers in a broad variety of industries, in addition to auto and truck manufacturing. Other industries include aerospace, defense, farm construction, and consumer manufacturing. The organization also represents technical, office, and professional employees in state, county, and local governments, universities, and museums.

The International

The UAW International is run by an 18-member International Executive Board. It consists of six international officers and 12 regional directors. Board members are elected to three-year terms at the UAW Constitutional Convention. The board oversees all UAW programs and policies, and is responsible for running the day-to-day operations of the union.

The organization's international officers are the president, secretary-treasurer, and five vice presidents. The UAW president is responsible for protecting and advancing the interests of UAW members and performing the related duties. The president is required to report to the executive committee every three months. Departments under the international president include Arbitration, Civil Rights, Community Services, UAW Retired Workers, Consumer Affairs, Education, Health and Safety, Organizing, Governmental and International Affairs, Legislative, and Women's Issues.

The secretary-treasurer is responsible for overseeing all financial operations of the UAW, including audits. The secretary-treasurer publishes an annual report on union finances in Solidarity Magazine. Departments under the international secretary-treasurer include Accounting, Auditing, Strike Insurance, and Veteran's Issues. The vice presidents are assigned areas of responsibilities by the president, and include collective bargaining, technical, and administrative departments. In addition to administrative personnel, the organization has staff members who are experts in collective bargaining, grievance handling, arbitration, labor law, health and safety, health care and retirement plans, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, legislation, economics, education and training, and communications.

The collective bargaining departments are among the most important at the UAW International. There is a National Collective Bargaining Department for each of the Big Three automakers—General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. In addition, there are departments for the aerospace industry; the agricultural implements industry; the heavy-truck industry; non-Big Three and transnational automakers; national manufacturing industries; and skilled trades and technical, office, and professional jobs.

Nationally, the UAW is divided into 12 regions, each headed by a regional director. Directors are selected at regional elections that take place during the regular UAW Constitutional Convention. Besides sitting on the International Executive Board, each regional director implements UAW programs and policies regionally, assists with contract negotiations, and oversees the enforcement of contracts at the regional level. Regional offices also administer educational, political, and other union activities in the region.

The Locals

The most important unit of the UAW is the individual bargaining unit, known as the local. The exact makeup of a local depends on the size of the company or community in which it is located. It might represent all the workers at a single factory or several; it might represent the entire workforce of a factory of a particular segment, for example the blue-collar workers, or the office and clerical staff. An amalgamated local is made up of more than one bargaining unit.

The governing body of the UAW local is the membership meeting, held regularly and open to all members in good standing. At the meeting local officials are elected by secret ballot to a term of three years. The UAW is divided into 1,086 locals throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Each local has a Local Union Executive Board made up of the local president, financial-secretary, and other officers. The board runs the day-to-day affairs of the local. All board actions are subject to approval of the members at the regular membership meetings.

Each local elects a bargaining committee, sometimes known as the top committee or shop committee. The shop committee, assisted by the International, negotiates contracts, deals with member grievances and, in general, acts as a liaison between the rank-and-file and the International. The locals are required to send representatives to standing union committees: Constitution and By-Laws, Union Label, Education, Conservation and Recreation, Community Services, Civil Rights, Citizenship and Legislative, Consumer Affairs, and Women's. Standing committees study problems in a specific area and make recommendations for action to the union leadership.

PRIMARY FUNCTIONS

The UAW, like most labor unions, performs a variety of functions on behalf of its members. They include organizing health and life insurance, pursuing the union's legislative agenda in Congress and state legislatures, and helping to elect candidates who support the working class. Much of the union's work involves negotiating contracts with employers, handling member grievances against employers, calling strikes, and settling health and safety problems at the workplace. Most of the UAW's operations are done at the local level.

Collective Bargaining

Perhaps the most crucial function of the UAW is the negotiation of contracts with employers, such as the Big Three automakers. This process is known as collective bargaining and the resulting contract covers workers' wages, benefits, working conditions, grievance procedures, seniority, union representation, hours of work, vacation, holidays and sick time, and deduction of union dues. All contract agreements must be ratified by the full membership, which votes by secret ballot.

Grievances

As part of each contract, the UAW negotiates the provisions for resolving problems between workers and supervision. These provisions are known as grievance procedures. UAW members can request union representation when they have a complaint that they cannot resolve themselves. A grievance might involve unfair treatment of a worker by a supervisor, or unhealthy or dangerous conditions at a workplace. The UAW representative discusses the problem with the worker and the supervisor, investigates the background of the matter, and attempts to settle it. If the problem cannot be resolved at this level, it is referred in writing to higher levels of the union and management. If the grievance still cannot be settled it will in most cases be sent to an impartial arbitrator whose decision is final.

Strikes

Sometimes the UAW calls a strike against an employer. A strike can be called for a variety of reasons, such as contract negotiations becoming deadlocked. This can happen if the union believes a company is not bargaining in good faith. A strike can also be called if a company consistently and blatantly violates the terms of a contract, or if a company refuses to correct worker health or safety issues. A call for a strike vote can be issued by either a local or the International Executive Board. First, affected members vote on the strike, then authorization to strike must be received from the International Executive Board. All members in good standing of a local or bargaining unit are entitled to vote on the strike. The strike vote is conducted by secret ballot and ballots are counted by a special committee elected by the membership for that purpose. A two-thirds majority must approve the strike before authorization can be sought from the International Executive Board. Once the board approves the strike, striking workers become eligible for benefits from the UAW Strike Insurance Fund but members must walk the picket line and participate in other strike activities to receive the benefits. Benefits include $150 per week, health care coverage, and life insurance.

Legislation

Influencing legislation is an important area of UAW activism. Most of this work is carried out through the union's PAC, the Community Action Program (CAP). CAP works in two ways: One, it actively lobbies Congress and state legislatures for the passage of progressive legislation. Two, it mobilizes the union membership to support progressive legislation and candidates, through demonstrations, vote canvassing, and letter writing campaigns. The UAW has contributed to the passage of such landmark legislation as the Medicare and Medicaid Acts, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration Act (OSHA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Family and Medical Leave Act.

PROGRAMS

The UAW sponsors educational and recreational programs for members and their families. The UAW Educational Department is one of the largest in the U.S. labor movement. The department trains members in union skills as well as in specific job skills. The jewel of the union's educational efforts is the Walter and May Reuther Family Education Center on Black Lake near Onaway in northern Michigan. The 1,000-acre facility, completed in 1970, is funded by the interest from the UAW's multimillion dollar strike fund.

The center's summer scholarship program runs four one-week sessions from the end of June to the end of July and is open to all UAW members. Families learn about the principles and operations of the union, meet and interact with other union members, and take part in recreational programs. The center also provides day care activities for the younger children of visiting families.

The center holds conferences and courses for union officers on issues such as grievance handling, collective bargaining, health and safety, political action, and civil rights. The UAW regional offices use the center for their leadership courses.

Since the late 1980s, the UAW-Ford Technical Skills Program has been helping autoworkers enhance their business and technical skills. The program includes training in the skilled trades, technical business systems, new processes, and an enhanced apprenticeship program. The UAW pays for all accommodations, meals, and other program costs. It also provides transportation for members who work more than 500 miles away.

Through CAP, union members, at all levels, are encouraged to take political and social action, such as electing pro-worker candidates and working for the passage of progressive legislation. CAP works at the local, state, and national levels on issues including healthcare, public education, workplace health and safety, the environment, workers' compensation, and unemployment insurance.

BUDGET INFORMATION

In 1996 the UAW had assets worth $937.52 million. The UAW had $113.97 million in the International's General Fund that year, up slightly from 1995. The General Fund finances the union's normal costs of operation. In addition, the UAW maintains a Strike Insurance Fund, which is used to replace lost wages of striking members. In 1996 the UAW Strike Fund totaled $706.22 million.

The UAW is financed primarily by dues collected from its members. Each member pays the equivalent of two hours wages each month. Approximately 38 percent of UAW dues stay in the local unions; 32 percent goes to the International's General Fund; 30 percent goes to the Strike Insurance Fund, as long as the fund has less than $500 million. If the Strike Fund balance exceeds $500 million, the local and International get a rebate of 10 percent and five percent respectively. Public employees who are not allowed to strike do not pay into the UAW Strike Fund.

HISTORY

Henry Ford revolutionized automobile production in 1913 when he created the first assembly line and thus transformed a time-consuming and expensive job into a cheap mass industrial process. Soon, workers from across the nation swarmed to Ford's plants and others that copied his streamlined methods. Conditions in many of these factories, however, were unhealthy and dangerous. But unorganized workers could do little to force employers to make changes and often workers who tried to strike in protest were fired.

Early on, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) worked to organize autoworkers. As the size and number of locals grew, workers asked the AFL for an independent union of their own. Although the AFL agreed, autoworker delegates to the first UAW convention in Detroit, Michigan, protested when they learned that under the charter of the new union, the rank-and-file members were not allowed to elect union officials. Instead, that right was retained by the AFL leadership and AFL President William Green appointed a member of his staff, Francis Dillon, as the first UAW president.

Early on, autoworkers felt that the AFL was not serious in its efforts to organize factory workers. In response, UAW representatives and seven other unions met secretly and formed the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). The AFL leadership learned of the organization and demanded that it disband. When it refused, the charters of the participating eight unions were suspended.

Sit-Down Strikes

At the second UAW convention in 1936, members demanded and were granted the right to elect their own leaders and Homer Martin was elected president. Although still affiliated with the AFL, the UAW was aligning itself more closely to the philosophy of the CIO. It adopted the CIO tactic of the "sit-down strike," in which workers occupied a factory but refused to work. That same year saw the first wave of UAW sit-down strikes across the country. The most dramatic began in December 1936 when workers occupied a General Motors plant in Flint, Michigan. The strike lasted 43 days and only ended when the governor, fearing violence against the workers, intervened and arbitrated a settlement. As a result, General Motors recognized the UAW. More strikes followed in 1937. In February, following a 15-week strike against J.I. Case, the UAW signed its first contract with an agricultural-implements manufacturer. Chrysler recognized the union in March and after that, the UAW set its sights on the Ford Motor Company.

Ford, at that time, was doing everything possible to prevent the unionization of its plants, even going so far as to intimidate its workers with threats of violence. The turning point for the UAW came in May, when Walter Reuther and other UAW organizers, who were handing out leaflets to Ford workers, were brutally attacked. Newspaper photos of the incident turned national public opinion to the union cause. Ford was not finally unionized however until April 1941, after UAW strikers organized roadblocks that effectively cut off supplies to one of Ford's plants.

In 1938 the AFL expelled the UAW after a long dispute and the union became a charter member of the CIO, which had been renamed the Congress for Industrial Organizations. In 1939 after problems connected with organizing efforts at Ford, Homer Martin was replaced by R. J. Thomas as UAW president. Martin, however, refused to go so easily and led his own renegade UAW for a short time, which eventually evolved into the Allied Industrial Workers.

The UAW Executive Board passed a motion pledging that the union would not strike for the duration of World War II (1939–45). When the war ended, there was growing anti-Communist sentiment, and union forces, led by Vice President Reuther, moved to expel communists from the ranks. When President Thomas refused to go through with the purge, he was voted out and replaced by Reuther, who went on to lead the UAW for nearly 25 years. During Reuther's time in office the UAW won pension plans, paid vacation, hospitalization and sick leave, cost-of-living increases for its members, in addition to benefits such as profit-sharing at American Motors, and an early retirement program at International Harvester. Reuther died in a plane crash in 1970, and was succeeded by Leonard Woodcock.

Troubled Times

The late 1970s were difficult for the UAW. The oil crisis of the mid-1970s and the fall of the Shah of Iran a few years later led to dramatically higher gasoline prices. In response, consumers started buying energy-efficient imported autos and the U.S. auto industry entered a lengthy period of serious decline. By 1979 automakers were asking for contract concessions from the UAW. Chrysler was on the verge of bankruptcy and workers there agreed to wage concessions in order to save the company. In exchange, in 1980, the union won a seat on the Chrysler Board of Directors.

During the 1980s, the United States experienced an economic crisis and UAW members were hard hit. More than a third of all unionized auto workers lost their jobs; half of the UAW members in the agricultural implements industry were laid off. At one point 330,640 UAW members were out of work. Even so, the UAW did manage to win two long strikes during this period; a 172-day strike against International Harvester, and a 205-day strike against Caterpillar.

Owen Bieber was elected UAW President in 1983 and under his leadership, the union intensified its political activities to prevent the loss of benefits through adverse legislation. Union attempts to get pro-worker legislation passed during the Bush administration were frequently frustrated by the president's vetoes of legislation such as the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1990.

As the 1990s progressed, the U.S. auto industry pulled out of the doldrums and the UAW fought to win back concessions it had made during the recession. The union also began working on new issues for organized labor, including automation and multinational companies shifting production to nonunionized Third World plants.

CURRENT POLITICAL ISSUES

The UAW involvement with political issues is consistent with the union's assertion that it is a movement for social justice. To this end, it encourages civil rights, environmental, and health care legislation. But it has never strayed far from its role as a labor union. The union's commitment to the labor issues that affect its members was made clear in the strike against General Motors in summer 1998.

Case Study: The 1998 Flint Strike

In May 1997 General Motors (GM) management reaffirmed its plans to invest $300 million in its Flint Metal Center, an engine cradle and sheet metal plant in Flint, Michigan, that employed about 4,000 members of UAW Local 659. In November of the same year it announced plans to build a $500 million engine factory in Flint. But in February 1998, in an abrupt turnabout, GM said it was suspending the investments. Although it had praised Local 659 workers just months earlier, GM maintained the reason for the action was the "uncompetitive work practices" of its workers.

The UAW felt insulted and betrayed and immediately started negotiations with GM. After four months, however, the UAW felt the talks were going nowhere. On June 5, Local 659 workers struck after they became convinced that GM had tried to remove important dies used in the production process from the plant over the Memorial Day weekend. On June 11, Local 561 struck GM's Delphi East plant in Flint, which made spark plugs, oil filters, air meters, fuel pumps, gauges, and other critical parts. In all 9,200 workers went on strike. The factories were crucial to GM's national car and truck production and the shortage of parts led to the closing of 26 of the company's 29 North American assembly plants. As a result, 175,000 GM workers were laid off.

The UAW said the strikes had nothing to do with wages or benefits—those were still covered by a 1996 contract. The critical issues, according to the union, were GM outsourcing and its compromising on health, safety and production standards. GM countered with a lawsuit in federal court, maintaining that the UAW talk of health and safety was merely a subterfuge. The real issue, GM said, was the plant investments GM had canceled. The federal judge refused to issue a court order against the UAW and ordered the two parties to submit to binding arbitration.

The strike, the longest at GM in nearly 30 years, was finally settled on July 29, just a day before the arbitrator was to hand down a decision. Eighty percent of striking UAW members approved the settlement, over 90 percent at Flint Metal, over 60 percent at Delphi East. As part of the settlement GM agreed to make the investments at Flint Metal as it had promised. The company also agreed not to sell or close Delphi East before the year 2000. In exchange, the UAW promised not to strike either plant during the same period. The settlement also detailed a new system for UAW and GM leaders to deal with labor disputes before they reach the strike stage.

Public Impact

The strike slowed down the U.S. economy in 1998. In addition, GM and the UAW had losses from the strike. GM suffered an estimated $2 billion in lost production and UAW workers may have lost as much as __BODY__ billion in wages. While the GM lawsuit went unsettled, the New York Times reported that just the threat of heavy damages that an adverse ruling could have entailed, worried the UAW. As a result, the union might refrain from authorizing strikes on similar grounds in the future.

Even more critical for the union was GM's effort to circumvent the strike by obtaining parts from outside sources, including nonunion plants in Mexico. That marked the beginning of the end of GM's vertical integration, in which everything from the smallest part to the finished automobile was produced in GM factories. The result could well mean that GM will outsource more and more production to nonunion factories in the United States and overseas. This could result in GM closing or selling its union plants, potentially leading to layoffs for thousands of UAW workers. Furthermore, it will be much more difficult for the UAW to stop GM's production nationwide by striking one or two key plants, as it did in the summer of 1998.

Immediately following the end of the strike, GM took the first step toward ending vertical integration. It announced that it intended to divest its Delphi Parts division, an action that the UAW had long opposed.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

A critical issue that the UAW will have to deal with in the future is the increasing globalization of business. This trend hit the automobile industry in spring 1998 when two auto giants merged; Chrysler in the United States and Daimler Benz in Germany. The UAW has begun to work more closely with the German unions and it will need to cultivate ties with auto unions in other foreign countries, such as Brazil and Korea, as well. However, the union will need to address the problem of automakers outsourcing of work to countries without unions or figurehead unions.

The UAW has been negotiating a major merger with two other unions, the United Steelworkers of America and the International Association of Machinists. Once complete, the unification—known informally as "Big Steel"—will create one of the largest unions in North America. It will end overlap in areas of representation and competition for members. The UAW describes the unification as a response for the need of global unionization. The entire process will probably be completed in 2001.

GROUP RESOURCES

The UAW Web site has a wealth of informational resources, including frequently asked questions about the UAW, historical information, and news about the autoworkers and the labor movement in general. A particularly interesting and useful feature is the page on economic and labor statistics called Jobs, Paychecks & the Economy. Other UAW publications are also available online including Solidarity, AMMO, and Washington Report. The UAW Web page can be accessed at http://www.uaw.org. The UAW will answer E-mail inquiries sent to FAQs@www.uaw.org.

GROUP PUBLICATIONS

Solidarity, the UAW's membership magazine, presents union news, feature stories, guest columns, fiction, and readers' letters. It appears 10 times a year. An annual subscription is $5. Write Solidarity, Circulation Department, 8000 E. Jefferson, Detroit, MI 48214. It can be reached by phone at (313) 926-5373. AMMO is the official publication of the International UAW. It contains features on economic, social, political, and labor subjects. Washington Report is the UAW's bi-weekly magazine on current legislative and policy news from the nation's capital. For additional information on AMMO and Washington Report write or call the UAW Publications Department, 8000 E. Jefferson, Detroit, MI 48214, (313) 926-5291.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Asher, Robert, and Ronald Edsforth, eds. Autowork. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1995.

"Can GM and the Unions Take Each Other on Trust?" The Economist, 1 August 1998.

Glenn, David. "After Flint." Nation, 24 August 1998.

Goode, Bill. Infighting in the UAW: The 1946 Election and the Ascendancy of Walter Reuther. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1994.

Groehn El-Messidi, Kathy. The Bargain: The Story Behind the 30-year Honeymoon of GM and the UAW. New York: Nellen Publishing, 1979.

Lichtenstein, Nelson. The Most Dangerous Man in Detroit: Walter Reuther and the Fate of American Labor. New York: Basic Books, 1995.

Meier, August. Black Detroit and the Rise of the UAW. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979.

Nauss, Donald W. "GM Plans to Spin Off Delphi Car Parts Unit." Los Angeles Times, 4 August 1998.

"Not Over Till It's Over." The Economist, 28 February 1998.

O'Dell, John. "GM Workers Begin Returning as Pact Is Ok'd." Los Angeles Times, 30 July 1998.

Reuther, Victor G. The Brothers Reuther and the Story of the UAW: A Memoir. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1976.

Weekley, Thomas L. and Jay C. Wilber. United We Stand: The Unprecedented Story of the GM-UAW Quality Partnership. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996.

"What Price Peace?" Business Week, 10 August 1998.