After two years hard campaigning across the United Auto Workers union in the USA (UAW), the Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD) grassroots campaign has won a historic victory with 63% of union members across all sectors voting for direct election of International Executive Board officers.
Currently, election is indirect, by delegates, and UAWD says that leads to little contest and scope for cronyism and corruption.
The results must be certified by a federal court, but it is expected that will be a formality.
UAWD chair Scott Houldieson described the new voting process as a “huge step in the right direction” but said “it’s just a first step in overhauling the union”, which is expected to remain under federal moderation for several years yet.
The “Administration Caucus” has held power in the UAW for over 70 years. It originated from the “Reuther Caucus”, considered relatively left-wing and militant, but now two of the previous four Presidents have been jailed for embezzlement and corruption, and the union has been put under a court-appointed “monitor”.
A “consent decree” (a deal without admission of guilt and liability) agreed by UAW and US government after a corruption probe opened the way for the direct-election referendum. The UAWD has been organising, seeing the experience of the Teamsters “consent decree” in 1989 as indicating that the union would be forced into such a referendum.
Teamsters for a Democratic Union, who supported and helped organise the Teamsters United that swept into office in their union in November, were cited as a huge help and inspiration for the rank and file campaign.
The common theme is the power of the working class to organise on a rank and file basis, building links across a vast country and across sectors. The UAW reform movement has also signalled a step forward for the labour movement as a whole in the US, with organisations such as Democratic Socialists of America and Labor Notes providing support the reformers, many workers providing funding, and a nationwide show of solidarity for striking UAW members at John Deere. Bernie Sanders joined the efforts for the strike fund.
John Deere workers in Iowa have been working with legal workers in New York, auto workers in llinois organising with researchers and tutors at the University of California who are UAW members, and UAWD activists travelling thousands of miles to support striking workers at Volvo in Virginia this past summer.
The UAWD are now ready to push forward with demands for a democratic union, discussing priorities with their members, and mobilising for the UAW Constitutional Convention in 2022, which could see a raft of rule changes and potentially a new leadership. UAWD is currently raising awareness and donations for UAW student-worker members on strike at Columbia University.
