It is no exaggeration to say the United Auto Workers (UAW) is having a busy season: Organizing workers; filing grievances; bargaining expired contracts; running campaigns for a new age of American work in factories, at home and overseas; and venturing into the service industry. The past week highlights an organization both securing present members and enthusiastically recruiting them into a growing labor movement that is impacting public services, health care, logistics, education, and the arts-in addition to its bread-and-butter work. Contract expiration; the threat and authorization of strike; the successful completion of organizing drives; and labor agreements that make UAW history offer proof of the organization’s dedication to effective tactics in defense of real achievements, and its capacity to broaden its clout beyond the car makers.

This momentum has spilled over far beyond the shop floor. Activism in national trade and worker politics and international labour cooperation are increasingly becoming part of the union’s vision as much as worker contracts. Altogether, these gains represent a labor organization meeting contemporary realities and adapting to new contexts as they advance the cause of present and future generations.

1. The American Axle Strike and Agreement

A recent large UAW job action saw around 1,000 UAW Local 2093 members at American Axle in Three Rivers, Michigan “clearly stated that workers would walk” to picket if the workers weren’t treated fairly as contract deadline date May 31 was looming. About 98 percent of those who took to the polls supported strike authorization. As the two sides were meeting to try and reach a contract settlement, tempers started to get hotter with reports that the UAW filed Unfair Labor Practice charges in federal court against the corporation citing the threat and coercion of union members by management.

Strike and Agreement Highlights:

• Strong strike authorization vote
• Fair contract demands
• Worker unity demonstrated
• Historic agreement reached
• Successful collective action

Despite weeks of negotiation and the looming deadline, no deal that both parties could agree to was reached. As the expiration of contract date came with no resolve, the workers were on strike at midnight June 1. The move was a particularly serious one as American Axle is a major supplier for General Motors. Soon picket line was formed, reinforcing the notion that GM cannot make production without an adequate contract.

2. Historic First Union Contract at Volkswagen in Chattanooga

It was another huge win for the organized labor effort at Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, last Friday as those workers voted to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) the first southern autoworkers outside the traditional “Big Three automakers” who have worked for auto companies with a long history of dealing with unions. The roughly 3,200 workers are now working toward their first collective bargaining agreement with the automaker.

Historic Union Milestone:

• First Southern UAW contract
• Successful organizing campaign
• Landmark labor achievement
• Strong member approval
• Expanded Southern presence

As a blueprint for workplace labor, the contract negotiations laid the groundwork for a system that would follow the plant’s workers into the 2020s. Union representatives and corporate officials deliberated the particulars of how the Chattanooga site would function. By forging a deal that satisfied workers’ needs, and paved the way for years of calm, the negotiating sessions helped mark not only a landmark day in Chattanooga but also in the UAW’s Southern offensive.

3. Unionization Victory at Schnellecke Logistics

Following its major organizing win in Chattanooga, the UAW celebrated another significant organizing win with workers at Schnellecke Logistics casting two-to-one ballots in a National Labor Relations Board election for UAW representation. This win deepened the UAW’s footprint in the automotive supply chain and mirrored wider labor engagement efforts from logistics workers in recent years.

Logistics Organizing Success:

• Strong union election victory
• Expanded supply chain presence
• Greater worker representation
• Growing organizing momentum
• Stronger collective voice

That organizing win showed the union’s strategy to grow beyond just car factories into the companies and facilities that underpin vehicle creation. Logistics workers were the lynchpin in making sure all the parts and raw materials got where they needed to go within production; organizing those employees extends the reach of worker representation deeper into the manufacturing cycle.

4. Webasto Detroit and Ground Effects Workers’ Unionization

At the same time, UAW is continuing to spread into suppliers in organizing wins at both Webasto Detroit and Ground Effects. Workers in Webasto Detroit overwhelmingly voted to join the union and have elected to organize and be represented in collective bargaining, indicating building worker confidence in being represented.

Supplier Union Growth:

• Successful supplier organizing
• Strong employee support
• Expanded union membership
• Better workplace protections
• Broader manufacturing representation

The victory in the campaign at Webasto Detroit illustrates ongoing focus of the union to continue to organize all parts of autoworkers production-not simply the high-volume assemblers, but also suppliers and subassembly plants producing fundamental industry parts. In another recent breakthrough organizing campaign Ground effects workers recently rejected employers’ opposition and joined the UAW. Those recent wins show the union’s success building an organize autoworkers all parts of an extended autoworkers supply chain to reinforce and prove the resurgence of and value of unions.

5. Lorain County Public Service Workers’ Strikes

UAW’s bargaining isn’t all in manufacturing the UAW represents a broad range of workers, as the union proves year after year in its work with public employees. The fight by members of UAW Local 2192 at Lorain County (OH) Jobs and Family Services has dragged on for two months as the UAW members have fought to win an agreement that reflects the needs of workers in their jobs and public services. Local 2192 members in the fight: UAW County workers call on County Commissioners to reach agreement for their workplaces The extended negotiations have impacted UAW county workers, along with all of us who rely on vital public services for many things in our daily lives.

Key Issues During the Strike:

• Long-running contract dispute
• Calls for fair wages
• Administrative salary concerns
• Public service impact
• Successful parallel agreement

The union said the labor dispute issue reaches further than just contracts. UAW members have taken county management to task over, they say, a drastic rise in six-figure management positions since 2021. Meanwhile, many front-line workers who have the authority to issue or approve social benefits remain in financial difficult themselves, according to UAW leaders. These, union representatives say, show the disparity in how workers who routinely serve county constituents are valued.

6. The Campaign to Save the Conn-Selmer Plant

Also, on overseas manufacturing, the UAW has a history of working to protect American jobs being shifted to other countries. It has been engaged in campaigns against some of the world’s premier brass instrument manufacturer the Eastlake, Oh based Conn-Selmer has said it would close its American facility and transfer its production to China costing some 150 of its union members jobs. It’s not a single question of local impact for the union it looks more like a national question of maintaining manufacturing.

Campaign Priorities:

• Protect American manufacturing jobs
• Oppose overseas relocation
• Community support efforts
• Government intervention requested
• Preserve local employment

When the news was delivered the UAW responded with a concerted effort to ensure that production would not leave this site. The UAW demanded action from the Trump Administration in order to keep American jobs in this country and help the American economy rebound. Locally UAW Local 2359 called community members, local businesses, and elected officials in an effort to foster broad opposition to this proposed shutdown of manufacturing in Ohio and help find viable options to help preserve manufacturing jobs here.

7. Organizing in Healthcare

The UAW continues to organize in a diverse array of workplaces where they have an historical foothold in the manufacturing sphere, this time in healthcare. Another new organizing victory this past month occurred at the Ford Chicago Assembly plant when registered nurses won a union election and voted to affiliate with UAW Local 551. This brought a new class of well-compensated professionals into a long-standing local, showing again that a united voice can attract employees with work duties and workplace issues to union representation.

Healthcare Organizing Highlights:

• Nurses joined UAW Local 551
• Expanded professional representation
• Strong workplace advocacy
• Historic union connection
• Growing healthcare membership

The nurses and techs at a pair of medical facilities became UAW Local 551 by aligning with a union steeped in manufacturing. But as it expanded into a non-traditional workforce, the campaign demonstrates the power of collective bargaining to unite employees no matter their position by pushing for common objectives, including fair pay, safer working conditions, and a real say in their workplaces, despite their professional experiences being distinct from those in the factory.

8. Strategic Political Endorsements in Michigan

In addition to leading negotiation and organizing campaigns for members of the union, the UAW is actively involved in electoral politics via the union’s Community Action Program (CAP). For the state to which the union’s history is tied closest the Wolverine State-the organization has supported candidates whose political ideals it deems friendly to the cause of working families and unionized workers, recently including Jocelyn Benson for Governor and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed for the U.S. Senate.

Political Engagement Priorities:

• Endorse pro-worker candidates
• Member-led decision making
• Support labor-friendly policies
• Strengthen worker protections
• Influence state leadership

The board, all union members elected to guide endorsements, further highlights the UAW’s reliance on grassroots decision making when determining its political strategy. Beyond these statewide endorsements, the UAW also backed Eli Savit for Michigan Attorney General, deeming him as an aspiring Attorney General ready to fight corporations in Favor of workers. “We aim to elect candidates who will strengthen workers’ rights and our economic opportunity for everyone across the state of Michigan,” concluded the UAW on their endorsees.

9. Broadening National Political Influence

However, the UAW is not limiting its political involvement to just Michigan; they realize that the goals and actions taken by politicians can directly impact families around the United States, not just those residing in the state. By endorsing candidate in important elections, such as these two, the union can and will continue to work with politicians in various states that support fair wages and conditions for American workers.

Nationwide Political Strategy:

• Support pro-worker candidates
• Focus on worker rights
• Cross-party endorsements
• Expand political influence
• Increase labor representation

One such move, the union’s endorsement of independent candidate Dan Osborn in Nebraska’s U.S. Senate race, signalled a shift towards an approach beyond simply party politics, by backing an Independent who champions the union’s policies on working people. In this election and throughout the past few years, working-class support is increasingly driven by policies that deliver results and reflect candidates’ dedication to economic justice and workers’ rights, and not necessarily political party labels alone.

10. International Labor Solidarity

The concerns of UAW, however, extend beyond the boundaries of the U.S., as the union sees the value of protecting rights of the working class no matter where they live. As an example, just a little while ago there was a violently organized assault upon strikebreaking workers at the Tornel Rubber Company, located in Tultitlan, Mexico. UAW vehemently denouncing the violent assault by calling “a direct attack on the workers in Mexico for the offense of trying to exercise the most basic of labor rights and human rights” while offering a statement of unity with workers caught within the crisis.

Global Worker Support:

• Condemn workplace violence
• Defend labor rights
• Support international workers
• Promote safe workplaces
• Encourage global accountability

Additionally, the statement from the union pushed for action from the Mexican authorities and called for participation from partners under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Highlighting the USMCA directly also framed this incident as international trade not to be ignored if we intend to use such agreements for the benefit of workers. In the perspective of the union, economic ties not just have benefit to business owners, but to the everyday workers too.

11. Influencing National Trade and Economic Policy

Negotiating at the Trade table the UAW has a strong role at the negotiating table concerning trade with foreign nations and sees policy making as vital to defending manufacturing workers. The union voiced strong support this summer of the U.S. Trade Representative’s Section 301 investigations that address wage suppression, union busting, and anti-competitive measures facing workers of all backgrounds.

Trade Policy Priorities:

• Protect American manufacturing
• Support fair trade rules
• Strengthen domestic industries
• Promote job growth
• Encourage economic stability

The union is actively working through debates on trade and economic policy, since these large-scale policy mechanisms directly impact how many jobs exist, at what wages workers earn, and the long-term industrial competitiveness of the United States. “Better enforcement of these rules in trade agreements and other global forums can ease the push down on wages here in America while stifling abusive behaviours in other countries pushing down employment, especially in manufacturing, into those countries.” UAW officials wrote.