Big 3 Contract Fight HQ
Tentative agreements have been announced at Ford and Stellantis. The change pages for the agreements have not yet been released, but we encourage you to watch the official UAW announcements for Ford and Stellantis, which include overviews of the ratification process.
UAWD will be hosting a Speak Out on Monday, October 30, at 7pm ET. Come hear UAWD’s summary of what was won and what wasn’t in the tentative agreement with Ford, and share your thoughts and questions about the agreements!
Support members still on against General Motors strike by joining a flying squadron! Need supplies for the picket line? Request free supplies for fellow UAW members on strike!
REQUEST SUPPLIES FOR MEMBERS ON STRIKE
Our union family who are still on the picket line are experiencing more and more urgent needs. To respond to this need, UAWD will be raising money to purchase supplies for striking members in the Big Three and other UAW shops. If you are a UAW member, you can request free supplies for fellow UAW members on strike. Donate here!
JOIN A FLYING SQUADRON
UAWD is reviving the old UAW tradition of “Flying Squadrons”. Flying Squadrons are groups of UAW members who are prepared to join fellow members on the picket line in order to reinforce and boost morale. You can learn more about the history of UAW Flying Squadrons here.
BECOME A UAWD MEMBER
UAWD is a democratic organization open for any UAW member to join. To participate in Special Membership Meetings where we will deliberate our caucus strategy over the course of the strike, we invite you to become a member!
UAWD membership is $25 annually. Dues and donations are used for outreach to the membership, website hosting and maintenance, literature, legal fees and organizational costs. All finances come with complete transparency to the membership.
CONTRACT FIGHT FAQ
My local has not been called on to strike yet. What can I do to keep building pressure on the companies?
We may not all be on strike yet, but we are going to stay united in the fight for a strong Big Three contract. Join a UAWD Flying Squadron and build our strike by taking action with your coworkers:
- Make Red Shirt Wednesdays a Team Effort: Find point people from a few different areas who can remind nearby coworkers to wear red on the upcoming Wednesday. Choose a convenient location to take a picture outside, and designate someone to take the picture. Ask those who come to remind their coworkers next week, so you can grow the picture. UAWD can help you print flyers to get the word out about your Red Shirt Wednesday photo; email [email protected] to learn more.
- Hold 10-Minute Meetings: Get in the habit of holding very brief weekly meetings in your area that are easy for your coworkers to attend. Set a timer to make sure they are only ten minutes long. Stick to the agenda, and stop when the timer goes off! You can start by inviting just 3-5 coworkers, but the important thing is to grow the size of the meeting by asking each attendee to invite coworkers to attend next week. Read our Guide to 10-Minute Meetings for more tips.
- Turn Up the Heat with a Practice Picket: If you’ve built enough momentum and have a reliable team who can get members throughout your worksite in action, you’re ready to flex that power with a practice picket. Practice picketing is about showing the companies that we’re united and ready to strike. Read more in our Guide to Practice Picketing.
Why organize contract actions if my local isn't on strike?
“It is imperative that the companies see that EACH local is prepared to Stand Up and go out on strike on a moment’s notice, if called to do so by national UAW leadership.” —UAW’s “Stand Up Strike Frequently Asked Questions”
In order to maintain our leverage, we need to keep the companies on notice. We do this by maintaining the threat that any local is ready to go out if called upon. Contract actions like Red Shirt Wednesdays, practice pickets, rallies, and even holding 10-Minute Meetings on your breaks, remind management that we’re ready to STAND UP.
Want to organize a contract action? Get started here.
How can I support OTHER Big Three members who are on strike?
UAWD is reviving the old UAW tradition of “Flying Squadrons”. Flying Squadrons are groups of UAW members who are prepared to join fellow members on the picket line in order to reinforce and boost morale. You can learn more about the history of UAW Flying Squadrons here.
SIGN UP to join a Flying Squadron! We’ll follow up to sign you up for a shift to join members in the Big Three on the picket line. We encourage you to bring a group of your coworkers with you.
How can I get updates about member actions on the shop floor and the picket line?
Want to keep up with members in the Big Three as we STAND UP and take action, whether on the picket or shop floor? SIGN UP HERE to receive the UAWD Strike Bulletin in your email inbox. Pass it on!
How can I get updates about negotiations and the strike?
The UAW International can send you updates on negotiations and the strike strategy as it unfolds. SIGN UP HERE! You can also tune into regular live updates from Shawn Fain and other members of International leadership on Facebook or YouTube.
What is our strike strategy? What does "Stand Up Strike" mean?
Yesterday, President Fain announced that we will pursue a strategy of striking targeted plants. This strike can grow and change, depending on the state of negotiations. We are calling this the “Stand Up Strike” as locals will be called upon to “Stand Up” and join the strike if needed.
Now is the time for every UAW member to join in on the action. UAWD has three ways to get involved to support the strike.
- Solidarity actions. If you are a worker in the Big Three who is not on strike, you can organize an action with your coworkers, big or small. A UAWD organizer can help you plan a Red Shirt Wednesday Group Photo, shop floor meeting, or practice picket. Sign up here.
- Join the picket line. UAWD will be organizing flying squadrons of fellow UAW members, across all sectors, to join in solidarity on the picket line. Sign up here.
- Read and contribute to UAWD’s Weekly Strike Bulletin. UAWD is producing a weekly strike bulletin to share stories and strategies from the picket line! We welcome readers and also contributors with important stories and issues to cover. Sign up here.
Latest from UAWD
CONTRACT CAMPAIGN Updates
UAWD in the News: Union Reformers Made Labor History in 2023. They’re Just Getting Started.
Barry Eidlin writes for In These Times: None of what Fain’s administration has accomplished in its few short months in office would have been possible without the organizing that UAWD did first to win the right to vote, then to get the Members United slate elected....
UAWD in the News: Direct Elections for Labor Leaders Make for More Militant Unions
Chris Bohner writes for Jacobin about how this year’s biggest contract victories have been won by unions in which members directly elect their leaders: "A robust democratic process certainly played a major role in the United Auto Workers (UAW) contract fight with the...
UAWD in the News: The UAW Has Had a Big Year. They’re Preparing for an Even Bigger One.
Alex Press writes for Jacobin about how the UAW launched a historic strike at the Big Three in 2023—and how 2024 might be an even bigger year: The United Auto Workers (UAW) has had a historic year. Coming into 2023, the union had held its first-ever direct elections...
Big Three Tentative Agreement Ratification Results
As of November 20, UAW members at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis voted to ratify their new contracts, locking in record gains at the Big Three automakers. According to the UAW website, 64% of voting members across the three companies voted in favor of the...
UAWD in the Detroit News: Approved UAW deals mark reshaped union
Breana Noble, Kalea Hall, and Hayley Harding write for The Detroit News: Chris Budnick, an 11-year employee at Ford working at the Kentucky Truck plant, voted yes on the deal, even though he would have liked to see a larger wage increase sooner and health care...
UAWD in the News: After a Long Defeat, Labor Is Rising from the Ashes
Stephen Franklin writes for In These Times: The recently elected heads of those two unions proclaimed unprecedented and seemingly risky contract demands because they had pitched themselves to their rank and file as new voices that would shake up their unions. This was...
