Breana Noble, Jordyn Grzelewski, and Kalea Hall write about UAWD’s role for the Detroit News (subscriber only):

Nearly 1,000 United Auto Workers members will descend upon downtown next week for the union’s quadrennial constitutional convention — an event with major implications at a pivotal time for one of the country’s largest and most influential unions.

It’s the first constitutional convention since the UAW reached a consent decree with the Justice Department. That reform agreement followed a years-long federal corruption investigation, resulting in the convictions of 17 people, including two former presidents. It also resulted in a referendum in which members voted to institute direct elections of the 13 International Executive Board members. The first will start in October.

The article features UAWD’s own Ray Jensen:

Ray Jensen, a GM powertrain employee at the automaker’s Tonawanda powertrain plant in New York and an alternate delegate, plans to support Fain for president. Jensen, who will be at the convention as an alternate delegate for his local, has been a supporter of direct elections and is a member of Unite All Workers for Democracy, UAWD, a reform-minded caucus within in the union.

“I feel the Administration Caucus has been in power for too long,” he said, “and they are basically a good ol’ boys club. … They move people up without any input from the membership. It’s good that the membership has a voice.”

Read more at the Detroit News.