Resolution: Developing a Plan for UAWD IEB Member Accountability

This resolution was passed at the June 2024 Annual Membership Meeting via Zoom on June 23, 2024.

Resolution: Developing a Plan for UAWD IEB Member Accountability

Submitted by Andrew Bergman (Local 22), Jessie Kelly (Local 160), Tamar Samir (Local 7902), Nolan Tabb (Local 281)

Whereas:

• At our June 2022 Special Membership Meeting, the UAWD membership adopted a proposal for UAWD’s 2022 IEB campaign, which established the plan for how we ran the campaign for UAWD’s Members United slate, and determined that members needed to join UAWD to become a part of the slate.
• At meetings throughout the spring and summer of 2022, we followed our UAWD Endorsement Process for IEB Candidates to build our slate: Shawn Fain, Margaret Mock, Rich Boyer, Mike Booth, LaShawn English, Dan Vicente, and Brandon Mancilla.
• UAWD invested considerable resources in our campaign to elect every member of our slate, raising and spending over $200,000, funding and managing the two UAWD staff members that ran the campaign, and mobilizing hundreds of UAWD members to hand out over 200,000 leaflets and get pledges from thousands of members.
• While a voluntary organization like UAWD has no ability to directly make demands of leaders, it is integral to democratic systems for members to be able to hold elected leaders accountable.
• The UAWD membership values a clear and defined system to communicate member’s needs to our UAWD IEB members and set expectations for our continued support; this system can be established democratically at a UAWD Special General Membership Meeting.
• Each of the following actions, inconsistent with the UAWD Platform or expectations approved by our membership, has been taken by at least one UAWD IEB member:
  • Votes at IEB meetings: for president Curry’s lame duck staff appointments, against President Fain’s initial staff appointments, against funding and resources for the Stand Up Strike and organizing efforts in the South, against the reinstatement of the servicing credit for Local 2320, against the divestment of UAW funds from the State of Israel;
  • Misconduct and abuses of authority, as detailed in this UAWD statement, which was affirmed by the UAWD membership;
  • Failing to provide IEB meeting minutes since June 2023, flouting the PRB ruling that minutes should be available “no later than two weeks prior to the next IEB meeting.”
  • Lack of involvement and communication within UAWD, both when UAWD members have led campaigns and petitions to fight the boss and in responding to Steering Committee requests for information.  
  • Lack of member-first action around contract enforcement issues, including the mass firing of the Stellantis supplemental employees and the GM Special Attrition Program (SAP).

Be it resolved, the UAWD membership instructs our Steering Committee to do the following:

1. On July 28, or any other Sunday afterwards that is prior to the August IEB meeting, call a Special General Membership Meeting, under Article IV, Section 6 of the UAWD Bylaws:
   1. The meeting will be announced as being for this express purpose: To establish plans and policies for holding UAWD members on the IEB accountable to the expectations democratically established by our membership. Appropriate business shall include, but not be limited to: policies for communication with IEB members, requests and expectations of IEB members, criteria for future IEB endorsements, and responses to or statements about IEB member actions;
   2. Consistent with our Bylaws, this meeting will not consider any business other than proposals pertaining to this purpose;
   3. Member proposals for consideration at this meeting will be due one week prior.
2. In order to gauge the IEB members’ current priorities and their commitment to the caucus and our platform, in the weeks preceding the above Special GMM:
   1. Hold a UAWD IEB Strategy Meeting, in accordance with the resolution passed at UAWD’s March 2022 membership meeting to have such meetings monthly;
   2. Invite each UAWD member on the IEB to meet individually with the Steering Committee for the purpose of giving them an opportunity to explain their view and discuss any points of conflict.
   3. In the above two settings, lead discussion about key topics important to the UAWD membership with the IEB members, including to better understand the circumstances around the restructuring of duties in both the Secretary-Treasurer’s Office and the Vice President’s Office overseeing the Stellantis Department.
3. Hold at least one informal brainstorming session, to enable members to consider and discuss priorities with each other, with a goal of generating concrete proposals to submit for the meeting above.