The UAW has been run by one political group, the Administration Caucus, since the days of Walter Reuther. The Caucus demands loyalty from local officers for whatever policies it puts forward, and that loyalty is the ticket to a coveted job out of the factory, out of the local, and onto the International staff. It is difficult to find a UAW local whose officers are willing to buck the Administration Caucus, which in recent decades has become almost openly pro-management. In 2007, it negotiated the hated two-tier-wage system at the Big Three, which is still in effect today — though moderated because of member revol
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DSA member Chris Viola works at GM’s Hamtramck plant making electric Hummers. While laid off earlier this year he organized full-time with Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD), the rank-and-file group that has been pushing for one-member-one-vote since 2019. He talked about the campaign to win this fall’s vote.