The United Auto Workers (UAW), officially called the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and southern Ontario, Canada.
It was formed as part of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in the 1930s and grew quickly from 1936 to the 1950s. The union supported the Democratic Party’s progressive policies under the leadership of Walter Reuther (president 1946–1970). It was known for helping automotive workers earn high wages and pensions, but it struggled to organize auto plants built by foreign car makers in the South after the 1970s. Membership then declined steadily due to reasons like increased automation, less use of labor, poor management, the movement of manufacturing (including effects of NAFTA), and greater globalization. After a successful strike at the Big Three automakers in 2023, the union organized its first foreign plant (VW) in 2024.
UAW members in the 21st century work in industries such as autos and auto parts, health care, casino gambling, and higher education. The union is based in Detroit, Michigan. As of February 24, 2022, the UAW had more than 391,000 active members and more than 580,000 retired members across over 600 local unions. It held 1,150 contracts with about 1,600 employers and had assets worth just over $1 billion.
History
The UAW was created during an organizing effort by the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The AFL had focused on organizing skilled workers in specific trades, an approach called craft unionism. In the early 1930s, most automobile workers were not skilled, so they were not part of unions. This changed after the National Industrial Recovery Act was passed in 1933. AFL president William Green decided to recruit unskilled and semi-skilled workers. He planned to organize workers into temporary "federal labor unions" (FLUs), which would later be divided among AFL craft unions. William Collins was sent to Detroit, the center of the automobile industry, to begin this work. Collins faced challenges, including a weak strategy, limited funds, fear among workers, distrust from Black and foreign workers, and opposition from car companies. By 1935, most FLU members were recruited by local activists outside Michigan. These activists opposed the AFL’s plan to split workers into craft unions and instead pushed for a single union for all automobile workers. After a successful strike by a Toledo local against General Motors (GM), the AFL agreed to hold a convention.
The UAW’s founding convention began on August 26, 1935, in Detroit. Its member unions had 25,769 people. The AFL tried to control the union by requiring that officers be chosen by the AFL, not by members. However, militant local unions quickly changed this, creating tension with AFL leaders. The UAW joined John L. Lewis’s group of industrial unions, the Committee for Industrial Organization, in 1936. When the AFL removed industrial unions in 1938, the UAW became part of the new Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).
The UAW’s success grew when it organized workers using sitdown strikes, where workers occupied factories to stop production. This tactic allowed small groups to halt entire plants and disrupt supply chains. After winning sitdown strikes at GM plants in Atlanta and Kansas City, the UAW demanded to represent GM workers nationwide. Their efforts led to the Flint sit-down strike, which began on December 30, 1936. By January 25, strikes and production shutdowns affected 150,000 workers at 50 GM plants across the country. Strikers stopped police and National Guard attempts to remove them. On February 11, 1937, GM agreed to negotiate with the UAW and eventually recognized it as a bargaining agent under the new National Labor Relations Act. This agreement marked a major turning point for the UAW and organized labor. The following month, Chrysler workers also recognized the UAW after a sitdown strike. By mid-1937, the UAW had 150,000 members and was expanding across Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.
Ford Motor Company was the last of the "Big Three" automakers to recognize the UAW. Henry Ford and his security manager, Harry Bennett, used force to prevent unionization. They created the Ford Service Department to spy on and intimidate workers. At the Battle of the Overpass, Ford employees beat union organizers in front of reporters. Despite Ford’s efforts, photos of the event reached the public, turning opinion against the company. However, Ford refused to sign a contract. The UAW struggled to gain support from Black workers, as many felt loyal to Ford for hiring and paying them well. Some feared that Black workers would be ignored after helping the union. It took four years of organizing for the UAW to win the right to represent Ford employees. On May 21, 1941, after a strike at Ford’s Rouge plant, a majority of workers, including most Black employees, voted to join the UAW. The UAW secured better terms from Ford, including pay raises, a closed shop, and rehiring of pro-union workers. The agreement also included a non-discrimination clause written by Shelton Tappes, a Black foundryman on the UAW negotiating team.
Communists helped organize the UAW and led some key local unions, including Local 600, which represented Ford’s largest plants. Communist members held important roles in the union, such as director of the Washington office, research department, and legal office. Walter Reuther sometimes worked with Communists but later formed an anticommunist group within the UAW. The UAW realized it needed to control union behavior to be effective, as members often resisted being told what to do by company or union leaders. Reuther emphasized the need for discipline, stating in 1939: “We must show we are a responsible, organized group; we have power, but we must control it.”
World War II changed the UAW’s work. The UAW’s leaders agreed to a “no strike” pledge to avoid disrupting the war effort, despite opposition from some members. As war production increased, the UAW organized new locals in factories and airplane plants, reaching over a million members by 1944. That year, Lillian Hatcher became the first Black female international representative of the UAW.
The UAW went on strike against GM for 113 days in November 1945, demanding more influence in management. GM agreed to higher wages but refused to share power. The union settled for an 18.5-cent wage increase and little else. The UAW continued to negotiate better wages and benefits with GM through collective bargaining, without government support.
Walter Reuther was elected UAW president in 1946 and remained in that role until his death in 1970. He led the union during a time of strong worker growth. After the war, some workers pushed for a “30–40” plan, which would reduce work hours to 30 while keeping pay for 40. Reuther opposed this and focused instead on increasing total annual wages, showing a new approach that accepted management’s argument that shorter hours conflicted with wage and benefit increases.
Technical, Office, and Professional (TOP) workers
District 65, a former group that was once part of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and had earlier been connected to the United Office and Professional Workers of America, joined the UAW in 1989.
In 2008, the 6,500 postdoctoral scholars at the ten campuses of the University of California, who together make up 10% of all postdoctoral scholars in the United States, chose to join the UAW. This created UAW Local 5810, the largest union for postdoctoral scholars in the country. The UAW’s growth into academic settings, especially with postdoctoral researchers, was important because it helped improve pay for unionized academic researchers and provided them with new rights and protections that had never been seen before.