The United Auto Workers (UAW), officially called the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union. It represents workers in the United States, including Puerto Rico, and in southern Ontario, Canada.
The UAW was created as part of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in the 1930s. It grew quickly between 1936 and the 1950s. The union was important to the liberal group within the Democratic Party, especially during the leadership of Walter Reuther, who was president from 1946 to 1970. The union helped workers in the automotive industry get higher wages and better pensions. However, after the 1970s, it struggled to organize auto plants built by foreign car companies in the southern United States. Membership declined because of more automation, less use of workers, poor management, the movement of manufacturing jobs (including effects from NAFTA), and global economic changes. In 2023, the union successfully led a strike against the Big Three car companies. In 2024, it organized its first foreign plant, owned by Volkswagen (VW).
Today, UAW members work in industries such as automobiles, auto parts, healthcare, 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 over 580,000 retired members. These members are part of more than 600 local unions and have 1,150 contracts with about 1,600 employers. The union has assets worth more than $1 billion.
History
The UAW was formed through an effort by the American Federation of Labor (AFL) to organize workers. The AFL had focused on skilled workers in specific trades, 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 leader William Green decided to recruit unskilled and semi-skilled workers. He planned to create temporary groups called "federal labor unions" (FLUs), which would later join AFL craft unions. William Collins was sent to Detroit, the center of the automobile industry, to start this work. However, Collins faced challenges, including a lack of funds, fear among workers, distrust from Black and foreign workers, and opposition from car companies. By 1935, many 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 in Toledo against General Motors (GM), the AFL agreed to hold a meeting to form the UAW.
The UAW’s first meeting took place on August 26, 1935, in Detroit. At that time, the union had 25,769 members. The AFL tried to control the union by requiring members to choose officers through a process that limited their choices. However, militant local unions quickly changed this rule, creating tension with the AFL. In 1936, the UAW joined a group called the Committee for Industrial Organization, led by John L. Lewis. 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 a tactic called the sitdown strike. In this method, workers stayed at their workstations to stop production in a factory. This strategy allowed small groups of workers to halt entire plants and affect supply chains. After winning sitdown strikes at GM plants in Atlanta and Kansas City, the UAW demanded to represent all GM workers. Their efforts reached a major point with 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 resisted attempts by police and the National Guard to remove them. On February 11, 1937, GM agreed to negotiate with the UAW and eventually recognized it as a bargaining representative under the National Labor Relations Act. This agreement marked a key moment 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 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 attacked union organizers in front of reporters. Although Ford tried to hide the incident, photos of the attack reached the public and turned 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 providing jobs when other companies did not. Some feared that Black workers would be ignored once the union secured their votes. It took four years of efforts for the UAW to win the right to represent Ford employees. On May 21, 1941, after a strike at Ford’s Rouge plant, most employees, including many Black workers, voted to join the UAW. The UAW secured better terms with Ford, including higher pay, a closed shop, and rehiring of union supporters. The agreement also included a non-discrimination clause written by Shelton Tappes, a Black foundryman on the UAW negotiating team.
Communists played a major role in organizing the UAW and led some local groups, such as Local 600, which represented Ford’s largest plants. Communist leaders held key positions in the union, including roles in the Washington office, research, and legal departments. Walter Reuther worked with Communists at times but later formed an anticommunist group within the UAW. Reuther and other leaders realized the union needed to control its members to be effective. He explained in 1939, "We must show that we are a disciplined, responsible organization; we not only have power, but that we have power under control."
World War II changed the UAW’s work. The union’s leaders agreed to a "no strike" pledge to avoid disrupting the war effort. A small group opposed this decision, but the pledge was later approved by members. As war production increased and auto factories shifted to making tanks, the UAW organized new groups in these factories and airplane plants across the country. Membership reached over a million in 1944. That same year, Lillian Hatcher became the first Black woman to serve as an international representative for the UAW.
In 1945, the UAW went on an 113-day strike against GM, 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 with few other changes. The UAW continued to negotiate better wages and benefits with GM through collective bargaining without government support.
Walter Reuther became president of the UAW in 1946 and remained in that role until his death in 1970. He led the union during a time of strong worker growth in the U.S. After the war, some workers demanded a "30–40" plan, which would give workers 40 hours of pay for 30 hours of work. Reuther rejected this idea and instead focused on increasing total annual wages. This approach reflected a new mindset that accepted management’s argument that shorter hours could conflict with wage increases and other benefits, moving away from earlier confrontational strategies.
Technical, Office, and Professional (TOP) workers
In 1989, District 65, which was once part of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and had earlier been part of the United Office and Professional Workers of America, joined the UAW.
In 2008, 6,500 postdoctoral scholars at the ten campuses of the University of California voted to join the UAW. These scholars, who make up 10% of all postdocs in the United States, formed UAW Local 5810, the largest union for postdoctoral scholars in the country. This move by the UAW into academic settings was important because it helped postdocs receive higher pay and gain new rights and protections that were not available before.