In 2021, UAW members voted overwhelmingly in support of “one member, one vote” direct elections over the old system where delegates chose our International Executive Board.
As a delegate representing UAW Local 160 at the Constitutional Convention that started June 15, I urge my fellow delegates to address the future of direct elections. Our members’ hard-won right could be overturned at future conventions once the federal monitorship ends — as soon as January of next year. That’s why I’m supporting an amendment passed by more than 20 UAW locals that would ensure this couldn’t happen.
We know where our members stand on this issue. Direct elections were overwhelmingly popular in the court-supervised referendum that took place in 2021.
Most of us would find it troubling if our elected representatives could easily overturn our right to vote. That principle should apply here too. When members have voted to adopt a direct election system, that system should not be easily changed by a smaller representative body — delegates at a future Constitutional Convention.
We also know what the delegate system got us: corruption and concessions. Throughout the final decade of delegate elections, members endured concessions that weakened our contracts and confidence in our union. At the same time, top officials were involved in a racketeering, bribery and embezzlement scandal that eventually landed them in prison. All the while, the delegate system continued to produce leaders from the same Administration Caucus.
Since winning direct elections, we have achieved our biggest victories in decades. For the first time in many years, UAW members across industries have seen that we can fight and win ambitious demands. Our Stand Up Strike against the Big Three restored COLA, delivered historic wage increases, and eliminated wage tiers. The 2023 agreements were worth more than our previous four contracts combined.
Since the Stand Up Strike, members at Daimler Truck, Rolls-Royce, Allison Transmission, Electric Boat and beyond have achieved similarly remarkable gains through aggressive bargaining and credible strike threats.
At the same time, our union has been organizing new workplaces on a scale not seen in generations. Thousands of workers at Volkswagen in Chattanooga voted to join our union, opening a new chapter in our effort to organize the nonunion auto industry in the South.
None of these victories happened because of direct elections alone. They happened because members organized and fought for them. But it’s no coincidence this possibility arose when International officers became directly accountable to the membership.
As delegates, we have an important responsibility. We can help set our union on strong footing for the future by ensuring that the members’ priorities will continue to be reflected in our leadership. One member one vote has reinvigorated the UAW membership. Vote yes to protect this organizing, fighting, democratic machine. Vote yes to protect all members’ rights to vote now and in the future.
Gary Chynoweth is a member of UAW Local 160, representing workers at the General Motors Warren Tech Center. He’s also a leader of UAW Member Action. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it in print or online.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: UAW Constitutional Convention can protect direct democracy | Opinion
Reporting by Gary Chynoweth, Op-ed contributor / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Gary Chynoweth, Op-ed contributor | USA TODAY Network
