With Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” booming through the convention hall in downtown Detroit, UAW President Shawn Fain on Tuesday, June 16, walked to the podium and met a standing ovation from the thousand-or-so members and delegates to the union’s 39th constitutional convention.
“What we decide today will affect generations to come,” Fain said at the top of his speech. “It is our obligation to lead in this moment. We have to rise to the occasion.”
Fain is campaigning to retain his post as the union’s president in elections this fall. The large support among convention-attending members is to be expected for Fain, a popular lightning rod of a union president who introduced a series of new bargaining and strike tactics during his tenure and efforts to expand membership.
A vocal minority of detractors, though, has criticized his leadership style as overbearing and brutish, with an independent, court-appointed watchdog finding that Fain has behaved “retaliatory” toward top union brass with whom he has disagreed.
First elected in 2023, Fain has continued an aggressive organizing campaign that has membership up to about 400,000 members, still far below the peak membership decades ago of about 1.5 million.
He also quickly became well known beyond his membership after leading the union through an ambitious strike all at once against Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Stellantis. During his keynote address at the union’s quadrennial convention, he was sure to celebrate those victories.
Fain discussed the union’s approach in 2023, during the so-called Stand-Up Strike, and the unusual strategy that secured some of the most lucrative contracts the UAW has ever negotiated.
During those negotiations, Fain made headlines by hosting regular livestreams on social media where he would badmouth the executives and update the membership on developments made at the bargaining table. He said he was the first union president in recent memory to refuse to shake the hands of company executives before bargaining.
“When we would not shake hands that day with (Ford Executive Chair) Bill Ford, they were freaking insulted,” Fain said, adding that the bargaining table was flanked by photos of previous UAW presidents and Ford executives shaking hands.
“I told (Ford) that day, there’s one handshake you ain’t gonna be getting until you treat our members right,” Fain said.
In his convention speech, Fain spoke with contempt about the wealthiest individuals in society, criticizing Tesla CEO Elon Musk specifically, who became the world’s first trillionaire last week, though Fain’s criticisms were not limited to the automotive industry.
Shifting political strategy
He dipped into politics during his speech, too, and said the union plans to be more targeted in its financial support for governmental candidates in the forthcoming midterm elections, diverging from the union’s previous norm of largely supporting Democrats.
“We’re going to invest in candidates that have our back, that share our ideals,” Fain said.
In Michigan, the UAW recently endorsed Abdul El Sayed, the most progressive of three Democrats running in a hotly contested battle for an open Michigan Senate seat, and Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic frontrunner in the gubernatorial race for Michigan.
“There are business people in Congress who are bought and paid for,” Fain said. “We don’t need more of them. We need working-class people in the halls of Congress. …
“We keep switching from one party to another, and one thing keeps happening: The concentration of wealth gets higher and higher, and the working class, we get left further and further behind,” Fain said, before weighing in on right-wing “culture war” talking points.
Fain said criticism of diversity, equity and inclusion or debates over immigration are distractions from what he sees as the key issue — one that a more targeted approach to political support and donations may mend.
“The reason they want you to focus on that … is that they don’t want you to focus on what really matters, and the real reason our lives are struggling: It’s because corporate greed has taken every damn thing,” Fain said.
As Fain concluded his speech, the crowd rose once again for an ovation.
Closed-doors convention
While Fain’s speech was open to the media, much of the decision-making at the convention is happening behind closed doors in the main hall at Huntington Place. Members of the news media are invited in for specific speeches, but escorted out while the union discusses resolutions.
The Detroit News reported Tuesday that previously, those business proceedings and debates were livestreamed in a news media workroom — a process that is no longer in place.
During the proceedings, the union is considering a few key resolutions. Most notably, there are resolutions to codify a popular vote system in union elections, determine how much striking workers should be paid, and broaden the definition of who counts as a retiree.
Reporters were able to observe speeches from AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield, former UAW Vice President Chuck Browning, Detroit’s NAACP President Wendell Anthony and now Fain.
On Tuesday, the union was expected to continue debating resolutions — a process that can see emotions flare — before using Wednesday, in part, to finalize nominations for candidates running in this fall’s election, including any who may challenge Fain for his seat.
Liam Rappleye covers Stellantis and the UAW for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him: LRappleye@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: UAW president Fain celebrates wins, eyes new political strategy at closed-door convention
Reporting by Liam Rappleye, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Liam Rappleye, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
