Sean O’Brien’s comments during his interview with Sen. Josh Hawley stating that “people are trying to protect illegal aliens that come here and commit crimes … and steal jobs” gives cover for the bosses to continue pitting workers against each other. Harold Daggett credited Trump with being a “true friend of the working class” after securing a tentative Master Contract in early January. Fain spent so much time at the DNC calling Trump a scab and how he will hurt workers to then support his tariff plan.

Right now is the time when unions need to be working towards independent political action, not tailing the Democrats or Republicans. O’Brien’s speech at the RNC in July 2024 was welcomed, not because Republicans are going to be a party for workers, but because it represented an opening in our ability to reach conservative workers with a class-oriented message.

The lack of an independent labor party in the United States means that inevitably there will be a rightward shift as more people pull away from the Democratic Party. Misleaders like O’Brien, Daggett, and Fein only encourage a rightward drift even more with their sloganeering about “protecting American jobs”. Fain’s comments may not have been xenophobic like O’Brien’s, but a tariff war and attack on immigrants both objectively help the bosses. The working class needs unity now the most, not more division.

The post EDITORIAL: Misleaders of Labor Drift Rightward Towards Trump appeared first on Labor Today.

UAW President Shawn Fain released a statement on November 13^th discussing the election and that the issues of today remained unchanged. In it he also states, “As we have said consistently, both parties share blame for the one-sided class war that corporate America has waged on our union, and on working-class Americans for decades.” And yet, Fain was the one who lauded Kamala Harris and Tim Walz during his DNC speech for “standing shoulder to shoulder with the working class” and also credited Joe Biden among the striking workers for contract wins against Ford, GM, and Stellantis. But these two things cannot exist simultaneously. Either both Biden and Harris were on the side of the working class or they were not. Fain’s comments about how “this was never about party or personality” flies in the face of everything business unionists proclaimed leading up to the election. Furthermore, Fain says the UAW, “will never support the destruction of the union movement”, but campaigned for a presidential candidate that actively worked to prevent a rank-and-file led railroad workers strike in 2022.

The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) President, Jimmy Williams Jr. released a statement stating, “the Democratic Party failed to offer a compelling working class agenda”. And yet, unions spent months of time, energy and money campaigning for Harris. The AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions have long been an appendage of the Democratic Party so it is likely that these unions will learn nothing and line up to support Democrats in the next election. The timid criticism of the Democratic Party post-election, instead of shifting towards independent political action, appears like damage control from leaders attempting to rein in their rank-and-file who are less than enthusiastic to continue supporting Democrats year after year.

Unlike business unionists, United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE) provided a more nuanced approach when referring to the 2024 election. They specifically mentioned that Biden has an awful record on many issues and that they were not endorsing him (and by that extension Harris as they criticized her clearly undemocratic nomination), but that they had seen some gains under the Biden administration and encouraged working people to vote “in order to live to fight another day” while also pushing for independent political labor movement. The UE has since gone on to further advocate for a labor party and deepening the political struggle. This is where our decision now lies. Instead of waiting another three years for business unionist leaders to endorse another Democrat amid sinking popularity, we need to “get serious about building a true political alternative, a labor party that can unite and speak for the working class”. Unions such as the Teamsters, International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), UE, and United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 3000 all decided to not endorse either candidate in this election, showing the opportunity is brewing for a labor-led anti-monopoly coalition.

The post EDITORIAL: Opportunism of Labor Leaders Evident from Post-Election Statements appeared first on Labor Today.

In February 2024, the UAW announced committing $40 million through 2026 in new organizing funds to support non-union autoworkers and battery workers who are organizing across the country, and particularly in the South. The UAW International Executive Board voted to commit the funds in response to an explosion in organizing activity among non-union auto and battery workers, in order to meet the moment and grow the labor movement.

In the next few years, the electric vehicle battery industry is slated to add tens of thousands of jobs across the country, and new standards are being set as the industry comes online. These jobs will supplement, and in some cases largely replace, existing powertrain jobs in the auto industry. Through a massive new organizing effort, workers will fight to maintain and raise the standard in the emerging battery industry.

In April 2024, workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, TN voted to join the UAW with 73% in favor of the union. About 83% of all the workers turned out for the vote. A couple of months later, the UAW lost a unionization drive at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, AL on the heels of a multi-million dollar disinformation campaign by the company and threats by Alabama lawmakers.

The UAW is not only organizing auto plants, but also the battery factories for automobiles. In September this year, workers at the Spring Hill, TN plant of Ultium, which makes EV batteries for GM vehicles, voted to join the UAW. Other EV companies have unionized with unions like the Communication Workers of America (CWA) like workers at the New Flyer factory in Alabama. They formed a union with the CWA joining a string of US organizing victories at its parent NFI Group Inc., North America’s biggest manufacturer of transit buses.

With the presidential election looming and the cost of living rising, LUEL applauds the organizing of the UAW and other unions in the South. The only way to fight the rising cost of living and push back against the bosses is organizing the working class in this country. These campaigns are leading the way in rebuilding the American labor movement into a fighting force for all working class people.

The post EDITORIAL: UAW Southern Organizing Campaign Leads a Rebuilding Labor Movement appeared first on Labor Today.

You can find the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDKxbP76_xo

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https://www.youtube.com/@laborunited

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At a time when labor militancy is on the rise, Fain has continued the path of labor misleaders falling in line behind the Democratic Party. Where O’Brien went into enemy territory to give the closest thing to a class-based speech a Business Unionist can give at the RNC, Fain, while also using the language of class, showed up to play fealty to Democratic Presidential Nominee, Kamala Harris. Harris, who in her only chance to back up her pro-worker rhetoric with action, went missing in action when she had the opportunity to use her power as Vice President to override the Senate Parliamentarian’s blocking of increasing the federal minimum wage in 2021. A move that contradicts Fain’s claim that Kamala Harris is a “fighter for the working class.”

What these speeches make clear is that when push comes to shove, the misleaders of labor will fall in line with the Democrats rather than see the workers’ fight all the way through. One noticeable example was the silence of the majority of labor “leaders” as the Biden Administration brought the hammer down on railroad workers as they were about to go on strike over disastrously dangerous working conditions, increasing the possibility of a major accident like the East Palestine, OH derailment in February of last year.

While much of the substance behind O’Brien’s and Fain’s speeches is true, their coddling of the two parties of monopoly capital shows the rank-and-file members that they are not prepared for the fight against what Shawn Fain calls corporate greed. In reality, the fight is against monopoly capitalism, and their financial backers, the system which pits workers against ever-increasing profits. Without a full-on struggle via anti-monopoly labor, the working class as a whole, will continue to fall behind.

We cannot agree more with Shawn Fain when he said, “We need a defender of the working class in the White House, someone who is one of us, and someone who knows how to fight.” The only way to do this is the building of a Party built out of an anti-monopoly coalition led by a class-oriented trade union movement. Hitching our wagons to either Party owned and operated by our bosses is not a path forward for an offensive fight from labor, we need our own Party that unites all the truly progressive forces in the US.

While it is too late to build an anti-monopoly coalition to affect the 2024 National elections, now is the time to start the struggle. Workers who are not regularly active politically are more engaged, now is the time to reach them. All class-oriented trade unionists need to heed this call and start pressuring your unions to steer resources away from political campaigns and toward organizing the unorganized. Step up, stand up, and organize the rank-and-file of your locals. Join the campaign started by Railroad Workers United in the struggle for nationalization of the railroads. Come, join LUEL and lead the fight, we have nothing to lose but our chains!

The post EDITORIAL: Political Conventions Show the Only Path Forward for Working Class is an Anti-Monopoly Coalition appeared first on Labor Today.

Many of Fain’s comments are true. Trump laughed about Elon Musk firing striking workers and Republicans often use race, LGBTQ+ and the border issue to keep the working class divided. There is no doubt that corporate greed and stock buybacks hurt the working class. But to claim that because Harris walked a couple picket lines with UAW (one in 2019 and another in 2023 allegedly) she is suddenly an advocate for workers wipes away how President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have actively aided the bosses. Let us not forget in December 2022, Biden used the Railway Labor Act to prevent a railroad strike and instead forced workers to accept the tentative agreement even though it had been rejected by a majority of rank and file union members.

This is especially egregious considering at the time, negotiations had been ongoing since 2019. Companies like BNSF were granting workers zero sick time and with the implementation of precision scheduled railroading, gave workers less free time, required them to be on call for weeks at a time and saw railroad fatalities increase from staffing cuts. President Biden objectively helped the bosses in preventing a strike in an industry where workers are abused daily and that is in need of tremendous reform. Simply walking a picket line is using workers as a prop to claim a pro-worker image.

Then there’s her work as an Attorney General in California. Harris was notorious for being the “Sheriff of Silicon Valley”, but even worse was her opposition to releasing non-violent offenders from prison (even after they served their full sentence) claiming it would hurt the prison’s labor program. Prison labor is well-known for paying abysmal wages, often pennies per hour, for products to be manufactured and even recruiting inmates into fighting California wildfires.

Shawn Fain’s comments on auto plants closing while “Trump did nothing” during his presidency and Biden walking picket lines acting as a catalyst towards the UAW win undermines the work that union rank-and-file members put towards securing a huge win with the big three auto manufacturers (Ford, GM, Stellantis).

Fain’s cheap use of the phrase “which side are you on”, a common lyric from a song by Florence Reese (and later sung by Pete Seeger) of the same name, to describe this upcoming election, is insulting. In the song, Reese describes the fight the United Mine Workers (UMW) went through in Harlan County and that “you’ll either be a union man or a thug for J.H. Blair”. Divorcing the phrase from the struggle for workers’ rights to then use it in reference to voting in an election between two parties that are both objectively puppets of the bosses spits in the face of those who have fought hard for workers across this country.

It is true, the American working class “is fired up and fed up”. Workers are seeing their paychecks swallowed by inflation while they’re given crumbs and told they should be grateful. The solution to this though, is not to entice them to vote for Democrats once again. A party that, as of 2022, has shown how it really feels about workers.

The post EDITORIAL: UAW President Shawn Fain’s DNC Speech Shows Labor Leadership Still Beholden to Democrats appeared first on Labor Today.

President Biden,

We write to publicly call upon your Administration to immediately halt all military aid to Israel as part of the work to secure an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the war in Gaza.

We all shared hope that the three-part ceasefire proposal you outlined in the final week of May would bear fruit, allowing for the immediate end of violence, the safe return of hostages, and the creation of space for a lasting peace.

As we write you today, however, neither Israel nor Hamas has accepted the agreement as proposed. Prime Minister Netanyahu and his cabinet members have publicly refused key elements of the deal, despite your characterizing it as an Israeli proposal.

As you said on May 31, the Israeli response has “devastated Hamas forces over the past eight months” and that “Hamas [is] no longer capable of carrying out another October 7th.” Yet it is clear that the Israeli government will continue to pursue its vicious response to the horrific attacks of October 7th until it is forced to stop.

We believe that immediately cutting US military aid to the Israeli government is necessary
to bring about a peaceful resolution to this conflict.

Recent reports only underscore the urgency of our demands. Large numbers of Palestinian civilians, many of them children, continue to be killed, reportedly often with US-manufactured bombs. Rising tensions in the region threaten to ensnare even more innocent civilians in a wider war. And the humanitarian crisis deepens by the day, with famine, mass displacement, and destruction of basic infrastructure including schools and hospitals. We have spoken directly to leaders of Palestinian trade unions who told us heart-wrenching stories of the conditions faced by working people in Gaza.

Furthermore, Israel’s refusal to minimize civilian harm and its demonstrated restriction of U.S. humanitarian aid call for a halt to U.S. military aid under the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Control Export Act.

Mr. President, the time to act decisively to end this war is now. Stopping US military aid to Israel is the quickest and most sure way to do so, it is what U.S. law demands, and it will show your commitment to securing a lasting peace in the region.

Signed,
Association of Flight Attendants (AFA)
American Postal Workers Union (APWU)
International Union of Painters (IUPAT)
National Education Association (NEA)
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
United Auto Workers (UAW)
United Electrical Workers (UE)

The post Seven Unions Call on Biden to Halt All Military Aid to Israel appeared first on Labor Today.

The UAW included seven violations in their charge to Mercedes-Benz such as:

• The termination of a worker with stage 4 cancer that was also a union supporter.
• A letter sent by Mercedes-Benz U.S. International CEO Michael Gobel in January that violated the workers freedom of association.
• Two mandatory plant meetings with Gobel in February that discouraged workers from unionizing and passing out union apparel.

“Autoworkers in Alabama should have the same rights and be treated with the same respect as autoworkers in Germany. My coworkers and I are grateful to the German government for taking our testimonies and the evidence we have provided seriously and taking the first steps to hold the lawless, reckless Mercedes managers in Alabama accountable for their action.”

• Jeremy Kimbrell, Alabama plant worker

Workers at the Vance, AL plant have recorded a history of intimidation and violations from the company including being illegally fired for taking protected leave and were in turn awarded $438,625 by the US Department of Labor. Ultimately, the union election that took place on May 17^th resulted in a defeat for the workers with 56% voting against unionization.

The post German Government Investigating Mercedes-Benz for Actions During UAW Drive appeared first on Labor Today.

Trump took the fight to social media, claiming “Shawn Fain is a Weapon of Mass Destruction on Auto Workers and the Automobile Manufacturing Industry in the United States! Is he under contract to China, because they will be getting almost all of our car-making business within a very short period of time. All Auto Workers should VOTE FOR TRUMP. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Trump’s claim was basically that these workers are going to lose their jobs because their Union President is working behind their backs to get car manufacturers to instead produce cars in China. The objective result of this is that he is effectively unraveling the relationship between the union rank and file and their leadership.

Newly elected UAW president, Shawn Fain, had recently pledged support of the UAW to Trump’s opponent, Joe Biden. Trump was most likely responding to this decision to win back some of the votes of the rank-and-file UAW members.

It is also possible that Trump’s greater aim was not simply to win their votes, but to cause disunity and disarray amongst the union itself. Had Trump genuinely sought their votes, and possibly the backing of the UAW at large, it would have been a more effective approach to instead pledge his support to the unions and workers themselves. However, supporting the labor movement and unions in general objectively goes against Trump’s class interests. For, had he pledged his support for them, he would be forced to go over to their side and turn against his billionaire capitalist counterparts.

While nearly all the major unions have endorsed President Biden, not all unions are arrayed against Trump. He managed to secure the endorsement of Steamfitters Union Local 638 which represents 10,000 members throughout New York. Likewise, many union members themselves, especially amongst the building trades, are willing to cast their lot in with Trump. The Teamsters, one of the largest unions in the US, have not yet endorsed either Biden or Trump, making the American labor movement split on this election.

The post Trump Takes Aim at UAW to Sow Division in the Labor Movement in 2024 Elections appeared first on Labor Today.

The organizing drive took place amid a barrage of anti-union backlash. The workers faced an uphill battle as both Alabama politicians and Mercedes-Benz launch anti-union drives. In March, workers at the Vance, AL plant filed federal charges against Mercedes-Benz for their illegal union busting tactics including meetings where workers were required to watch anti-union videos as well as illegal terminations in retaliation for union activity.

“During the meeting, I told management that it was suspicious that I was being called into the office on the same day that I spoke up in anti-union meeting. My manager said the two had nothing to do with one another, but then proceeded to aggressively interrogate me about why I support having a union.”

Taylor Snipes, Mercedes Battery Plant Worker

• The final vote concluded with 2045 in favor and 2642 against, marking a defeat for the UAW.

“The UAW will continue to lead the fight against corporate greed and runaway inequality. And through that fight we’ll change the nation and the world for the better. While this loss stings, these workers keep their heads held high. We fight the good fight and continue forward.”

            – Shawn Fain, President of UAW

The post UAW Organizing Campaign Faces Set-Back as Mercedes-Benz Workers Vote Against Union Representation appeared first on Labor Today.