See original UAW posting of Shawn Fain’s November 13, 2024 statement here.
UAW Family,
Last week, the American people decided to give Donald Trump another term as President of the United States. In a democracy, the four most important words are: The People Have Spoken.
And while it’s not the outcome our union advocated for, and it’s not the outcome a majority of our members voted for, our mission remains the same. We must raise the standard of living for our members and the entire working class through unity, solidarity, and working-class power. No matter who is in the White House.
Going into this election, we heard from our CAP Councils, polled our membership, and looked at the records of the two candidates, and the choice was clear. A majority of UAW members were supporting Biden, and then Harris, and a majority voted accordingly.
But for us, this was never about party or personality. 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 we stand today where we stood last week.
We stand for bringing back American jobs.
We stand for renegotiating the broken USMCA trade deal.
We stand for taking on corporations that break their promises to American workers.
And we stand against the same things we’ve always stood against.
We will never support the destruction of the union movement.
We will never support efforts to divide and conquer the working class by nationality, race, and gender.
We will never support handouts to the ultra-wealthy or paying for it by cutting crucial federal investments.
We are unafraid to confront any politician who takes actions that harm the working class, our communities and our unions.
But the UAW will also work with any politician, regardless of party, who stands with the working class.
So, our mission now is to keep our issues on the table.
Our mission is to be loud and clear about where we stand.
Our mission is to stop plant closures and the mass exodus of jobs to low-wage, high-exploitation countries.
Our mission is to stop the race to the bottom as blue-collar jobs are liquidated in service of Wall Street paydays.
Our mission is to ensure a secure retirement, a living wage, adequate healthcare, and work-life balance for every one of our members, and every member of the working class.
Today, our members clock in to the same jobs they clocked into last week. You face the same threats – corporate greed, Wall Street predators, and a political system that ignores us. And we are driven by the same force, as outlined in our UAW Constitution generations ago: “the hope of the worker in advancing society toward the ultimate goal of social and economic justice.”
No matter how you voted, or how you’re feeling about the results, I encourage each and every one of you to get involved. Our UAW Constitution provides for a CAP rep at every plant, CAP Councils in every region, and implores every UAW member to participate in the political process.
And that process does not begin or end with the presidential election. Political action on every level of government, in every state, in every sector has an impact on every contract, every organizing drive, and every standard we win as a union. This union belongs to you, and we want you to get involved today.
In solidarity,
Shawn Fain, President
International Union, UAW
November 13, 2024
