Worker-Powered Autumn is heating up in Region 6! UAW members across the Western States have been spending this fall building political power to advance members’ issues and take on corporate greed: canvassing to elect pro-labor candidates, continuing the critical push for a ceasefire and arms embargo on Israel, building a worker-led green economy. Members are also organizing to pass legislation at the city and state levels: for example, in Bellingham, WA, Local 4549 members are organizing for a city ordinance to ban junk rental fees like pet, admin, and parking fees; and members in California were part of the successful effort to pass a new state law banning captive audience meetings. Keep reading below to learn more about actions members are taking across the region to build political power this fall.

Workers in Region 6 have also hit critical milestones in new organizing campaigns this month: Grad Student Workers at University of Nevada Reno & University of Nevada Las Vegaslaunched their card organizing drive in their effort to form a union, and Research Coordinators & Consultants at University of Washington filed with majority support to form their union and join Local 4121.

Local 509 members at Monogram Aerospace are on their 9th week of striking for a contract with a living wage and affordable healthcare. UAW members at Monogram are predominantly women and people of color, and many are facing economic hardship during this prolonged strike. Please help support Local 509 members by contributing to the strike fund – any amount helps.

Finally, tonight was the first State of the UAW Town Hall livestream with President Shawn Fain, to discuss our collective organizing to build a better future, stop corporate greed and strengthen our union. If you missed the livestream, check out a recording here.

Take Action

October 12-13: Get out the vote in Arizona and Nevada alongside hundreds of other UAW Region 6 members. Members in California, Arizona, and Nevada are encouraged to knock doors in person (buses for Las Vegas, Reno, and Phoenix will leave from a variety of locations around California). All other members are encouraged to join phone banks that weekend. RSVP here & find more info here.
Every Wednesday, 6:30-8:30pm: Phone bank with the Region 6 Gender, Civil, and Human Rights Committee.Every week until the election, the Region 6 GCHRC is hosting phone banks over zoom with Supermajority, calling women voters in battleground states. RSVP here.
Thursday 10/17, 7-9pm: All out for UAW Member Jonathan Tasini. All Region 6 members are encouraged to join a phone bank over zoom to call voters in Portland, OR about electing UAW member Jonathan Tasini to Portland City Council. RSVP here, and scroll down to get to know Jonathan more!
Register to vote, and make sure your voter registration is up to date. Find information about your state on our Region 6 Voter Registration webpage.
Make your voting plan! Whether voting in person or by mail, it’s not too early to make your voting plan. Check out a full list of candidates and propositions endorsed by Region 6 members on the UAW Endorsements page.

The Bread Box, Ballot Box, & NLRB

Joel Benefield, Local 230 & Brandon Macias, Local 509

In the famous words of the late Walter Reuther, “There is a direct connection between the ballot box and the bread box.” As we stride closer and closer to our November 5th election, it is now glaringly apparent that our votes today are just as important as when Reuther said this so many years ago. Bread boxes used to be found in just about every single home, where how “well-off” someone was, was shown by how full the box was with actual bread. Nowadays the word bread is synonymous with economic security and being able to provide for your family.

While navigating political views with friends and family can be a difficult and sometimes confusing subject, our labor movement has shown us various ways how politics and labor are directly connected. One example is how the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is structured and the process of appointing the members of the board. The NLRB is an agency of the federal government of the U.S., made up of a board of five members and a general counsel. The NLRB enforces U.S. labor law, including in relation to collective bargaining, organizing, and unfair labor practices. Board members are appointed for five year terms and the general counsel is appointed to four year terms. The President of the United States appoints the members and the general counsel with the consent of the Senate. The president also designates one of the members of the board to serve as chairperson and has the power to designate another member to be chairperson at any time.

Then in 2018, President Trump nominated, and the Senate confirmed, new NLRB members, changing the composition to a 3-2 Republican majority. Trump’s NLRB issued decisions that made it easier for employers to restrict employees’ rights to engage in protected concerted activity, and overturned an Obama-era decision that held employers liable for labor violations committed by their subcontractors. It also proposed reversing the 2016 grad workers ruling – a proposal that was ultimately withdrawn by the Biden administration’s NLRB in 2021, thanks to pressure from the growing wave of organizing by grad workers.

As you can see, not everything is set in stone, and a win today can be taken away tomorrow. As Walter Reuther also said: “What the union fights for and wins at the bargaining table can be taken away in the legislative halls.” The livelihoods, rights, and liberties of working people in the US – and globally – hang in the balance in this election cycle. We can build more leverage to continue and expand our wins by endorsing politicians who are committed to advancing our issues, and by pushing them to support our fights once in office.

Member's Issues on the Ballot

In addition to electing candidates who will support our issues once in office, members are also organizing to advance workers’ issues through city and state level ballot initiatives, propositions, and constitutional amendments. Below you’ll find some of the key issues members are building power for across the Region, and find a full list of endorsements in your state here.

Abortion Access in Arizona & Nevada

Sarah Van Dijk, Local 4811
Members in Arizona, vote YES on Prop 139.
Members in Nevada, vote YES on Amendment 1.

As a woman from Arizona, I have seen the attack on our access to reproductive healthcare up close. Even before the Trump Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, right-wing agitators surrounded Planned Parenthood clinics in Arizona to intimidate women out of seeking the care we needed. My friends and family in Arizona do not have the option to leave the state—the only way to protect their rights is to put the right to abortion in the state constitution by passing Prop 139. The same goes for Nevada, where voters have the option to secure the right to an abortion by passing Amendment 1. I will be proudly helping get out the vote in support of Prop 139 in Phoenix this fall, and I urge all UAW members in Nevada to vote Yes on Amendment 1 as well!

Ending Forced Labor in California & Nevada

Joel Benefield, Local 230
Members in California, vote YES on Prop 6
Members in Nevada, vote YES on Question 4.

This November, California and Nevada voters will decide whether to end forced labor in state prisons. In California, Assembly Constitutional Amendment 8 (Prop 6) seeks to end involuntary servitude as a form of criminal punishment, which could affect the over 65,000 work assignments required of incarcerated people in California prisons each year. Similarly, in Nevada, Question 4 would remove language from the state constitution that allows slavery or involuntary servitude to be used as criminal punishment. Across the US, incarcerated workers face retaliation and dehumanization for refusing dangerous tasks, and involuntary labor is often required at the expense of rehabilitation and education programs. This issue goes as far as one inmate noting the way forced labor was prioritized over his educational goals during his 17 years of incarceration.

Collective Bargaining for Tenants in Berkeley, CA

Khalid Mahmood, Local 4811
Members in Berkeley, vote YES on Measure BB.

In the East Bay, UAW members have been active in pushing for Measure BB, a transformative tenants’ rights measure that would enshrine collective bargaining rights with landlords. It’s directly competing against Measure CC, a landlord-backed measure that would make it easier to raise rent and evict tenants. It’s critical that voters hear the truth about these measures directly. Members have been going out every weekend to talk to voters, with multiple upcoming opportunities. You can RSVP here: bit.ly/yesonbb.

Minimum Wage & Captive Audience Meetings in Alaska

Amelia McCarthy, Local 1907
Members in Alaska, vote YES on Ballot Measure 1.

In Alaska, members of Local 1907 are fighting to win Alaska’s Minimum Labor Standards Initiative (Ballot Measure 1). The initiative would establish minimum standards for core labor issues, including increasing the minimum wage to $15/hour by 2027, providing paid sick leave, and banning captive audience meetings.

Funding for Public Education in Washington

Ella Spurlock, Local 4121
Members in Washington, vote NO on I-2109.

WA State Ballot Initiative 2109 would repeal Washington’s capital gains tax, giving tax cuts to mega-millionaires and billionaires and shifting the tax burden onto the working class. Revenue from this tax currently goes to Washington’s Education Legacy Trust Account (ETLA), so repealing this tax would slash education funding statewide. I-2109 would strip away essential funding for programs and institutions that benefit all Washingtonians, including community and technical colleges, higher education, and public services including K12 education and affordable childcare. I-2109 would return Washington’s tax code to one of the most regressive in the country by shifting an even larger tax burden onto low- and middle-income families. The Washington capital gains tax affects only the wealthiest individuals who make substantial profits from selling stocks, bonds, and other high-end assets; the other 99.8% of us are not affected. UAW members in WA have been fighting for progressive revenue in our cities and our state, and we will fight off this attack from the ultra wealthy by mobilizing our members to VOTE NO. Voting NO protects the investments in our schools, infrastructure, and critical public programs that rely on this revenue.

Climate Funding in Washington

Lexy Aydelotte, Local 4929
Members in Washington, vote NO on I-2117.

In Washington, I-2117 would cut $1 billion in funding for climate justice by repealing the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) and gutting programs that support green jobs, address health & economic impacts on frontline communities, advance green transportation, and much more. UAW members across Washington are organizing to defeat I-2117 and continue these vital climate justice efforts.

Electing UAW Members to Office:
Jonathan Tasini for Portland City Council

Across Region 6, current & former UAW members are running for office, bringing members’ voices directly into local- and state-level positions. For instance, among many others, Brandon Kowalski (former member of AGWA/Local 1907) is running for Alaska state house, Shaun Scott (former member of Local 4121) is running for Washington state house, Rae Vander Werf (Local 1115/CAPS Vice President) is running for re-election as American River Flood Control Board Trustee, and Scott Bauer (former Local 1115/CAPS Board member) is running for Eureka City Council. And in Portland, Oregon, UAW member Jonthan Tasini is running for City Council - hear more from Jonathan below!

With every voter I meet, at their home or in the streets, I lead the conversation with my decades-long UAW membership, as well as being seen as “the labor candidate” with the most union endorsements of any candidate by far. This is my entire reason for running for the Portland City Council: to build political power for working people and, because of a once-in-a-lifetime total change in the city’s government system, create a model pro-labor city. After knocking on more than 4,000 doors myself and canvassing every day, I know people get it, and there is support for our campaign’s worker agenda.

Shelter should be a universal human right, I tell homeowners, explaining that the minimum wage to rent a 2-bedroom place in Portland should be $32-an-hour. I am especially honored to share Shawn Fain’s support with voters: “We need fighters like Jonathan Tasini taking the working class’s issues straight to the halls of power, from city council to the statehouse and beyond. As a 32-year UAW member, Jonathan knows what it takes to fight and win big for workers, and will always be on the front lines with labor.” We can win this because no one outworks the UAW!

Join the Region 6-wide phone bank to get out the vote for Jonathan: Thursday 10/17, 7-9pm on zoom! RSVP here.

Message from Region 6 Director Mike Miller

The vitality and success of the labor movement depends on the active participation of working people joining together to fight for the issues we care about. Economic fairness, social and climate justice, safe workplaces – fulfilling these ambitions cannot be achieved only by turning out to the polls every two or four years, as important as voting in elections certainly can be. Participation is not simply a matter of taking one decision, at one time, in one ballot box.

Winning a real say for working people in all aspects of our lives can only happen through the mass, meaningful participation of workers. That kind of widespread participation doesn’t happen on its own – it requires a foundation of ongoing education, skill-building, and leadership development. Participation in the union is itself the most powerful education – talking with co-workers about signing union authorization cards, marching on the boss to address a contract enforcement issue, mobilizing for a rally during bargaining, interviewing candidates for elected office, and much more. In joining together, workers identify problems, discuss potential solutions and strategies to achieve our goals, and learn concrete skills from each other to put to use in advancing our work together.

Working people face serious power imbalances in society, and bosses take advantage of them every day to line their own pockets and maintain their control over the workplace. We cannot depend on elites to act in our best interest: too often they are captured by, and serve the interests of, wealth and industry. By contrast, participation in a worker-led union creates a space where members have equal voice and opportunity to identify priorities, build a collective vision for addressing injustice, and reorder the terms of the relationship with the employer.

But it does not, and should not, stop there. To build a broad-based labor movement – one with real power to challenge injustice systemically and change things for the better – it is imperative that we engage with workers everywhere and expand the labor movement. By building worker-led campaigns and a foundation of mass education and communication, we can help to formulate a common agenda and organize a strategy that unites many people.

To actualize all of this, UAW members in Region 6 have been building structures for mass member education, skill-building, and leadership development for all members through multiple critical communication methods and worker-led strategies – including 1-1 organizing, membership updates and newsletters, training sessions, conferences, videos featuring member voices, and more. Communication is key for not only engaging and educating fellow members, but also for bringing our concerns to the public's attention and clarifying broader, shared struggles. Our struggle requires persistence, creativity, and invention, and the active participation and contribution of every member.

The upcoming Education & Communications Conference (October 19-20 in Seattle) will be an important opportunity to focus on these topics and build coordinated plans for expanding member education, communications, and participation at Local and Regional levels. I encourage all members to join – get in touch with your Local for more information.

Upcoming Events

Region 6 Gender Justice & Civil Human Rights Committee: October 14 at 6pm via Zoom.
Region 6 Climate Justice Committee: October 29 from 6-7pm via zoom.
Region 6 Education & Communications Committee: November 15 from 12-1pm via zoom.
The Region 6 Education & Communications Conference is October 19-20 in Seattle, WA. Contact your Local for more information.

UAW Job Openings

Interested in finding a job working for your union? A number of positions are open in various departments and levels of the UAW, and UAW members are especially encouraged to apply. Find open positions and information about how to apply at the UAW Indeed site.

Stay Connected & Share Your Updates

The Region 6 Newsletter is produced by the Region 6 Education & Communications Committee (ECC). If you have updates or stories from your Local/Organizing Campaign to share in a future newsletter, email region6newsletter@uaw.net. All Locals & Organizing Campaigns in Region 6 are strongly encouraged to send members to participate in the ECC on an ongoing basis. For regular updates and information, you can also check out Region 6 on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and our website. Not already receiving the Region 6 newsletter, or know someone else who isn’t? Fill out this form to subscribe!

Members’ Issues on the Ballot