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| ==Establishment of the UAW==
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| The United Auto Workers (UAW), which is short for The United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America International Union, was founded in 1935 in Detroit Michigan with the support of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). It achieved an initial victory through the organization of several sit-down strikes, namely in an Atlanta General Motors plant and in the Flint sit-down strike. It was in 1937 that the UAW strike against GM ended with this company's decision to recognize the UAW. Since then, the UAW has worked to obtain better working conditions, wages, and benefits for its workers from the companies that employ them.
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| ==About the UAW==
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| The UAW is made up of workers from several different parts of the American economy. Its workers belong to firms in sectors including the Automotive, Aerospace and Defense, Heavy Trucks, Farm and Heavy Equipment industries, other kinds of manufacturing, as well as Technical, Office, and Professional (TOP) sectors. At the present, there are about 640,000 active members (500,000 retired members) with members in US, Canada, Puerto Rico. The UAW consists of over 800 local unions, and is considered one of the largest unions in North America. Moreover, there exists a solidarity between the active and retired members of the UAW – many retired UAW members still take an active part in their union.
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| ===The Mission of the UAW===
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| The UAW is an organization that, predominantly through bargaining, works to obtain social and economic advances for working families and retired workers. The UAW has made several important advances through bargaining for its members such as: an insurance plan for industrial workers paid for by employers, cost-of-living allowances, product quality improvements, significant job and income security provisions, and widespread training and educational programs. However, bargaining is not the only focus of this union which has also taken a part in many civil rights actions. The UAW also extends its focus to a global level and fights to obtain fair working conditions for workers outside of the United States. However, because the union is so large, most of its everyday actions take place on a local level in the UAW's local, and fairly autonomous, unions.
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| ===Race and Gender Issues===
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| The UAW has always been a proponent of equality among all people, across both race and gender. In fact, it was one of the earliest key unions that allowed for the organization of African Americans, and has always taken a stance against any racial discrimination faced by its workers. For example, in 1939 when black workers were confronted with discrimination during a UAW Convention in St. Louis, the union decided to never have a convention in this place again. In the 1950's and 60's, the UAW participated in rallying in support of the Civil Rights Act, and were there to march alongside Martin Luther King Jr. Also, more recently in 2003, as the University of Michigan's affirmative action initiatives were being questioned by the Supreme Court, the UAW was there to lend its support for these programs.
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| Moreover, in a world in which women have faced much discrimination in the workplace, the UAW has never faltered in its support of women's participation in the labor force, even though this kind of work has typically been considered not appropriate for women. Back in the time before World War II when there became an increasingly significant need for women in the labor force, women only accounted for about 5% of the auto workers. By 1944, although they were still a minority compared to men in this labor force, their participation had increased and by this time women represented approximately 35% of the UAW's members. However, at this point in time, women were making little more than half as much as men did in a week. Moreover, once the war ended, many women retreated from the work place back to their homes and resumed their former role in working at home and taking care of the children. (A survey by the UAW, however, indicated that 85% of these women did not actually want to stop working.) Despite the widespread underrepresentation of women in the work force, the UAW has worked to garner equality for women in its union and in the workplace. In fact, in 1955, the UAW's monumental creation of a Women's Department marked the first such department created by an industrial union. With this new department, the UAW hoped to help promote women's membership in the UAW, which was largely made up of male workers. Finally, the UAW has allowed women to take positions of leadership in the UAW serving as members on the board and in various high offices.
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| [[The UAW Today]] | | [[The UAW Today]] |
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| [[UAW References]] | | [[A Radical Stance: Future of the Union]] |
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| <center>[[Anti-Classism Movements|Home]] | [[United Farm Workers of America (UFW)|UFW]] | [[United Auto Workers|UAW]] | [[SEIU and Justice for Janitors|SEIU]] | [[ClassismConclusion|Conclusion]] | [[ClassismSources|Sources]]</center> | | <center>[[Anti-Classism Movements|Home]] | [[United Farm Workers of America (UFW)|UFW]] | [[United Auto Workers|UAW]] | [[SEIU and Justice for Janitors|SEIU]] | [[ClassismConclusion|Conclusion]] | [[ClassismSources|Sources]]</center> |
