UAW Region 9A Weekly Newsletter: February 20
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LOCAL & ORGANIZING UPDATES
Local 2179: Nitehawk Workers Union Winter Rally
Friday, February 27 | 12 PM | Brooklyn, NY
The snow on the ground has frozen over, and so have the Nitehawk Workers Union’s contract negotiations—so join us on February 27 for the union’s first ever rally! Come show your support, stand with our union members, and help Nitehawk workers fight for a fair contract!
Follow the Nitehawk Workers Union on Instagram for the latest updates.
More Region 9A Locals in the News
“After trying to bargain a first contract for over a year, the union for 1,000 full-time contingent faculty at New York University is voting on authorizing a strike. Contract faculty say NYU is refusing to budge on pay raises and job security protections.”
- Jacobin: NYU’s Full-Time Contingent Faculty Are Poised to Strike (Feb. 19)
“Newbury Comics retail staff unionized [with UAW Local 1596], while staff at Abrams Books looked to join the UAW [Local 2110].”
- Bleeding Cool: Comic Creators Rally For Unions, Guilds And Cooperatives (Feb. 16)
“Student Workers of Columbia-United Auto Workers met with the University for their sixth bargaining session on Wednesday, the latest in an effort to inch toward a contract with Columbia since their last agreement expired at the end of June last year.”
- Columbia Spectator: University says SWC-UAW and Columbia remain ‘far apart on virtually all issues’ as new contract negotiations reach 11-month mark (Feb. 16)
“After more than a year of negotiations with Harvard Academic Workers-United Auto Workers, the University proposed removing time caps on non-tenure track faculty in exchange for increasing their workload. The proposal would grind even more labor out of the academic workers on some of the lowest-paid, least-stable contracts. But this is more than a common labor disagreement; in recent years, Harvard has repeatedly drawn on a neoliberal playbook when it comes to labor: undermine collective bargaining in coordinated efforts, and resist meaningful improvements in workers’ conditions.”
- Harvard Crimson: Harvard Can Afford Stability. It Just Chooses Not To. (Feb. 13)
COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM (CAP)
Region 9A Director Brandon Mancilla Named to New York City Rent Guidelines Board
This week, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced he is naming Region 9A Director Brandon Mancilla to the New York City Rent Guidelines Board as a public member.
“Thank you, Mayor Mamdani, for the honor of appointing me to the Rent Guidelines Board,” said Mancilla. “Today, working people are enduring a historic cost of living crisis that makes the mission of the Rent Guidelines Board more important than ever. I will bring to the board my experience as a union rep delivering results for working people, combined with the knowledge gained representing thousands of our UAW members involved in housing law and advocacy.”
In New York City, our region’s membership includes legal services attorneys, staff and advocates who represent the most vulnerable New Yorkers in housing court. The New York City Rent Guidelines Board is an independent agency, and public members serve as volunteers.
Connecticut for All Democracy School
Saturday, February 21 | 10 AM - 2 PM | Middletown, CT
Why we're coming together for a bigger Democracy School - 42,000 people came together across Connecticut’s No Kings rallies in October. This February, leading up to No Kings 3 on March 28, we are creating a space for activists and organizers to build our shared analysis, sharpen our skills, and prepare to harness the people power we'll need to stop a fascist takeover of our state. All UAW members are invited to Connecticut for All’s largest Democracy School to date!
Inspired by the solidarity of Minneapolis, we seek to have a united front of labor, students, community organizations, Indivisible groups, immigrant defense networks and faith communities in Connecticut because no single group can, on its own, counter the scale of coordinated authoritarian threats or win the systemic changes people need.
UAW Members Field Trip to Albany with Our Time
Wednesday, February 25 | New York to Albany, NY
UAW Region 9A is joining New Yorkers United for Child Care, the Working Families Party, and more in getting on the bus to Albany.
Together with a coalition of partners, we’re bringing thousands of New Yorkers to Albany for a march and rally to demand a New York we can actually afford. We’re calling on state leaders to tax the rich and invest in the public goods working families need and deserve, including universal childcare, permanently affordable housing, and fast and free buses.
We’re coordinating a fleet of buses leaving NYC early in the morning (around 6am) and returning in the evening. More details about the day and transportation to come. Before the trip, join a mass call with Our Time at 8 PM on Monday, February 9, to learn more about how our growing coalition can force Gov. Hochul to tax the rich and fund the New York we deserve.
This is our moment to show Albany the power of working people, and to demand that the richest New Yorkers finally pay what they owe so we can fund a New York we can afford. You won’t want to miss it.
Higher Ed Labor United Joins May Day Strong National Call
Wednesday, March 4 | 8 PM ET | Online
Over the last year, the Trump Administration has been escalating sector-wide strategies for attacking higher ed. Higher ed workers have seen our campuses being used as bargaining chips and testing grounds for policies advancing an authoritarian political agenda that seeks to control our work, our research, and our communities.
In response, HELU member unions, delegates, and at-large members have been building a growing movement with the power necessary to win better working, learning, and living conditions throughout our sector. We have a long way to go towards a vision for higher ed that actually fulfills its public mission—the only way we’ll get there is by coming together as higher ed workers to exercise our power at the bargaining table, at the ballot box, and on the streets.
We’re gearing up to make our power as higher ed workers on full display this coming May Day. Join us as we join with organizations across the country for a national May Day Strong call—because Together We Declare May Day.
Maine AFL-CIO Labor Lobby Day
Thursday, March 5 | 8 AM - 3 PM | Augusta, ME
Working people are getting squeezed. Skyrocketing costs are making it harder to make ends meet. This is no accident. Billionaires and corporations set the rules and shift wealth to the top.
That's why it is more important than ever for working people to organize, build power and demand a fair deal. Join workers and unions from across the state for the Maine AFL-CIO’s annual Labor Lobby Day at the Governor Hill Mansion and Maine State House in Augusta.
UAW Regions 9 & 9A New York State CAP Lobby Conference
March 22 - 25 | Albany, NY
Join the New York State CAP Council for our annual lobbying conference in Albany. Region 9A will join members and leaders from UAW Region 9 to advocate for issues including unemployment, student loan assistance, temporary disability insurance, the NY Health Act, and the EmPIRE Act.
All members are welcome to join us in Albany! Active participation by our local union members helps us attain the positive results we need to fight for our issues at the legislature.
Upcoming Campaign Events for UAW-Endorsed Candidates
Canvass for Claire Valdez for Congress in Bushwick, Sunnyside, & Greenpoint
Saturday, February 21 | 12 PM | New York, NY
Petitioning Kickoff for Eli Northrup for State Assembly
Tuesday, February 24 | 6 - 8 PM | Manhattan, NY
FROM REGION 9A
Tomorrow: May Day Solidarity School
Saturday, February 21 | 9 AM - 5 PM | 411 Pearl St, New York, NY
Billionaires are stealing from working families, destroying our democracy, and building private armies to attack our towns and cities.
Just like any bad boss, the way we stop the takeover is with continued, escalating collective action. May Day Strong is a national network of labor, community and tenant organizations working together to rise up and stop the billionaire takeover–not just through the ballot box or the courts, but through building a bigger and stronger movement. We are holding a May Day Solidarity School in New York City on Saturday, February 21.
Join us to bring together community organization and labor unions to strategize May 1st direct actions, defend against federal attacks, build the fight for a bold affordability agenda, and more!
Sign Up for LSAT Prep for UAW Members
Tuesdays, 6 - 9 PM | March 31 - May 19 | Sign up by March 1 | New York, NY
The UAW Region 9A Workforce Training Center is excited to release the course offering for Spring 2026. This 8-week intensive LSAT prep course is intended for members and their family members who plan to attend law school. When offered by for-profit institutions, these courses can cost students $2,000 or more—but through the Workforce Training Center, you will have the opportunity to take this course for free with other UAW members.
LSAT Prep for UAW Members will prepare students to take an upcoming Law School Admissions Test and succeed in their goals to attend the law school of their choice. We will cover general exam preparation tips as well as advanced techniques to take on logical reasoning and reading comprehension questions. Sign up to join us by March 1!
Join AFL-CIO Frontline Solidarity Trainings on Immigrants’ Rights
The Constitution protects everyone, regardless of immigration status. In the context of escalating militarization and immigration enforcement around the county, understanding our rights is vital for workers and our families. These trainings will cover the rights and protections we all have when it comes to interacting with law enforcement, including immigration agents, so we are prepared to exercise our constitutional rights at home, at work and in the community.
Frontline Solidarity: Immigration Tools for Organizers and Activists
FROM THE INTERNATIONAL UAW
Volkswagen Workers Make History by Ratifying First UAW Contract
In a historic victory, Volkswagen workers have voted by 96% to ratify their first union contract. The deal locks in 20% wage increases, healthcare cost reductions, job security guarantees, an enforceable grievance procedure, and much more. The ratification vote caps a years-long campaign by Volkswagen Chattanooga autoworkers to join the UAW and win a better life with a union contract.
“Volkswagen workers have moved yet another mountain,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “From having the courage to stand up and form their union, to having the backbone to authorize a strike and hold out for a contract that honors their worth, VW workers are leading the way for the entire labor movement and non-union autoworkers everywhere. Welcome to the UAW family.”
The over 3,000 Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga voted 3-to-1 to join the UAW in April 2024. Soon after the victory, workers elected a 20-member negotiating committee made up of their peers. In October 2025, after more than a year of negotiations, workers voted to authorize a strike in order to win a fair contract. In early February, they reached a tentative agreement with the company, which has now been ratified. The contract marks a breakthrough for nonunion autoworkers and manufacturing workers across the South.
“This victory shows what happens when workers stand up and refuse to be ignored. We didn’t just win better wages and raise standards at our plant—we forced respect onto the table and got it all in writing,” said Yogi Peoples, a Bargaining Committee member from Assembly. "Our victory here at Volkswagen should send a message to autoworkers everywhere: don’t let management divide you. When workers fight together, united and unafraid, we can beat the odds and win!”
The details of the agreement are available at UAW.org/VW.
UPenn Grad Workers Union Reaches Tentative Agreement After Powerful Strike Threat
After building and organizing toward a powerful strike threat, the graduate worker union at UPenn in Region 9, known as Graduate Employees Together-UPenn or GET-UP-UAW, reached a tentative agreement in the hours before their strike deadline this week.
GET-UP wrote that the agreement was secured after administrators “made key last-minute concessions” after more than a year of negotiations between the university and the union, which represents more than 3,700 grad workers with teaching and research positions at Penn. The agreement followed mounting pressure on the University from local politicians, faculty, and students to finalize a contract before the Tuesday strike deadline. Before the Monday bargaining session, administrators and the union had reached tentative agreements on 26 proposals.
GET-UP members overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike in November, and last month the union announced members would strike if the university did not reach a contract agreement by February 17. Read a summary of GETUP-UAW’s tentative agreement in advance of their ratification vote next week, and follow @getupgrads on Instagram for the latest.
UAW Issues Report: Mercedes Benz Takes the Low Road
Mercedes-Benz has been found to have systematically violated workers’ rights in the United States, including through retaliation against union supporters, intimidation of employees, unlawful dismissals, and repeated violations of U.S. labor law. These actions stand in direct contradiction to the company’s publicly stated principles on human rights and corporate integrity.
The UAW has compiled and documented Mercedes’ low-road behavior in a new report, outlining both the evidence of misconduct and a concrete path forward for Mercedes-Benz to come back into compliance with the law and its own stated principles. Mercedes must live up to its principles and allow its American workers to freely form unions and negotiate fair contracts.
Update Your Membership Records with the International UAW
The International UAW is committed to improving our member records. This effort is led by the UAW Membership Department. Maintaining accurate member records allows the UAW to effectively represent and communicate with active and retired members, provide relevant educational and training opportunities, better allocate resources, deliver targeted support, and facilitate International and local union elections.
Please take a moment to enter your contact information by completing the quick online form available at myinfo.uaw.org. Updating your mailing address now will help ensure that you receive a ballot to vote in the 2026 UAW International Officer Election, as well as other important communications and union updates in a timely manner. Download a flyer to share with your fellow members.
Register for the 2026 UAW Member Mobilization Institute
April 19 - 24 | Register by March 9 | Onaway, MI
The UAW Education Department will hold its Member Mobilization Institute at the Walter and May Reuther UAW Family Education Center in Onaway, Michigan. This institute transforms committed union members into skilled labor movement leaders ready to build union power from the inside out!
Three focused tracks offer hands-on training for rank-and-file members and local leaders who want to step up their involvement or sharpen their existing skills as union advocates. Whether new or experienced, delegates will gain practical skills and strategies to strengthen our union for the fights ahead. Learn more and register by March 9!
Save the Date: 2026 UAW Constitutional Convention
June 15-18 | Detroit, MI
Call letters for the 39th UAW Constitutional Convention were delivered to local unions this month. Each local union elects delegates to the Constitutional Convention, which occurs every four years in Detroit. For information about delegate elections, contact your local union. Region 9A delegate lodging and registration information will be available soon, and keep an eye out for upcoming regional trainings on how to prepare to serve as a delegate.
Apply Now for the 2026 Family Scholarship at Black Lake
July 12-16 | Onaway, MI | Apply by June 1
Since 1970, thousands of UAW members and their families have participated in the Walter and May Reuther UAW Family Education Center Scholarship Program—changing their lives and those of their loved ones forever!
Located in scenic Onaway, Michigan, on Black Lake, the Center was envisioned by legendary UAW President Walter Reuther to be a place where UAW members and their families could come together to learn and relax.
Through educational and recreational activities, the Family Scholarship Program provides an opportunity for adults and children to learn and think about how our union empowers us to change our workplaces and communities for ourselves and future generations.
Learn more and apply for the Family Scholarship Program today!
SOLIDARITY REQUESTS
Lamplighter Brewery Union Solidarity Day
Sunday, February 22 | 1 PM - closing | Cambridge, MA
This Sunday, grab a pint to celebrate Lamplighter Brewery workers who recently formed their union as members of UFCW Local 1445. A strong union and a strong local business go hand in hand! Come anytime from 1 PM to closing at either location to welcome workers to the union family.
Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island Know Your Rights Trainings
Tuesday, February 17 & Saturday, February 28 | Providence, RI
The Lawyers' Committee for Rhode Island (LCRI) will provide Know Your Rights trainings in central Rhode Island. These trainings will provide guidance on how to stay within the law when you are a friend or bystander during an ICE arrest, you are protesting, you are documenting, you are protecting your place of worship, business, or home from ICE, and when federal immigration enforcement is present in our neighborhoods and our communities. Please join us for this important training and learn how you can stand up for democracy and stand by those who are targeted.
AFT Day of Action to Protect Our Kids, Our Families and Our Communities
Wednesday, March 4 | Nationwide
March 4 is a nationwide day of action to Protect Our Kids, Our Families and Our Communities. Life is getting harder - not easier. Schools and childcare are being cut. Student borrowers are under attack. Academic freedom is being muzzled. Healthcare and public services are being hollowed out. Immigration raids are making communities less safe and pushing fear into schools, campuses and hospitals - places that should be safe for learning, care and belonging. Families are facing rising costs. Educators, healthcare workers and public employees are being stretched thinner. Kids and families are paying the price. This administration throws chaos at people every day - distraction is the point. That’s why we have to show up together, nationwide, keep the pressure on, and make clear what really matters and what our kids, our families and our communities need.
Out of the Union Halls & Into the Streets: Building Labor’s Political Power
Saturday, March 7 | 8:30 AM - 2 PM | Andover, MA
Join the Merrimack Valley & North Shore Labor Councils for a one-day conference uniting organizers, workers, and allies to build solidarity, share strategies, and strengthen networks to push back against rising authoritarianism - together.
Massachusetts AFL-CIO Dropkick Murphys Union Night Fundraiser
Friday, March 13 | 4:45 - 10 PM | MGM Music Hall, Boston, MA
Buy your tickets now for the Dropkick Murphys’ annual Union Night, hosted by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO to raise money for the Steven A. Tolman Recovery Fund. Dropkick Murphys frontman Ken Casey has joined UAW members at rallies and on the picket line many times, including our Local 3270 members on strike at Wellesley College and last week at Boston labor unions’ anti-ICE rally. Tickets are $65 each and include the main show, a special pre-show acoustic performance specifically for union members, and a union-made commemorative t-shirt.
Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (WILD) in the Winter
Saturday, March 14 | 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM | Worcester, MA
The Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (WILD) provides education, training and support to help women become ever more effective organizers and leaders: in their unions and the labor movement as a whole; in the political arena and within their communities.
Solidarity Rally & Vigil for Fishers outside the North American Seafood Expo
Monday, March 16 | 4:30 - 6 PM | Convention Center, Boston, MA
Migrant fishers in Taiwan's distant-water fishing industry, who catch the tuna that ends up in the cans we buy, face routine labor rights violations, including injuries and even death. Fishers are at sea for 6 months or longer without a way to communicate with their families, unions, or regulators, unable to report injury and abuse. Despite the known labor risks in Taiwan’s tuna industry, U.S. companies continue to purchase tuna from the Taiwanese fleet without investing in real protections for workers, putting their own profits ahead of workers’ rights, health, and safety. The fishers need our support more than ever. Please join us for a rally and vigil for those lost at sea in front of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center to show solidarity with migrant fishers working in Taiwan and elsewhere who face dangerous, abusive conditions and extreme isolation at sea.
2026 CUNY SLU Strategic Corporate Research Summer School
June 21 - 26 | Apply by April 1 | New York, NY
The SCR Summer School is now accepting applications! This school is a great way for union staff, community organizations, social movement organizations, and activists to develop skills for organizing, corporate accountability, and campaign building. To get all the details visit 2026 Strategic Corporate Research Summer School, and apply by April 1.
Connecticut AFL-CIO Health and Safety Committee Scholarship Essay Contest
Apply by April 1
The Connecticut AFL-CIO Health and Safety Committee is excited to announce the return of our Scholarship Essay Contest for high school seniors in Connecticut. This contest invites students to thoughtfully explore the real world impact of workplace hazards on workers and their families. Students are asked to submit an original essay of 1,000 words or less, responding to one of the scenarios listed below. The contest awards three scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $2,000. All applicants must have a parent or grandparent who is a member of a union affiliated with the Connecticut AFL-CIO. Learn more and apply by April 1.
Apply for the WILL Empower Apprenticeship Program
Apply by April 10
The WILL Empower Apprenticeship Program is a multipronged initiative designed to identify, nurture, and train a new generation of women’s and non-binary people’s labor leadership. As a WILL Empower apprentices, you can work in a variety of capacities, including organizing, research, communications, politics, mobilization, and policy. Apprentices benefit from a formal mentorship program, with mentors both within and outside of the host organization.
Get Involved with NYC’s TheaterWorks for Workers’ Theater-Making
Started in 2001, TheaterWorks! was designed as an avenue for our working constituents to have direct access to theater-making. It is a 12-16-week playwriting and performance class that culminates in a final performance of the participant’s short plays in an off-Broadway theater with professional actors.
TheaterWorks! is offered to corporations and unions as a resource for their employees and members, and each class is tailored to meet the specific needs of the host organization. Since its inception, the program has partnered with 10 unions, Cornell University ILR, CUNY, Climate Justice Institute, and been offered in bilingual sessions.
To find out how to offer TheaterWorks! at your union or group, please contact us at info@theworkingtheater.org.
AFL-CIO Frontline Solidarity: A Mass Deportation Fight-Back Toolkit
The AFL-CIO released a new edition of Frontline Solidarity: A Mass Deportation Fight-Back Toolkit for Union Activists and Organizers, which is an educational resource to fight back against the mass deportation agenda impacting workers. Union activists and organizers can request a copy of the toolkit, which includes know your rights materials, expanded employer engagement guidance, and updates on travel, termination of status, and detention.
Union Hiring Hall
- UAW Local 4100 | Organizer | New York, NY
- SEIU Committee of Interns & Residents | Worksite Organizer | Providence, RI
- Muslim Advocates | Senior Staff Attorney | New York, NY
- Community Labor United | Senior Researcher | Boston, MA
- Community Labor United | Organizing Director | Boston, MA
- Community Labor United | Development Director | Boston, MA
- Emergency Campaign to Support Higher Education | National Campaign Director
- Emergency Campaign to Support Higher Education | National Organizing Director
- NY United for Child Care | 3-K & Pre-K Campaign Manager | Outside NYC, NY
- Ranking Member Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Office, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee | Paid Internships | Washington, DC
- May Day Strong | Campaign Coordinator | Albuquerque, NM (flexible)
- Connecticut Tenants Union | Staff Organizer | Hartford, CT
- Reclaim Rhode Island | Tenant Organizer | Providence, RI
UPCOMING EVENTS
May Day Strong Solidarity School
Saturday, February 21 | 9 AM - 5 PM | 411 Pearl St, New York, NY
National Financial Officers Conference
February 22-27, 2026 | New Orleans, LA
UAW Local 677’s Organizing 101 Training
Saturday, March 7 & Sunday, March 8 | UAW Local 677, Allentown, PA
UAW Region 9A Labor History Event at NYU’s Tamiment Library
Tuesday, March 31 | 5:30 - 6:30 PM | NYU Tamiment Library, New York, NY
UAW Member Mobilization Institute
April 19 - 24, 2026 | Onaway, MI
UAW Higher Education Council Virtual Meeting
Friday, May 8 & Saturday, May 9 | Virtual
55th International Convention of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
May 20-24 | Atlanta, GA
39th Constitutional Convention
June 15-18 | Detroit, MI
Family Scholarship at Black Lake
July 12-16 | Onaway, MI | Apply by June 1