Region 9A News

UAW Region 9A Weekly Newsletter: October 3

Catherine Graugard
Social share icons

 

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter!
Download this newsletter as a PDF.

LOCAL & ORGANIZING UPDATES

 

BREAKING: Local 379 on Strike at Cummins in Connecticut!

Local 379 On Strike Day 1

 

Local 379 On Strike Day 1b

As of noon today, the nearly 240 members of UAW Local 379 are on an unfair labor practice strike at Cummins - Jacobs Vehicle Systems in Bloomfield, CT.

Instead of prioritizing negotiating a fair contract, Cummins committed multiple unfair labor practice violations during the course of negotiations. As a result, after over more than a dozen bargaining sessions since September failed to generate progress, 98% of Local 379 members voted to authorize a strike.

Members were immediately joined by State Senator Julie Kushner and other elected representatives on the picket line. Following three practice pickets outside the Cummins facility, these members are more than ready to hold the line for however long it takes to reach the strong agreement they deserve. This is the first strike at Jacobs since 1961.

In the news:

  • Stamford Advocate: Workers at Bloomfield-based automotive manufacturer Cummins go on strike (Oct. 3)

UnLocal’s Staff Demand Voluntary Recognition of Union with ALAA Local 2325

Staff members at UnLocal, an immigrants’ rights nonprofit in NYC, announced their intent to join ALAA Local 2325 in September. UnLocal United demanded voluntary recognition from the organization’s executive director Tania Mattos upon sharing that an overwhelming majority of employees signed union authorization cards declaring their support for the Union.

Instead, Mattos, who was personally involved in unionizing her former workplace under CWA Local 38010, outright rejected the UnLocal United’s voluntary recognition demand and forced an election via the NLRB. Though UnLocal United anticipates a unanimous “yes” vote, the union’s certification remains uncertain. Because the NLRB is closed during the ongoing government shutdown, UnLocal’s ballot count has been postponed indefinitely. 

In response, staff members are calling on UnLocal’s management to immediately grant voluntary recognition—a step they believe should have been taken weeks ago. Follow UnLocal United on Instagram for the latest.

NOLSW Local 2320 Picket to Fights to Reinstate Union Delegate
Thursday, October 16 | 1 PM | LSNYC Office, 40 Worth Street, New York, NY

Stacia Ward

In September, NOLSW Local 2320 member was unjustly terminated from her role as a staff attorney at Legal Services NYC, just one day before her probation ended. We believe the termination was a response to her advocacy and leadership as a union delegate. To make matters worse, management took this action just three months after the death of her mother.

The union filed an immediate grievance challenging the termination, but Local 2320 is requesting support from union siblings. Please join us at a picket for Stacia on Thursday, October 16!

FROM REGION 9A

 

Region 9A Joins Region 9 for Training at Local 677 Mack Trucks in Allentown, PA
Saturday, November 15 | 7 AM - 4 PM | New York, NY to Allentown, PA

mack trucks visit

UAW Local 677 (Mack Trucks) is inviting Region 9A members for a joint education session at their local in Allentown, Pennsylvania. UAW members at Mack trucks have been at the forefront of the free trade crisis in recent years, going on strike in their most recent contract negotiations in 2023 to defend their jobs.

Join the Local 677 Education Committee to share and build together as we discuss UAW 101 and the UAW's core values as well as our joint labor struggles as a working class. Transportation from NYC will leave at 7 AM and depart from Allentown at 4 PM.

Join the Region 9A Veterans Council at the Annual Dinner Dance
Saturday, November 8 | 6 PM | Doubletree by Hilton, Bristol, CT

Join the UAW Region 9A Veterans Council at the 27th Annual

UAW Veterans Logo

 Dinner Dance! The 2025 Dinner Dance will be held on Saturday, November 8, at the Doubletree by Hilton in Bristol, Connecticut.

The reception will begin at 6 PM, and dinner will begin at 7 PM. Tickets are $65 per person, and tables are $650 for 10 seats. Please contact Tina Ross at trodriguez@uaw.net to purchase tickets.

COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM (CAP)

 

Connecticut for All: Love Thy Immigrant Neighbor Rally
Monday, October 6 | 11 AM - 1 PM | Hartford, CT

Love Thy Immigrant Neighbor Flyer

People of faith and conscience call on Gov. Lamont and other state leaders to pass meaningful immigrant protections this fall.

Supporters will gather for a vigil at the Federal Building at 11 AM, followed by a march to the State Capitol at 11:30 and a rally for immigrant protections at 12 PM.

Connecticut community members are asking the Governor to take action to safeguard personal information, protect access to state courthouses, limit state and local cooperation with ICE, and protect Medicaid for all who are currently covered.

Massachusetts: Canvass for Endorsed Candidates in Salem & Cambridge

Join fellow UAW members in Massachusetts to canvass for two of our endorsed candidates, NOLSW Local 2320 member Emmylou Manwill for Salem City Council as well as Ayah Al-Zubi for Cambridge City Council!

NYC: Canvass for Endorsed Candidates Zohran & Kayla Santosuosso

Join fellow UAW members in NYC to canvass to get Zohran Mamdani across the finish line in the mayoral race and help labor champion Kayla Santosuosso win a hard-fought race for City Council!

If you sign up to canvass and want a brand new UAW for Zohran t-shirt featuring the general election date, please email James Taylor (jhtaylor@uaw.net) and Donca Hackney (dhackney@uaw.net) to pick one up from the Region 9A office.

Fighting for Freedom of Speech & Against Firings at Brooklyn College

UAW Region 9A and the NYC CAP Council condemn the firing of Corinna Mullin and the non-reappointment of three other workers at Brooklyn College for their advocacy for the Palestinian people in the face of genocide. By all accounts, these were excellent workers whose unjust dismissals came not from their peer instructors, but straight from the bosses, who remain unaccountable to the workers who run our schools.

Across our city and the United States as a whole, workers and students in higher education have become subject to McCarthyite witch hunts over their decisions to speak out for Palestine. This repression often falls on unionized workers. Over the last year, more than 100 students have been expelled or suspended from Columbia University, including many members of the Student Workers of Columbia (UAW Local 2710). Others, like SEIU 509 member and Tufts University graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk, have even been imprisoned and threatened with deportation.

By choosing to collaborate with the Trump regime’s crackdown on activism, CUNY is aligning itself with the very people who are waging a war on higher education. Trump and the billionaires have slashed research funding and threatened to pull yet more money from schools who do not fall into ideological compliance. University administrators should be standing with workers and fighting these cuts, but instead they’ve used Trump’s attacks as an excuse to cut wages and fire workers who speak up for what’s right. Make no mistake: these attacks are part of a coordinated push against all public spending, and it’s up to working people everywhere to oppose them.

Joining with Rutgers AAUP-AFT and many others, we call upon CUNY to:

  1. Immediately reinstate all four faculty members and restore their rights as educators and members of the CUNY community.
  2. Issue a public apology for the emotional and material harm caused by the firings, and provide a full and transparent explanation of the decision-making process behind these terminations, including who made the final call and under what justification.
  3. Uphold the First Amendment rights of all members of the CUNY community and end CUNY’s complicity with the McCarthyite repression of CUNY students and workers who express public support for Palestine.

UAW Region 9A sends solidarity to these workers in their fight. Please support them by sending a letter to CUNY here.

Labor for Zohran Virtual Meetup
Monday, October 13 | 8 PM | Online

Come meet fellow rank-and-file members from across NYC unions on October 13 at 8pm who are organizing for a Mamdani Mayoralty. LFZ’s second sponsored virtual meet-up is ON! We will break into groups to discuss challenges, experiences, and questions that have come up in our organizing. Meet a UFT member you don’t know, get to know that DC37er, learn from a TWU’er or a working Teamster, and share your vision for how we win an affordable NY together! And of course, bring a co-worker or friend.

FROM THE INTERNATIONAL UAW

 

UAW Higher Ed Survey: Shape Our Collective Vision for the Future of Science

Help shape a collective vision for a future of science in the United States that’s by and for working people—take a few minutes to share your thoughts today.

For decades, public investment in science and research has delivered major wins for working people. It’s helped save lives, power our homes, make our workplaces safer, and much more. We’ve seen a 70% drop in childhood cancer deaths, the development of nearly every new life-saving medication, and breakthroughs in clean energy, infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing. Public research supports over 400,000 jobs each year—not just in labs and universities, but in the plants and communities where those innovations are built. 

But now, that progress is in danger. The Trump administration is slashing funding for research and putting the interests of billionaires ahead of working families. These cuts mean fewer good jobs, fewer options for family members struggling with heart disease or addiction, and less innovation in major industries. 

UAW members have been pushing back because we all feel the impact of these cuts. Together we have organized, lobbied, and taken legal action to defend critical research and protect our jobs. But just fighting to keep what we have isn’t enough. 

More and more often the benefits of public research — everything from green tech to AI to new medicines — are scooped up by big corporations, who make record profits while working people struggle to get by. And UAW members in research and higher education who make these innovations possible have to fight in each contract for fair pay, stable careers, and respect on the job. 

UAW members are fighting back against this broken system and coming together to shape a new, worker-led vision for American science. You can help shape the vision for the future of science and research by sharing your thoughts at this link. 

Whether you’re a researcher in a lab sharing your experience, or if you work in other fields but have a loved one who has needed cancer treatment, or the parent of a kid who dreams of a future in science, your input matters. This conversation will continue in our locals and ultimately guide our union’s political agenda in the coming years. By joining in, you can help build a future where public research works for the public good, and where our tax dollars lead to more union jobs, stronger communities, and a fairer economy for everyone. 

NLRB Finds Volkswagen Broke Labor Law & Orders Immediate Recognition of Union

In a massive rebuke of the German auto giant, the National Labor Relations Board has found Volkswagen to have egregiously violated the law in intimidating, disciplining, and threatening workers at its Parts Distribution Center in Cranbury, New Jersey earlier this year.

After workers organized to join the UAW, the company illegally threatened and coerced workers for exercising their federally-protected right to organize a union. The automaker, which prides itself on its “social charter” that supposedly enshrines workers' rights in its corporate governance, is ordered to recognize the UAW as the union of the over 150 workers involved. In addition, the Board will seek a 10(j) injunction to bring the company to the bargaining table. 

“These workers did exactly what you’re supposed to do if you want a better life on the job, and Volkswagen treated them like dirt,” says UAW President Shawn Fain. “Because these badass workers refused to give up, they were able to overcome the company’s harassment, intimidation, and illegal conduct, and will now have a seat at the table. Welcome to the UAW. And Volkswagen, we’ll see you at the bargaining table.” 

“We stood up because we know we deserve better from this multibillion-dollar company,” said Sergio Sumano, Jr., a warehouse worker with 7 years at the facility. “We stuck it out because we knew our cause was right. This is about a better life for me and my family, and for all of us here who make Volkswagen run. We are the UAW.”

Join the Higher Ed Labor United Coalition’s Upcoming Meetings

The UAW is part of Higher Education Labor United, a national organization founded in 2021 to unite workers throughout U.S. higher education. HELU brings together unions that represent staff, student workers, adjunct, contingent, and tenured faculty, postdocs, university health system workers, and others to create and pursue a unified vision for higher education and to add our strength to a reinvigorated U.S. labor movement. Higher ed members are invited to join HELU’s upcoming meetings:

SOLIDARITY REQUESTS

 

Starbucks Workers United Practice Picket
Saturday, October 4 | 11 AM - 12 PM | Corbin’s Corner, West Hartford, CT

Three years. That's how long it's been since the baristas at the Corbin's Corner Starbucks in West Hartford won their union. That win helped set off a cascade of union elections at Starbucks across the state with five stores voting Union Yes! But they are all still fighting to win their first contract. As union baristas at Starbucks begin ramping up pressure on management to finally settle a contract, Starbucks Workers United is asking allies to join them for a practice picket this Saturday.

Connecticut Tenants Union Rally
Thursday, October 9 | 12 PM | Mountain Ridge Terrace, New Haven, CT

Tenants of the Sunset Ridge Apartments have been forming their tenant union for several weeks to resolve serious threats to health, safety, and security. Capital Realty Group, a national corporate landlord based out of New York, has ramped up retaliation against tenant leaders and organizers attempting to form their tenant union. Capital Realty is pioneering tenant union busting tactics in New Haven—a threat to tenant union organizing everywhere in the state, where they also own buildings in Middletown, Waterbury, and Bridgeport. Join the Connecticut Tenants Union to rally against Capital Realty’s union-busting!

Massachusetts Protect Our Care Town Hall: Stop the Cuts with Corporate Fair Share
Tuesday, October 14 | 5:30 - 7 PM | Dewitt Center, Boston, MA

Join us for a community town hall on Corporate Fair Share and other options to protect our state programs. Massachusetts is facing the threat of deep federal budget cuts that will cost the state billions and hurt our healthcare, food assistance programs, education, infrastructure, and other public services.

That’s why the Raise Up Massachusetts coalition of faith, labor, and community groups is calling for raising new progressive revenue as well as tapping into the rainy day fund to prevent harmful cuts. Key to that discussion is RUM's Corporate Fair Share proposal to combat offshore tax avoidance by asking the world’s most profitable mega-corporations to pay their fair share. It’s the fairest, simplest, and most popular way to defend public services like healthcare and education that we all rely upon!

Labor for Democracy: No Kings Rally
Saturday, October 18 | Nationwide

On Saturday, October 18, union members will join with Labor for Democracy and other allies to fight for freedom of speech, union rights, and the right to protest. At over 2,100 events in all 50 states, in DC and internationally, working people will gather together to demand #NoKings and #NoBillionaires making decisions for our workplaces, families and communities.

Find an action near you or sign up to host your own! Make sure to bring your union banners and wear your union gear to show that we stand with our communities in solidarity.

Union Hiring Hall

UPCOMING EVENTS

2025 UAW Local Union Officers Institute
October 5 - 10 | Onaway, MI

UAW Organizing Conference
October 12-17 | Onaway, MI

UAW Skilled Trades Conference
October 20-24 | Detroit, MI

Coalition of Labor Union Women Conference
November 9-11 | San Diego, CA

UAW 101 & Core Values Education Training
November 15 | Allentown, PA