UAW Region 9A Weekly Newsletter: November 6
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ELECTION UPDATE
Three Region 9A Members Elected to Congress from Maine & New York
On Tuesday, UAW members got three of our own elected to Congress from Region 9A!
In New York, Local 2110 member Claire Valdez and Local 2325 member Darializa Avila Chevalier handily earned over 80% of the vote after emerging victorious from competitive primary races. Darializa won with the widest margin of any New York Congressional race this year. Claire, a committed organizer and unit chair in her local, earned the endorsement of over 30 other unions.
In Maine, former Local 2320 member Troy Jackson was elected to the U.S. Senate, beating longtime anti-union incumbent Susan Collins. A fifth-generation logger, Troy walked the picket line during Local 3999’s strike at Bath Iron Works earlier this year and stood with the UMaine Grad Workers Union in their fight for a first contract. UAW members led the way, joining the Maine AFL-CIO and other unions to canvass for Troy, who will be a leading voice of the working class in Washington.
A special thank you to Local 7650 president Aurora Green and vice president Peter Howe, who worked as union release staff beginning in August. Thanks to their efforts, UAW members knocked over 3,000 doors and reached 4,000 voters in Maine, making a critical difference to get Troy across the finish line.
UAW Members Elected to Serve in Five State Legislatures Across Region 9A
UAW Region 9A has a proud tradition of electing our own members to public office. On Tuesday, current and former UAW members were elected to serve in the state legislatures of Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York.
Congratulations to three active members who were elected as state representatives for the first time: Bath Marine Draftsmen's Association president Trent Vellella in Maine, Harvard Academic Workers member Ben Ewen-Campen in Massachusetts, and NOLSW member David Orkin in New York! They join longtime UAW member legislators including Massachusetts State Senator Lydia Edwards and Connecticut State Senator Julie Kushner in public service.
LOCAL UPDATES
Local 405 on Strike! Join Workers for Veterans Day Strike Rally
Wednesday, November 11 | 11 AM | 1 Charter Oak Blvd, West Hartford, CT
Triumph Group always has plenty of money for its CEOs—but then cries broke when it's time to pay the workers who actually generate the company's massive profits.
✅ $31.7 million paid to Triumph CEOs in the last five years.
✅ $61.6 million paid to Triumph CEOs in the last decade.
❌ A contract that treats Triumph workers with dignity.
Our UAW Local 405 family isn't backing down in this fight. That’s why members went on strike starting Monday and will hold the line until we win the contract they deserve.
Join them for a Veterans Day rally in West Hartford (1 Charter Oak Boulevard) next Wednesday, November 11 at 11am to show the company what they’re up against!
In the news:
- CT Insider: 175 CT-based workers at aerospace manufacturer Triumph go on strike (Nov. 3)
- Patch: Workers At West Hartford Aerospace Manufacturer Go On Strike (Nov. 2)
- CBT News: UAW Local 405 to strike Triumph Engine Control Systems over contract dispute (Nov. 2)
HGSU On Strike for Second Week! HAW Strike Deadline Fast Approaching
Over 4,000 undergraduate and graduate student workers represented by the Harvard Graduate Students Union have been on strike for two weeks. Thousands of members have picketed events across campus, and high-profile guests including author John Green have refused to cross the picket line in solidarity with strikers.
HGSU members are fighting for three priorities in their next contract:
- Safe workplace: Real recourse against harassment and discrimination, with enforceable protections and access to our union’s grievance process.
- Fair pay and benefits: The wealthiest university in the world shouldn’t pay poverty wages that force its workers to qualify for food stamps.
- The right to stay: Enforceable protections and meaningful support for our non-citizen coworkers facing attack after attack from a hostile federal administration.
Meanwhile, after two years of negotiating for a first contract, 50+ bargaining sessions, and multiple unfair labor practice charges against the university, the Harvard Academic Workers (HAW-UAW) set a strike deadline of Tuesday, November 10.
If the Harvard Corporation doesn’t get serious at the bargaining table, the university is about to experience an unprecedented strikewave that will shut down campus. Follow @hgsuuaw and @haworkers on Instagram for the latest updates on how you can support their fights for fair contracts!
Local 2322: After Union Rally, Smith College Announces it Will Keep Fort Hill Child Care Center Open
Monday, November 9 | 4:45 - 7:00 PM | Smith College, Northampton, MA
Earlier this month, Smith College shocked parents and teachers by announcing the closure of the Fort Hill Childcare Center at the end of this school year. Fort Hill educators recently unionized with UAW Local 2322 and were in the process of negotiating their first contract. After a massive rally last month, the college agreed to keep the center open until 2029.
The Western Mass Area Labor Federation is calling local unions to come together to support Fort Hill workers as they fight for their jobs. We know that parents in the area are already struggling to find childcare options, and this closure will only make things harder for working families. Join us to tell Smith College to make the right decision and keep Fort Hill open.
Local 2710: Rally for a Living Wage at Columbia
Tuesday, November 10 | 11 AM | Columbia University Sundial, New York, NY
Since the Columbia grad workers first won our contract in 2022, inflation has cut student workers' real wages by 6%. We bring in millions of dollars in research grants and teach thousands of undergrads, but Columbia squeezes us more and more each year without giving us a real, competitive raise.
Our bargaining committee has negotiated in good faith to reach a new contract, but Columbia has responded to our attempts to bargain on compensation by stonewalling. In effect, they're saying what you're making now is all you deserve.
We can only win what we're prepared to stand up for. Join UAW Local 2710 members at a rally before our next bargaining session to demand a fair compensation offer from Columbia! Please RSVP in advance to be able to enter the university campus.
CORE-UAW: Rally for the Contract We Deserve
Friday, November 13 | 12 - 1 PM | UMass Chan, Worcester, MA
After a year of negotiations, the UMass Chan administration refuses to agree to standard workplace protections and wages in line with unionized researchers across the country. The only way we can win these demands is by coming together to show UMass that we are willing to fight for the contract we deserve.
Join us on November 13 for a rally to win:
- Fair wages and benefits
- Protections against discrimination & harassment
- Support for international researchers
- Inclusion of all grad workers in our union
More Region 9A Locals in the News
“‘We’ve been bargaining with the museum for over a year now and have yet to achieve any meaningful commitment to a fair wage and other bread-and-butter issues that will allow the museum to remain a unique destination that amplifies Emily Dickinson’s revolutionary poetic voice to new generations,’ Chris Fobare, a part-time guide at the museum since 2019, said.”
- Daily Hampshire Gazette: Seasonal tour guides at Emily Dickinson Museum pause planned strike (Nov. 5)
FROM REGION 9A
tHIS wEEKEND: UAW Region 9A Veterans Council Annual Dinner Dance
Saturday, November 7 | Holiday Inn, New London, CT
UAW Region 9A Veterans Council invites you to join us in celebration of our 28th Annual Dinner Dance to honor Veterans and UAW Service Members throughout the Region and to celebrate our nation's 250th anniversary. This year’s event will be held in a new location: the Holiday Inn in New London, Connecticut (see map).
FROM THE INTERNATIONAL UAW
Take Action: Stop Trump’s Attacks on International Higher Ed Workers & OPT
Submit your comment by Monday, November 9
UAW academic workers and researchers across the country are mobilizing against the Trump administration’s latest attempt to undermine the rights of international workers.
The Department of Homeland Security’s is trying to increase fees to $100,000 for international students and scholars using Optional Practical Training. OPT allows F-1 international scholars to continue working in a similar field for up to three years. This discriminatory and xenophobic fee would reduce work opportunities for UAW members who are international scholars in the United States and would negatively affect U.S. higher education and research.
DHS is currently accepting comments until November 9 on the proposed rule—take a few minutes to submit a public comment!
Registration Now Open for Higher Education Council Meeting
Tuesday, December 8 | 3 PM ET | Online
With all of the attacks on higher education and our members who work there, we are calling a special meeting of the Higher Education Council to discuss these challenges and how we are organizing to stop them.
Council delegates and interested members may register to attend the Council meeting. UAW members or workers on active UAW organizing campaigns in the higher education sector may attend the Council meetings but only elected council delegates will be able to vote.
Now Hiring: Communications Data Specialist
Are you a full-stack developer who wants to build websites and crunch data to help workers organize and build power? Do you have experience organizing and/or know Solidarity Tech? Join the mighty UAW as a data specialist. Learn more and apply at Indeed.
SOLIDARITY REQUESTS
Western Mass AFL Presents: Labor Resisting the AI Hype
Saturday, November 14 | 10:30 AM - 1 PM | Springfield, MA
Are you seeing AI show up in your workplace? Do you wonder what questions to ask or how to address AI at the bargaining table? The Western Mass Area Labor Federation invites you to an interactive training where you’ll explore what AI looks like in your workplace and have an opportunity to practice negotiating about it. The training will consist of four parts:
- A brief informational session on how AI is currently being used in the workplace;
- Small group discussion and report back in which leadership, staff, and/or rank and file share their own experience of AI in the workplace;
- A bargaining simulation in which participants attempt to negotiate AI language with a large hospital; and
- A debrief for collecting feedback on the training
Boycott Starbucks! Solidarity with Starbucks Workers United
For nearly five years, Starbucks baristas have been fighting for what every worker deserves: better pay, enough hours to make ends meet, safe staffing, and a fair union contract. More than 12,000 baristas have organized with Starbucks Workers United, winning more than 700 union elections nationwide. But instead of finalizing a fair first contract, Starbucks stonewalls at bargaining while workers fight for the basics they need to survive. Union baristas are fed up with Starbucks’ unchecked corporate greed, so they’re calling on all supporters to Boycott Starbucks until workers win a fair union contract. Sign the pledge!
Hiring Hall
- Communications Director | Connecticut AFL-CIO | Rocky Hill, CT
- Organizer | Mass-Care | Weymouth, MA
- West Regional Servicing Representative | National Organization of Legal Services Workers (UAW Local 2320) | Greater Los Angeles, CA
- Midwest Regional Servicing Representative | National Organization of Legal Services Workers (UAW Local 2320) | Chicagoland, IL
- Regional Organizer | New Yorkers United for Child Care | Hudson Valley, NY
- Regional Organizer | New Yorkers United for Child Care | Long Island, NY
- Community Canvassers | New Yorkers United for Child Care | New York, NY
UPCOMING EVENTS
Region 9A Veterans Council Dinner Dance
Saturday, November 7 | New London, CT