UAW Region 9A Weekly Newsletter: August 15
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LOCAL & ORGANIZING UPDATES
Member Leaders from Maine & Puerto Rico Unite at Maine AFL-CIO Summer Institute
Members from BMDA Local 3999, NOLSW Local 2320, and the UMaine Graduate Workers Union participated in the annual Maine AFL-CIO Summer Institute along with invited guests from UAW Local 2415 from Bacardi Corp in Puerto Rico.
This year’s summer institute focused on the role of shop stewards in the fight to control the shop floor, enforce the contract, and organize the membership. Among other events, attendees rallied on the steps of the University of Maine’s Fogler Library to call on UMaine to agree to a fair first contract with graduate workers, who have been bargaining for over 600 days.
UAW Members Rally Across NYC in the Fight for Fair Contracts
Tuesday was a busy day for Region 9A members across NYC—first, a picket to commemorate one month on strike for the workers at CAMBA Legal Services in Flatbush joined by Assemblymember Bobby Carroll, then a rally uptown at Columbia with the 500 Local 2110 members and 250 SEIU 1199 members fighting for fair contracts joined by Assemblymember Claire Valdez. From Brooklyn to Broadway and CAMBA to Columbia, NYC is UAW strong!
While the Urban Justice Center Union reached a tentative agreement this week, the Goddard Riverside Law Project Union and CAMBA Legal Services Workers United stand united as members remain on prolonged strikes in stalled negotiations for fair contracts. For continuing strike updates and information about where you can join ALAA members on the picket line, follow @alaa2325 on Instagram.
More Region 9A Locals in the News
“Jenny Bueno, a paralegal at CAMBA Legal Services and a member of UAW Local 2325, discussed the ongoing strike by legal services workers to secure better wages, improve parental leave and provide new measures to address burnout among staff.”
- America’s Work Force Union Podcast: UAW Members Strike at CAMBA Legal Services for Fair Contract (August 11)
“In a July 10 open letter to Columbia administrators, higher education workers ‘in solidarity with SWC-UAW’ called the delays and external hiring ‘textbook union busting.’ Negotiation power is critical for SWC-UAW as the union fights for a new contract including protection of international students, pay raises, and increased benefits for workers and dependents—among other key issues.”
- Columbia Spectator: ‘Textbook union busting’: As SWC-UAW negotiations stall, Columbia replaces grad student teaching positions with external recruits (August 5)
FROM REGION 9A
Region 9A Members Salute Our Veterans at the 2025 UAW Veterans Conference
Thank you to our members who represented Region 9A at the 2025 UAW Veterans Conference—Jason Anderson, Jeffrey Carver, Peter Dickson, Aaron Hayes, Thomas Montgomery, and Joseph Scott from Local 571, Shawn Tripp from Local 405, Cristhian Moya from Local 2179, and Xavier Shellman-Kolarz and Regional Advisory Chair Arnold Knittel from Local 2377.
At this year's conference, our members heard from and met with UAW President Shawn Fain on Monday and attended workshops on topics including veterans benefits, PTSD, and resiliency throughout the week. Massachusetts State Senator Lydia Edwards, a former Local 2320 member, addressed the conference on Thursday.
Please reach out if you're interested in getting involved with the Region 9A Veterans Council, and all are invited to join us at our annual Region 9A Veterans Dinner Dance this fall!
Workforce Training Center Launches Fall LSAT Prep Course for Members & Families
Register by September 2
The UAW Region 9A Workforce Training Center is excited to release the course offering for the second half of 2025. LSAT Prep for UAW Members was an extremely popular course in the first half of the year, and we are happy to bring the course to UAW members once again.
This 8-week intensive LSAT prep course is intended for members and their families 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. Learn more and register today!
March with Region 9A in Boston & NYC Labor Day Parades
Monday, September 1 | 9:30 AM | Boston, MA
Saturday, September 6 | 10 AM | New York, NY
On Monday, September 1, the Greater Boston Labor Council is hosting Boston’s first ever Labor Day parade on the Boston Common. If interested in joining the UAW contingent marching in Boston, please reach out to CJ Barber at cbarber@uaw.net.
The New York City Central Labor Council is hosting NYC’s annual Labor Day parade on Saturday, September 6. If interested in joining the UAW contingent marching in NYC, please reach out to Reisy Veloz at rveloz@uaw.net.
COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM (CAP)
Need More UAW Swag in Your Life? Sign Up for VCAP!
The UAW Voluntary Community Action Program (VCAP) is our union’s member-supported political fund. Thousands of UAW members make monthly VCAP contributions to support pro-worker political initiatives and candidates who earn our members' endorsement.
Political leverage in Washington and our state capitols can strengthen our position at the bargaining table, and it can help us win victories beyond bargaining. In today’s political climate, with a resurgent and organized right-wing movement and an all-out attack on the working class by corporate greed, workers need to consider every source of leverage available to build power.
By supporting progressive legislative campaigns and candidates whose platforms support the working class, workers can gain the upper hand in our fight for dignified working conditions. A strong VCAP program means UAW members' voices can be heard to advance our own vision for the working class: fair compensation for our labor, health care and retirement security, and accessible education for all.
Region 9A members who donate monthly to VCAP will earn UAW swag, including tote bags, baseball hats, and bomber jackets! Learn more and sign up at region9a.uaw.org/vcap.
Massachusetts UAW Members On the Record Against Unfair Legacy Admissions
UAW’s Massachusetts CAP Council and the Harvard Graduate Students Union - UAW voted to endorse a bill sponsored by Massachusetts State Senator and former Local 2320 member Lydia Edwards to ban legacy preferences in higher education. As she explained in an op-ed in Commonwealth Beacon, “The bill ensures that admissions decisions are based on merit and potential—not inherited privilege.”
UAW members fight every day to ensure higher education is accessible to the working class. Legacy admissions predominantly help wealthy applicants because working class students are much more likely to be the first in their families to go to college. We support banning legacy admissions as an outdated practice that perpetuates socioeconomic inequality.
Region 9A CAP in the News
“Ending legacy preferences is supported widely by Democrats, Republicans, and three-quarters of Americans. [...] National groups like the NAACP and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) favor ending legacy admissions. [...] Here in Massachusetts, organizations such as the Massachusetts chapter of the ACLU and United Auto Workers Region 9A support the bill.”
- Commonwealth Beacon: Legacy admissions must go (Aug. 14)
FROM THE INTERNATIONAL UAW
BlueOval SK Workers Link Union Drive to Ford Workers’ 20th-Century Fight for Safety
This week, the UAW released a powerful new video featuring BlueOval SK workers calling for a union to win a real voice on the job, especially when it comes to their health and safety. The video ties the effort by workers at Ford Motor Company who pushed for safer factories nearly a century ago to the high stakes fight today as workers at its joint venture battery plant in Kentucky gear up for an NLRB election in a few weeks.
After months of an aggressive union-busting campaign driven by the company, production and maintenance workers at BlueOval SK, Ford’s joint venture battery plant in Glendale, Kentucky, will finally have their chance to vote in a union election on August 26 and 27. The vote will be conducted by the NLRB, with ballots counted starting at 8 PM on August 27. Read more at UAW.org.
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:
- Library Workers Organizing Meeting & Strategy Session
Wednesday, August 20 | 7 PM ET | Zoom - Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Bill? Higher Ed Fights Back!
Monday, August 18 | 7:30 PM ET | Zoom
SOLIDARITY REQUESTS
Celebrate Labor Day in Maine
Sunday, August 31 & Monday, September 1 | Portland, Brewer, & Skowhegan, ME
The Central, Eastern, and Southern Maine Labor Councils are hosting Labor Day celebrations across the state. Join them for breakfast and barbeques in Portland, Brewer, and Skowhegan on Labor Day weekend.
New Hampshire AFL-CIO Labor Day Breakfast
Monday, September 1 | 8 AM | Manchester, NH
Labor Day is just around the corner—and so is the New Hampshire AFL-CIO’s annual Labor Day Breakfast at the DoubleTree Armory Ballroom in Manchester. This is more than just a breakfast. It’s a celebration of the victories, sacrifices, and solidarity of working people who have fought for fair wages, safe workplaces, and the rights we enjoy today—including the weekend itself. All sponsorship proceeds support the NH AFL-CIO PAC fund and the ongoing fight against anti-worker legislation like so-called “Right-to-Work.”
Connecticut for All Labor Day Canvass and Picnic
Monday, September 1 | 10 AM - 3 PM | TBD, CT
On Monday, September 1, Connecticut for All is hosting a Labor Day Canvass and Picnic, with more details to come.
Take Action to Support Empowering the App-Based Workers Act in Connecticut
Connecticut Drivers United is proud to announce that Senator Chris Murphy is championing federal legislation called the Empowering App-Based Workers Act that would guarantee drivers at least 75% of each passenger’s fare. That’s money that pays rent, pays groceries, and stays in Connecticut, for the people who actually do the work. Please send a letter to Senator Blumenthal and ask him to join his colleague and support drivers.
WILL Empower 2025 Edna Berger Award Nomination
WILL Empower is awarding the 2025 Edna Berger Young Courageous Leader Award ($15,000) to a leader who is leading for transformation. WILL Empower celebrates cisgender and transgender women, gender expansive and gender non-conforming leaders who reside and work in North America and who are actively involved in worker justice movements. Learn more about Edna Berger and the Berger-Marks Legacy.
Do you know a young (age 30 and under) courageous leader who demonstrates a commitment to worker, racial, and gender justice? Tell us about them. They should be affiliated with unions, worker centers, community-based organizations, or other justice-seeking organizations where worker well-being is central. Their work and accomplishments must demonstrate a willingness to confront power and exclusive institutional practices for greater equity. Nominate a leader who inspires you using this form!
UPCOMING EVENTS
2025 UAW International Women's Conference
August 17 - 22 | St. Pete Beach, FL
2025 UAW Civil & Human Rights Conference
August 24 - 29 | Onaway, MI
2025 UAW Contract Enforcement Boot Camp
September 7-12 | Onaway, MI
2025 UAW Membership Mobilization Institute
September 28 - October 3 | Onaway, MI
2025 UAW Local Union Officers Institute
October 5 - 10 | Onaway, MI