On Tuesday published the Detroit News a Brief by Will Lehman, candidate for the leadership of the United Auto Workers, in which he explains the undemocratic nature of the first UAW membership vote on top union officials.
Headed “‘Democratic’ UAW election is really anything but that,” the letter said the UAW apparatus did as little as possible to inform workers about the election, resulting in a turnout of just 10 percent of eligible voters led.
We document the full letter here.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) election ended this week with until Monday for ballots to arrive in the mail. This is the first direct election of the UAW leadership in its history, since to date all top officials have been appointed by the bureaucracy at the annual conventions.
The direct elections are the result of corruption in the union apparatus, with the union’s most recent leadership jailed and accused of taking bribes.
Despite its unprecedented character, the way the election is being conducted is a farce. Of the 1 million UAW members (both workers and retirees), 900,000 (90 percent) did not vote. It’s not because workers are apathetic, it’s because most don’t even know an election is taking place. The UAW leadership has done as little as possible to educate workers about their rights and ensure they have a vote.
Therefore, last month in Detroit, I filed a complaint in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, seeking a 30-day extension of the election deadlines and asking the court-appointed overseer to take steps to ensure that all ADRs -Members are properly informed. As part of the lawsuit, I submitted affidavits from workers who said they were not informed of the election or received a ballot.
In response, the UAW, the Forensic Supervisor, and the Biden administration all opposed extending the deadline. They all said they were not concerned about a turnout that the court itself described as “anemic.” From their perspective, the election went exactly as they intended.
Regrettably, the court dodged the key democratic issues and chose to dismiss my lawsuit on purely technical grounds, claiming that I did not have the right to file a lawsuit because I personally received a ballot. This leads to a completely paradoxical situation: only workers who are unaware of the election can file a lawsuit – but these workers will not file a lawsuit because they are unaware of the election.
This reasoning ignores my right and the right of all workers in the UAW to an election conducted in a democratic manner to ensure leadership that represents the views of the entire membership.
One of the UAW attorneys’ main arguments against a delay is that it would undermine the March negotiating convention and that the union needs “stability.” Indeed, the evidently undemocratic nature of the election will rob the union leadership of all credibility at the grassroots level.
My campaign was about the workers in the factories. Workers agree that current living conditions are impossible. Prices are rising far beyond the tiny wage increases negotiated by the UAW. Many of our colleagues have died from the pandemic. At the same time, corporate profits are soaring and inequality is widening.
My campaign has received strong support from workers looking for a way to speak up for themselves. And we will continue this work.
Will Lehman, 2022 UAW presidential candidate, worker at Mack Trucks in Macungie, Pennsylvania