The president of the United Auto Workers failed to get a new four-year term in the union's first ever direct election, setting up a second election next year.
According to unofficial results from the federal monitor who ran the election, around 106,790 ballots were cast, or about one tenth of the UAW members. Curry received 34,592 votes, or 32%, with 80% of the votes counted. The time is New York time. Shawn was supported by a reform group within the union.
A candidate needs 50% of the votes to win. In January, there would be a second round of voting. A spokesman for the reform slate said the race is headed to a second round.
Since Walter Reuther consolidated power in the late 1940s, there have been no serious leadership challenges at the union. The UAW is trying to regain the trust of its members after a five-year U.S. investigation netted more than a dozen convictions.
According to Marick Masters, a professor at Wayne State University who studies the UAW, there is unhappiness. There were plenty of reasons to be dissatisfied with leadership.
The winner of the contest will be under pressure to appease workers at the three companies who are looking for wage gains to offset inflation. About 150,000 UAW members are employed by them together.
The union is facing threats to job security and wage standards as carmakers invest billions in the US's non union South to build electric vehicles, which require fewer people and hours to assemble than combustion engine cars.
A victory for Fain, a former automotive electrician who rose to a position at the union's headquarters, could mean a more hard-line approach at the negotiating table next year.
Masters said it was a shift to a more militant stance on the part of the U AW. If something isn't given in return, they'd be more resistant to concessions.
The US auto industry faces a push to ease inflation.
A test of the union's power will come later this month when it tries to organize a new plant in Lordstown, Ohio, run by Ultium Cells. The plant's 850 production workers will vote in December on whether to join the UAW.
Nonunion workers at battery plants could be inspired by a union win. A new generation of unionized battery and EV industry employees will be brought in by the UAW.
In December of 2021, members of the UAW voted to have direct elections for their leaders. Margaret Mock, a worker at a truck plant in Michigan, was poised to become secretary treasurer, as reformers were leading races for other powerful positions.
A federal monitor will oversee ethics reform for six years after the UAW agreed to it.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
