United Auto Workers

United Auto Workers

International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America
Abbreviation	UAW
Formation	August 26, 1935; 89 years ago (1935-08-26)
Type	Trade union
Headquarters	Detroit, Michigan, US
Location	United States Ontario, Canada
Membership (2022)	391,000 (active) 580,000 (retired)[1]
President	Shawn Fain
Secessions	Canadian Auto Workers
Affiliations	AFL–CIO Canadian Labour Congress IndustriALL Global Union
Revenue (2020)	$288 million[2]
Endowment (2020)	$1.027 billion
Website	uaw.org

The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and southern Ontario, Canada. It was founded as part of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in the 1930s and grew rapidly from 1936 to the 1950s. The union played a major role in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party under the leadership of Walter Reuther (president 1946–1970). It was known for gaining high wages and pensions for automotive manufacturing workers, but it was unable to unionize auto plants built by foreign-based car makers in the South after the 1970s, and it went into a steady decline in membership; reasons for this included increased automation, decreased use of labor, mismanagement, movements of manufacturing (including reaction to NAFTA), and increased globalization. After a successful strike at the Big Three in 2023, the union organized its first foreign plant (VW) in 2024.^[3]

UAW members in the 21st century work in industries including autos and auto parts, health care, casino gambling, and higher education. The union is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. As of February 24, 2022, the UAW has more than 391,000 active members and more than 580,000 retired members in over 600 local unions and holds 1,150 contracts with some 1,600 employers.^[1] It holds assets amounting to just over $1 billion.^[2]