Chris Viola is an autoworker and member of UAW Local 22 and Metro Detroit Democratic Socialists of America, as well as a cochair of Unite All Workers for Democracy’s Electric Vehicle Committee.
The UAW is now in the midst of an ambitious drive to organize the US’s nonunion auto shops, including electric vehicle plants. Winning a just EV transition will require a worker-led organizing strategy that puts common-good demands front and center.
In its negotiations with the Big Three Automakers, the United Auto Workers wants to eliminate the lower-tier status hurting many electric vehicle workers. A rank-and-file autoworker explains why the fight is central to a just green transition.
Unite All Workers for Democracy, the reform caucus in the United Auto Workers, just won sweeping victories in leadership elections. Now they’re looking to transform the UAW, one of the largest unions in the country, into a democratic fighting machine.