The UAW Takes An EV Win Amid More Internal Losses

by | Dec 15, 2022 | Corruption, Federal, UAW, Unionized Company

The UAW’s corruption scandal was bound to fuel ongoing leadership woes for President Ray Curry. The union did, however, notch a victory this month at Ohio’s Ultium Cells plant. The joint General Motors/LG EV battery factory will bring 1,000 more UAW members to the fold. Likewise, Biden greased wheels during a White House meeting, in which he met with the Ford CEO and Curry for an economic discussion.

Curry’s leadership days could still be numbered since the UAW’s first direct election didn’t see any candidate nab 50% of the vote, so a runoff will be forthcoming. It’s a sketchy affair all around, however, given a mere 11% election turnout from members. Still, that turnout was enough to elevate reform-friendly candidates into almost half of the available union board seats.

Of the small percentage of union members who voted, the results surprisingly did not favor presidential candidate Will Lehman despite his many endorsements from rank-and-file workers. Rather, Curry took 38.2% of the vote while challenger Shawn Fain followed with 37.6%. Lehman has declined to endorse Fain in a runoff.

Lehman further accused the union’s leadership of voter suppression by withholding ballots and miscommunicating cutoff dates. Lehman sued UAW to extend the window for the presidential vote, but a federal judge denied his request.

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