UAW Local 31

Members - Glenn Woods, Mary Stumpf, Richard Martins, Robert Lowe and Don Marshall

REPORT FROM NATIONAL UAW CAP CONFERENCE

Delegates to the UAW’s CAP Conference heard members of Congress, leading Washington journalists, and UAW coalition partners discuss issues facing working people in the upcoming election year.

Wade Henderson, President of the Leadership Council on Civil Rights thanked UAW members for their efforts to defeat a ballot proposal banning affirmative action in Michigan and pledged support for the Employee Free Choice Act.  “The Employee Free Choice Act has to be a top civil rights as well as a labor objective,” said Henderson.  “Labor rights are civil rights.  We know that when workers – regardless of race or ethnicity – are members of the union they benefit overall by about 30 percent in wages.  Union membership is the best protection for full participation in the economy.”

Donna Birks, a delegate from Local 31 said that job security is No. 1 on her list and that means stopping the “job-killing” trade agreements.  Donna and the other local delegates visited with congressional representatives on “the Hill” while in Washington, DC.

While at the Conference, this year’s V-CAP Drive Award went to UAW active and retired members of our own Region 5, who contributed over $1 million to the Union’s Voluntary Community Action Program.  Region 5 Director Jim Wells accepted the award and acknowledged the members’ commitment to helping further the Union’s political agenda.