More on the UAW

The UAW — formally, the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America — is one of the country's largest, oldest, and most influential labor unions.

It was founded in 1935, and through a series of vigorous and sometimes bloody battles came to represent a substantive portion of workers in the U.S. automobile and other industries.

As recently as 1979, the UAW had over 1.5 million members.  Despite a slight bounce in 2004, membership has declined precipitously ever since, declining to 558,000 at the end of 2005 by the Union's own count.

Nonetheless, the UAW remains a big business.

• Its total assets in 2005 were over $1.2 billion dollars (see http://erds.dol-esa.gov/query/getOrgQry.do and enter 000149 under "File Name").
• It has hundreds of employees, and a payroll of over $101 million per year.
• The average compensation and disbursements shared among some 19 UAW International Union officers in 2005 was $118,654.84.
• The UAW made more than $2.2 million in political campaign contributions in 2005-2006 (see Political Money Line), 98% of it to Democratic candidates.

As a business, the UAW must concern itself with revenue — the great majority of which comes from members' dues, fees, fines, and assessments. As membership has dwindled, so has the UAW's revenue stream.

Therefore, the UAW has adopted new organizing tactics, chief among them the pursuit of neutrality agreements.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the UAW is willing to go to great lengths in contract talks to secure neutrality agreements and thus improve its chances of winning more members — even when such measures include plant closings and the loss of union jobs.