UAW Reform Is at Risk
From the mid-1980s until 1995, New Directions was the first United Auto Workers caucus to champion a membership-led union rooted in democracy, accountability and transparency. Both of us were active in the group and believed that the direct election of the UAW’s top officers, via One Member, One Vote, was key to creating a democratic union.
Since 1948, the old convention delegate election system for choosing the UAW's top leadership had enabled the Administrative Caucus (AC) to exercise one-party rule over the UAW. Thus, the union was dying, and it could never realize its full potential.
The emergence of a new reform caucus in 2019, Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD), ushered in a new era of union reform. The contested 2022 election for the UAW’s International Executive Board (IEB) resulted in the Unite All Workers for Democracy’s (UAWD) slate winning half of the 14 seats on the union’s IEB. This resulted in the election of candidates who pledged to reform the UAW. President Shawn Fain, Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock, two UAW vice presidents, and three regional directors were catapulted into office.
This team brought new blood into the UAW. The UAW conducted a brilliant strike in the auto sector in 2023, the same year the reformers took office, delivering historic gains to its members.
Despite the success, a rift emerged within the reform slate. In 2024, Fain removed administrative responsibilities from Mock and ended Rich Boyer’s bargaining duties at Stellantis. Both Boyer and Mock appealed these actions to the UAW Monitor. The monitor, in scathing reports issued in late 2025, forced Fain to restore Mock and Boyers’ duties, fire the chief of staff and demote the communications director.
Despite the success, a rift emerged within the reform slate. In 2024, Fain removed administrative rsponsibilities from Mock and ended Rich Boyer’s bargaining duties at Stellantis. Both Boyer and Mock appealed these actions to the UAW Monitor. The monitor, in scathing reports issued in late 2025, forced Fain to restore Mock and Boyers’ duties, fire the chief of staff and demote the communications director.
These revelations left reformers in the UAW reeling in disbelief. Infighting among candidates is not what the reform movement worked so hard over the years to achieve. Instead, we envisioned progressives working together to return the UAW to its place as a premier labor organization in the United States. Separately, infighting within UAWD led to its dissolution in April 2025, leaving the UAW reform movement in disarray.
Against this backdrop, remnants of the Administrative Caucus are regrouping to make a comeback in the 2026 IEB elections. If successful, the progress made over the last few years will come to an end, saddling the UAW with the same ineffective leadership that once stifled the union’s progress.
The dissolution of UAWD is fueling the Administrative Caucus’ comeback. One faction of the former UAWD, still using the UAWD name, is dedicated to advancing class-struggle unionism “…to win the collective liberation of the working class around the world.” While this goal is commendable, it will not attract the majority of UAW members, who have no interest in taking on the world's problems.
The other faction, now called UAW Member Action, has focused on educational work and supporting the UAWD candidates who are now serving on the IEB. These efforts are diverting UAW Member Action from the full and continued attention it needs for its reform efforts.
The two caucuses need to work together to keep the union moving in a positive, reform-minded direction. However, we are under no illusion that reunification is possible, but history shows that when the two caucuses were united, they won the 2022-2023 IEB election. Both caucuses could form a coalition to replicate their past electoral success. If they fail to heed this warning, the Administration Caucus will win the 2026 IEB election and return the UAW to a one-party, do-nothing union.
Finally, everyone must accept that the UAW’s 70-year-old culture cannot be changed in one election. Cultural change needs sustained attention and commitment; without it, we will return to a one-party union controlled by just a handful of leaders. Our dream of a UAW leading the working class to economic security cannot come to fruition without dismembering the old culture and constructing a new one.
This is a call to action for all reformers. The UAW needs you now more than ever. This new phase of action requires reformers to set aside their egos and personal agendas to focus on the greater good. Success requires laser-focused attention to the UAW’s continued reform. The choice is yours, but whichever path you choose, it will determine the success or failure of the new UAW.
Mike Cannon and Elly Leary serve as reformers in the United Auto Workers Union.