The United Auto Workers (UAW) 2022 Constitutional Convention began in Detroit, MI on July 25 and ended on the 28th. The convention, which takes place once every four years, was attended by delegates elected by local union memberships across the country who will set the future course of the union through democratic mechanisms.

But underlying surface-level formalities, there was a power struggle between two factions taking place at the convention: one side which claims to represent a relatively militant rank-and-file and the other nakedly representing the influence of the employers within the union. There is the incumbent Administration Caucus, heir to the legacy of corrupt leaders which uses its entrenchment in the upper echelons of the UAW to manipulate convention proceedings and suppress opposition while forcing concessions upon the membership; and the union caucus Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD), which aims to expand democracy within the union and elevate the level of combativeness with respect to employers.

In 2021, UAWD led a campaign for “One Member, One Vote”, resulting in a referendum that won members the right to directly elect the International Executive Board (IEB), which controls the union in between constitutional conventions. In May 2022, the IEB increased strike pay from $275 to $400 per week after UAWD added improved strike pay to its platform for the 2022 convention and IEB election.

Another promising move by the UAWD was pushing the IEB to invite SINTTIA, an independent union of Mexican auto workers, to the convention–an example of the practical internationalism sorely lacking in the labor movement.

At the convention, UAWD’s stated aims were to reform the union to commit to rejecting tier systems (contracts that divide the workforce into sections that receive different pay and benefits); to ensure strike payments arrive on day one; to retain all interest and earnings on the strike fund (for years it has been siphoned away by blatantly corrupt higher officials); to implement ranked choice voting for IEB elections; to make retirees eligible for the IEB (because some of UAWD’s candidates are retirees); and to organize in electric vehicle production in anticipation of the energy transition.

During the proceedings, a resolution codifying “equal pay for equal work” (seeking to eliminate the tier system) advanced by UAWD, which has been passed by a substantial number of local unions, failed to secure the support of a majority of delegates at the constitutional convention. The issue has not been dropped entirely though; discussion has merely been postponed until the bargaining convention coming next spring. Delegates also voted down UAWD’s proposal to allow election of retirees to the IEB.

However, the fact that over 15% of delegates voted to bring these amendments out of committee to debate at all - something which hasn’t happened in many years - suggests that the Administration Caucus may be starting to lose its grip on the union.

Delegates did pass the resolution on day one strike pay too.

This coming December, UAWD hopes to elect its own slate of candidates to the IEB.

Even if UAWD manages to overcome the subterfuge of the Administration Caucus, simply passing resolutions or amendments to the UAW constitution will not be sufficient to satisfy the demands of combative workers since such formalities can always be flouted. It is imperative that UAWD uses its resources and network of organizers to prepare and conduct direct class struggles to realize their demands. For example, while codifying rejection of multi-tier wage agreements or setting “equal pay for equal work” as a priority at a bargaining convention may be useful in some circumstances, it is more important to organize workers for extensive and intensive strikes against employers so that conditions can be equalized in reality. The formal approval of a majority of convention delegates or the executive board is not necessary to begin that work. Seeking prior recognition of militant goals and actions from the less conscious or even openly opportunistic as an end in itself is a waste of time; more workers will become aware of the legitimacy of the movement as it proves itself in practice, thereby making it easier to take over leadership of the union and expel the incompetent and the corrupt.

UAWD, which has many elements of opportunism that must be fought, is no substitute for the party fraction, but if it accomplishes some of its goals, that could open up certain opportunities for communist activity and constitute the first step towards reconquering the UAW and transforming it into a class union.