Worker Control Over Strike Authorization
UAWD Amendment for
the 2026 UAW Constitutional Convention
Worker Control Over Strike Authorization
Amendment to Article 50
The greatest strength workers have is withholding our labor from our bosses. The International Executive Board (IEB) currently holds veto power over strike authorization votes taken by UAW members, restricting democratic union decisions and stifling the development of mass participation and militant organizing activity.
Amendment Summary
Be it resolved that:
- Article 50, Section 1(a) shall be amended as fellows (bold indicates an addition,
struck throughindicates a removal):- When a dispute exists between an employer and a Local Union concerning the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement or any other strikeable issue the Local Union or the International Executive Board may issue a call for a strike vote. The Local Union may call for such a strike vote by a majority vote at a Local membership meeting, either a general meeting or a special meeting called for this purpose, or by majority vote of the Local Union Executive Board. Such a strike vote shall also be called if a valid petition by at least one-quarter (1/4) of the membership of a shop is submitted to the Local Union Executive Board. The strike vote may be to directly set a date and time for the strike to commence or may give the Bargaining Committee authority to call a strike if and when it determines. All members must be given due notice of the vote to be taken and it shall require a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote by secret ballot
of those voting to request strike authorization from the International Executive Board. Only members in good standing shall be entitled to vote.
- When a dispute exists between an employer and a Local Union concerning the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement or any other strikeable issue the Local Union or the International Executive Board may issue a call for a strike vote. The Local Union may call for such a strike vote by a majority vote at a Local membership meeting, either a general meeting or a special meeting called for this purpose, or by majority vote of the Local Union Executive Board. Such a strike vote shall also be called if a valid petition by at least one-quarter (1/4) of the membership of a shop is submitted to the Local Union Executive Board. The strike vote may be to directly set a date and time for the strike to commence or may give the Bargaining Committee authority to call a strike if and when it determines. All members must be given due notice of the vote to be taken and it shall require a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote by secret ballot
- Sections 2-4 and Sections 6-7 of Article 50 be struck in their entirety;
- The following sentence in Article 50, Section 5 be struck: “Wherever the International Executive Board decides that it is unwise to continue an existing strike, it will order all members of Local Unions who have ceased work in connection therewith to resume work and thereupon and thereafter all assistance from the International Union shall cease.”
Background
- The UAW Constitution currently gives the IEB the power to veto strikes, even after they’ve received super-majority membership approval. Employers and bosses rely heavily on tactics of delay, dragging out bargaining and decision making processes to weaken worker power.
- The IEB approval process supports and reinforces these tactics of delay and at its worst, can intervene in a workplace struggle on the side of the bosses by overturning a strike vote, causing confusion, disillusionment, and division among the membership.
A CLASS STRUGGLE APPROACH
- Workers organized in their locals best understand the conditions on the ground, the balance of forces with management, and the urgency of collective action. The workers should retain decision control over whether and when to withhold their labor.
- Class-struggle unionism is rooted in mass participation and collective control over the conditions of our labor. The IEB strike veto stands in total contrast to these ideals, and must be eliminated to strengthen worker power and support the development of local militancy.
- For a democratic organization to flourish, the ones who bear the greatest risks of a strike (lost wages, retaliation, physical danger) must be the same people who exercise the final authority over launching or continuing it.
OPPOSITION FROM UAW BUREAUCRATS
- The IEB’s final word on strike authorization is one more tool in the boss’s belt they can use to delay and divide our workplaces during times of the most heightened struggle and tension. Any delay can only help the owners of our workplaces and can only hurt the workers who produce their profits.
- The IEB does not want to relinquish this power, as it is just another of the many ways they enact strict top-down control over the limits of operation of our union. By picking and choosing battles on their own terms, rather than according to the decisions of our members, they are able to soften the militancy of our organization and work in tandem with capitalists to ensure a false “labor peace” on shop floors across the country.
