Resolution: UAWD Strategy for Considering IEB Endorsements in 2026

Whereas, the UAWD Member Platform states, “We see the end goal of class struggle unionism as going far beyond mere reform of the UAW. That means that we don’t see elections … as the beginning and end of, or necessarily a key focus of, our class struggle politics and organizing.”

Whereas, UAWD endorsed, led, and ran the UAW Members United slate in the 2022 IEB election, sweeping each position we contested;

Whereas, the UAWD IEB electeds failed to meet our collective expectations, including by violating the core principles of militancy and democracy that were central to our campaign, maintaining aspects of top-down Administration Caucus operations, and failing to keep up even basic communication with the UAWD SC and membership;

Whereas, UAWD ultimately voted to unendorse two of our IEB electeds in late 2024, while others ultimately collaborated with some UAWD leadership in an attempt to undemocratically dissolve UAWD in early 2025;

Whereas, while our 2022 IEB candidate endorsement process included democratic structures, with membership meetings and votes held for each candidate, there was ultimately no collective deliberation about political goals or the candidates’ perspectives that enabled dissent;

Whereas, in this political moment, it would be difficult, and would likely drain our focus and resources, to try to build an effective campaign for the IEB that could succeed in developing our vision of class struggle unionism because:

• An enormous amount of capacity is required to run an effective nation-wide campaign for an IEB position; and
• The only way to overcome the failures of our past slate and ensure that new UAW leadership is democratically directed by the rank and file is if we run UAWD members, propelled to office by a bottom-up movement, rooted deeply in shop floor organization.

I. Be it resolved, that UAWD shall not develop and lead our own UAWD IEB Campaign unless, in the months leading up to the 2026 UAW Constitutional Convention, we find an ideal class struggle candidate or slate of candidates, who have agreed to our UAWD Member Platform and can provide significant capacity to the campaign — which we see as unlikely, but not impossible.

II. Be it resolved,, that, to set a high standard and enable democratic deliberation about possible candidates and our capacity, UAWD shall adopt the following strategy for considering candidates for a UAWD IEB Campaign prior to the 2026 UAW Constitutional Convention:

1. Nominations: Any UAWD member or supporter who has signed the UAWD Membership Pledge may be proposed for consideration. To be nominated, they must be nominated by at least five UAWD members. The Steering Committee (SC) shall create and circulate a form that UAWD members can use to submit nominations.
2. Accepting a nomination: The SC, with input from the UAWD membership, shall create a Candidate Questionnaire, which will seek to discern the nominee’s past successes in shop floor organizing, experience in union leadership, and political track-record, specifically if it is consistent with the UAWD Member Platform. After nomination, the SC shall reach out to the nominee and give them at least one week to accept the nomination and complete the Questionnaire.
3. Steering Committee interview: This may occur at a regularly-schedule or special SC meeting, which, following our SC meeting policy, are accessible to UAWD members.
4. Advance to membership consideration: Within two weeks of accepting their nomination, the candidate, along with their Candidate Questionnaire, shall be presented to the UAWD membership using email and Slack. A special Slack channel, available to all UAWD members, shall be created to facilitate written deliberation about candidates. During this period, the SC may vote, requiring a 2/3 majority, not to advance the candidate for membership consideration.
5. Membership decision-making: Within one month of advancing to membership consideration, or as soon as is logistically possible, a Special Membership Meeting (SMM) shall be scheduled to make a decision on whether or not to include the candidate as the sole candidate or a slate member in a UAWD IEB Campaign. Multiple nominees may be considered at the same meeting and, if there are multiple nominees being considered for the same position, the SC may choose to include a debate, either at the SMM or another meeting. All motions regarding candidates shall be considered separately from other candidates and be adopted by simple majority votes, as is usual for any motion per the UAWD Bylaws.
6. Setting a campaign strategy: UAWD shall only have a UAWD IEB Campaign if at least one candidate is selected using the process above. If so, either an already-scheduled SMM for considering candidates, or an additional SMM, shall be used to further establish the campaign strategy.

III. Be it resolved, that UAWD shall develop a plan for considering IEB endorsements in the run up to and after the 2026 UAW Constitutional Convention:

1. All candidates endorsed who are not included in a UAWD IEB Campaign, through the process established above, will be given critical support — meaning that throughout the IEB campaign, UAWD will openly discuss both the pros and cons of the candidate. UAWD, our leadership, and our members shall not hide an endorsed candidate’s weaknesses to try to tactically gain favor with a candidate or their faction.
2. Prior to the ConCon, candidates for endorsement shall be considered using the same process above for inclusion in the UAWD IEB Campaign, with the exception that they do not need to be a UAWD member or supporter, though they do still need to agree to the UAWD Member Platform.
3. After the ConCon, the same process shall be used without the requirement that candidates need to agree to the UAWD Member Platform.
4. Whether prior to or after the ConCon, any candidate for endorsement must agree to the UAWD IEB Endorsee Program for Building a Class Struggle UAW, to be established later this year, and must commit to including the Program contents in their campaign literature. The Program shall be based on at least the following practices that the UAW IEB can concretely implement to build a class struggle union:

a. Educating to build militancy for shop floor demands: The IEB should use staff, legal, and communications resources to educate Local leaders and rank-and-file members about using levers, such as 1) work-to-rule campaigns, 2) Local contract expirations and 3) strikes over production standards and health and safety grievances. The IEB should promote these tactics to wage protected mid-contract struggles against mandatory overtime, layoffs, and for other shop floor demands, treating concessionary UAW contracts as a floor, not a ceiling.

b. Organizing to promote working class solidarity: The IEB should organize UAW bargaining committees, sub-councils, and rank-and-file members to fight for company-wide wage floors in UAW contracts that apply to all of a company’s workers, regardless of classification or country, to fight cross-border whipsawing.

c. Building capacity for general strikes: Beyond rhetoric, the IEB should use staff and communications resources to educate Local leaders and rank-and-file members about tactics and strategies for unprotected mid-contract strikes. The IEB should enable membership deliberation and votes about using these tactics to mount economic general strikes or political general strikes, to respond to violent attacks on the working class in their community by the government or by management.

5. At any time, either at a General Membership Meeting or an SMM schedule for another purpose described in this resolution, this endorsement process may be modified by membership action.