May Newsletter: California Primaries Endorsements, UAW Elections, & More
Dear UAW Sibling,
May has been another busy month in Region 6, with members all across the Western States taking action to advance working class political priorities, win historic contracts, organize more workers to join and actively participate in their union, and more. Keep reading for updates from around the Region, primary endorsements, important information about this year’s UAW elections, and more ways you can get involved in building a powerful labor movement this spring.
California Primary Elections TOMORROW!
Tuesday June 2 is the last day to vote in the California primary elections – get your ballot in asap! Region 6 members have made many endorsements and are fighting to elect candidates who center working class concerns. Check out the full list at the link below.
UAW members in Los Angeles are working to win major changes in the city. Science funding, housing costs, international worker rights, and improved public transit are all issues that will be directly affected by the June elections. UAW Region 6 members held a mayoral forum in May to speak with the candidates about working class priorities, and voted to endorse Nithya Raman for Los Angeles mayor.
And across California, UAW members have been hitting the streets to get out the vote for many candidates who are committed to advancing working class issues, including Ada Briceño for State Assembly, Mai Vang for Congress, George Whitesides for Congress, Pila Schiavo for State Assembly, and more.
Primary elections in Nevada are also coming up next Tuesday June 9! Check out the candidates UAW members have endorsed in Nevada here.
California Science Bond Passes the Senate!
California Science and Health Research Bond has passed the State Senate! This major milestone is thanks to the tens of thousands of UAW members and community members who have been taking action for months, including turning out to the mass Rally for California Science in Sacramento in early May. The fight continues! Help keep the momentum going in the State Assembly by signing the petition today.
UAW International Elections: Update Your Info
This year, UAW members across the country will vote in the quadrennial UAW International Executive Board elections for President, Secretary Treasurer, Vice Presidents, and Regional Directors. Check out the election notice here, and official election rules here. Candidates may choose to send information about their campaign to members through the federal monitor overseeing the election, so you can expect to see more information from candidates in the coming months. These elections are a critical part of our democratic processes as a union, and all members are strongly encouraged to actively participate and closely follow election-related information.
To ensure that you receive your ballot and information about the election, please provide or confirm your mailing and e-mail address information to your Local Union or complete the form on https://myinfo.uaw.org as soon as possible, and advise fellow members to do the same.
Summary of election timeline:
June 15-18, 2026: The 39th UAW Constitutional Convention will be held, during which Convention delegates will nominate Candidates for UAW International Office.
Late August 2026: The first distribution of mail-in ballots
October 5, 2026: Deadline for all ballots to be received
October 6, 2026: Ballot tabulation and vote count
Find more information at https://www.uawmonitor.com/elections.
Bargaining Heating Up at Western Washington
Over the last three months, student workers at Western Washington University (WWU) have been fighting for a fair contract for all student workers on campus, with members across WWU building an escalating campaign including a mass meeting earlier in May. And as a result of their organizing, student workers have made some incredible wins already: summer healthcare for grad students, optional cash compensation in lieu of a meal plan for RAs, and an historic post-traumatic event protocol, and more.
However, WWU administration still isn’t making movement on core issues: wages and rights for international and immigrant student workers. This Wednesday June 3 is the final bargaining session, and while negotiations are ongoing, student workers will be turning up the pressure with a sit-in and a mass meeting later in the day.
Practice Picket at CalArts
In May, CalArts United-UAW members held a one-hour practice picket to demand movement on critical issues still unresolved at the bargaining table, including job security, protections against harassment, and fair treatment for faculty facing non-renewal.
UW Affordability Forum
Bargaining is also ramping up at University of Washington, where Research Staff and Postdocs are bargaining successor contracts. Last week, Research Staff held an Affordability Forum to discuss their initial compensation proposal, how members developed it, and what it will take to win. Two UAW 4811 members joined the forum to share wins and insights from their recent historic contract campaign at University of California. Onwards!
Message from Region 6 Director Mike Miller
California is a state of stark contrasts. The state is a vital hub of innovation and progress, drawing talent from all over the world, but faces headwinds as Republicans attack science, curtail and surveil visas and visa-holders, slash university and research funding, and impede progress towards climate justice at every step. Vibrant immigrant communities enrich the state’s cultural, economic, political, and intellectual life, but are under vicious attack from the Trump administration’s fascist ICE goons. Vast wealth and power accumulates to the top 1%, while the bottom half of wage-earners falls further and further behind.
The permanent war machine has further exacerbated the affordability crisis. The disruption in oil transit has ramified throughout the world economy, increasing the prices of gas, food, and just about any other product that depends on petroleum in one way or another. As reported in the Financial Times, the energy shock unleashed by the US-Israel attack on Iran choked off the recovery in real wages that had begun under the previous presidential administration. With real wages falling, workers everywhere are feeling the pinch, especially lower- and middle-income households, who have had to cut back on grocery spending. Food insecurity is on the rise, consumer sentiment is cratering, and signs of economic strain are mounting.
Faced with these challenges, it is more important now than ever for working people to build a political movement independent of party affiliation to take back state power from the billionaires and their political puppets who they orchestrate to their own narrow benefit. The stark contrasts we see in California and countrywide are not laws of immutable nature; they are the product of years of austerity, environmental neglect, policies aimed at punishing rather than uplifting working people, and billionaires exercising their class power to protect their privileges.
California’s primary elections are one avenue to right this capsizing ship of state. I encourage everyone to consult UAW endorsements, get out the vote, and help your friends, family, and neighbors get to the ballot box on Tuesday, June 2. Beyond these elections, workers must expand the labor movement, organizing more workplaces and signing up more members in existing locals. And the ground for organization is fertile. As a 2025 EPI survey demonstrated, 43% of non-union workers would vote to unionize their workplace if given the opportunity. That’s 56 million workers waiting for the chance to organize right now. We have the numbers; let’s build the power.
Upcoming Events
UAW Constitutional Convention, June 15-18, Detroit, MI.
Region 6 Summer School, July 23-26, Cal State Los Angeles. All members are encouraged to join – contact your Local for more info!
Labor conferences around the country: Contact your Local for more info!
Labor Notes Conference, June 12-14, Chicago, IL.
UAW Family Scholarship Program, July 12-17, Onaway, MI.
NAACP National Convention, July 18-22, Chicago, IL.
A. Philip Randolph Institute’s National Education Conference, July 22-26, New Orleans, LA.
UAW Veteran’s Conference, August 9-14, Onaway, MI.
UAW TOP and Women's Conference, August 9-14, Houston, TX.
Union Hall Arts Residency, August 10-September 7, Detroit, MI. UAW members who are selected to participate will be sponsored by the UAW Education Department.
UAW Civil and Human Rights Conference, August 23-28, Onaway, MI.
UAW Bargaining and Contract Enforcement Bootcamp, September 20-25, Onaway, MI.
UAW Member Mobilization, September 27-October 2, Onaway, MI.
UAW Standing Committees & EAP Conference, October 4-9, Onaway, MI.