Will Lehman, a rank-and-file worker at Mack Trucks who ran for UAW president, argues the recent election was a debacle for the union apparatus. Of roughly 1.1 million eligible members, only 98,029 voted, and Fain's 66,166 votes amount to about 6 percent of the membership, which Lehman says the union and media wrongly present as a mandate. He blames low turnout partly on workers not receiving ballots and on rules barring non-members from contributing to his campaign, which cut it off from the World Socialist Web Site. Pointing to workers' rejection of company-backed deals at Nexteer, Dana and other suppliers, he says the vote shows deep hostility toward the leadership. He calls for rank-and-file committees in every workplace, controlled by workers, to fight over wages and conditions and to abolish the apparatus.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Original headline: After the UAW election debacle : We must build rank - and - file committees and take power on the shop floor !
Read the original on wsws.org ↗
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