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UAW Region 9A stands in solidarity with our siblings and family from both Ukraine and Russia. We hope that strategic political and diplomatic solutions being set forth will protect and support families from both countries and minimize the harm and destruction.
MATTHEW DONLEVY UAW LOCAL 2322
I’ve worked as a Union Rep at 2322 since June of last year and represent the Graduate Employee Organization (GEO), the Resident Assistant/Peer Mentor Union (RAPMU) as well as Postdoctoral Researcher Organizing (PRO) all on the UMass Amherst campus. I got heavily involved with GEO upon matriculation into a graduate program in 2013; first as general agitator or management, then as a departmental steward and finally as the chief negotiation of GEO’s 2017-2020 contract. During that time I also worked closely with the local through service on the elections committee, finance committee and through solidarity actions with our other units such as ServiceNet. In 2018 I moved back south to take care of my mother, and had the pleasure to work with UCW-CWA in TN, as a rank and filer, to organize faculty and staff. I learned a lot about organizing and representing workers who live in a hostile state, don’t have contracts/recognized unions, and who keenly felt a lack of power and control – especially under pandemic conditions. Now I’m back in Western Mass, and ready to kick UMass @ss. I regretted not getting more involved with 2322 before, graduate school devoured my time, but I’m glad to be back and to be making up for it. I’ve always appreciated our local, and GEO in particular, for its assertive defense of members as well as its courage to take cutting edge, and sometimes unpopular, stances on political and economic issues that impact the working class.
I did not have much of a chance to involve myself with 9A before beyond smaller things like participating in lobby day, presenting Region positions at the most recent constitutional convention or supporting other higher ed locals in their organizing and bargaining efforts.
I’ve worked as a Union Rep at 2322 since June of last year and represent the Graduate Employee Organization (GEO), the Resident Assistant/Peer Mentor Union (RAPMU) as well as Postdoctoral Researcher Organizing (PRO) all on the UMass Amherst campus. I got heavily involved with GEO upon matriculation into a graduate program in 2013; first as general agitator or management, then as a departmental steward and finally as the chief negotiation of GEO’s 2017-2020 contract. During that time I also worked closely with the local through service on the elections committee, finance committee and through solidarity actions with our other units such as ServiceNet. In 2018 I moved back south to take care of my mother, and had the pleasure to work with UCW-CWA in TN, as a rank and filer, to organize faculty and staff. I learned a lot about organizing and representing workers who live in a hostile state, don’t have contracts/recognized unions, and who keenly felt a lack of power and control – especially under pandemic conditions. Now I’m back in Western Mass, and ready to kick UMass @ss. I regretted not getting more involved with 2322 before, graduate school devoured my time, but I’m glad to be back and to be making up for it. I’ve always appreciated our local, and GEO in particular, for its assertive defense of members as well as its courage to take cutting edge, and sometimes unpopular, stances on political and economic issues that impact the working class.
I did not have much of a chance to involve myself with 9A before beyond smaller things like participating in lobby day, presenting Region positions at the most recent constitutional convention or supporting other higher ed locals in their organizing and bargaining efforts.
Now, I hope to do so through much of the same, but by also taking a more active role in the many committees and working groups that are doing important labor on behalf of our members in the Region. And I think you should too! Personally I’ve never been much of a hobby person, but I’m working on it – the pandemic made that a necessity! Recently I’ve been doing a lot of hiking (finished a 5 day hike in Chile not too long ago), semi-successful cooking, reading/cocktail groups with friends, and involving myself as much as I can in local activism. I also like motorcycles, hosting dinners and tastefully cyber-bullying backwards local politicians. I’m always down to try new hobbies though; if any of you know how to play the banjo or how not to kill house plants please contact me directly.
I’ve always had a sharp understanding of power and justice – that was cultivated in me early by some of the things I experienced growing up. I refined that understanding in undergrad, and by the time I got to UMass joining GEO was as self-evident as breathing. Unions, at their best, are one of the few bulwarks the working class (and workers in general) have against the rampant material and social indignities of racialized capitalism. I’ve always been interested in growing union spaces to be the vehicle of a radical cross-everything solidarity that we all desperately need, and are unlikely to find otherwise in our lives. My goals for my local, and the labor movement more broadly, are to achieve just that. To be relevant spaces of worker power where we can labor together towards a vision of the future where we actually exist.
UAW REGION 9A WELCOMES LOCAL 2710 STUDENT WORKERS OF COLUMBIA!
On February 22, 2022, UAW International President Ray Curry and Secretary-Treasurer Frank Stuglin Chartered UAW Region 9A’s newest local union, Student Workers of Columbia! The local chose the number 2710 to memorialize the day they walked into Columbia University President Lee Bollinger’s class calling on the University for a fair contract.
GEU-UAW LOCAL 6950 CONTRACT UPDATE
Yesterday, Local 6950 GA Bargaining Team reached tentative agreement on their third contract with UConn! This tentative agreement builds on their previous two contracts and continues to improve the working conditions of Graduate Assistants at the University. Members will vote to ratify the contract beginning next week. After ratification, the contract will then be submitted for legislative approval. Some of the contract wins include: – a 15% wage increases over the 4 years of the contract with 4% raises in the first year- maintain quality healthcare at an affordable price- won protections against bullying and power-based harassment- expand the childcare reimbursement fund from $160,000 to $225,000 each year- recognition and accommodations for members to celebrate cultural and religious holidays
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN AT COLT FIREARMS – UAW LOCAL 376
UAW Local 376 hit the bargaining table today opening up contract negotiations with their oldest legacy unit of workers at Colt Firearms in West Hartford, CT. President Craig smith and the unit bargaining team are ready to fight for improved compensation and benefits and work rules.
ARBITRATION UPDATE FROM UAW LOCAL 405
My name is William Lenworth and I’ve been a member of UAW Local 405 for nine years at Triumph Engine Control System in West Hartford, CT. Having a union has made a difference in my life. Ten months ago, my employer unfairly terminated me. The union filed for arbitration, fought for my job and was able to reach a settlement stipulation getting me back to work. It has been a difficult journey for me, but without a union I would have not been able to recover my job. Union strong!
UAW REGION 9A DIRECTOR BEVERLEY BRAKEMAN AND MEMBERS TESTIFY IN CT IN SUPPORT OF REVENUE GENERATOR AND CAPTIVE AUDIENCE BILLS
On March 3, 2022, UAW Region 9A Regional Director Beverley Brakeman testified in front of Connecticut’s Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee in support of three bills designed to generate much needed revenue to support housing, education, food security, and other safety net programs that Connecticut residents need. As a member of the Recovery For All Coalition, Beverley highlighted how these bills could make a significant difference in people’s lives, drawing upon a very personal experience in her own life with one of her daughters and her ex-husband. You can read Beverley’s testimony here. Links to specific bills: SB21, SB28 and SB29.
On March 4, 2022, UAW Region 9A Regional Director Beverley Brakeman testified in front of Connecticut’s Judiciary Committee in support of SB163: An Act Protecting Employee Freedom of Speech Conscience. This bill would establish a new state minimum labor standard to allow employees to refuse to attend employer-mandated captive audience meetings regarding the employer’s opinion on religious or political matters (including union organizing) would permit employees to leave the meeting and return to work. Employees would have the right to make their own decisions about their own workplace interests, rather than being harassed and coerced to vote in the employer’s financial interest. This bill is a priority this legislative session not only for us, but for the CT AFL-CIO. There is also an effort underway to pass a similar bill in New York as well. You can read Beverley’s testimony here.
LABOR LINKS OF INTEREST
- Vice President Terry Dittes Announces Retirement
- March 7 – Join IAM District Council 15 Local Lodge 447 Members on the Picket Line
- CT Insider Article on Revenue Generators Bill Quoting Beverley Brakeman
- Workers Urge Legislature to Protect Workers Organizing into Unions From Captive Audience Meetings
- 51st International Convention of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU)
- Official Call to the UAW Education Committees Conference April 24 – 29, 2022
- Official Call to the UAW Chaplaincy Conference May 1 – 6, 2022
- Official Call to the UAW National CAP Conference May 15 – 18, 2022
- Official Call to the UAW 2022 Constitutional Convention
Sincerely and In Solidarity,
Bev and Region 9A Staff