UE Statements

In between UE conventions, the elected General Executive Board and national officers issue statements applying UE policy to specific issues of the day. UE policy is set by rank-and-file delegates to our biennial national convention.

Auto Contracts a Step Forward for Entire Working Class

November 27, 2023

The contracts won by the UAW at the “Big Three” automakers this year are a major victory for the working class. Workers engaged in creative, militant tactics and won not only significant economic improvements but also important measures to strengthen their union and exert control over production and investment decisions. Their victory makes it clear that if workers exercise the power to withhold their labor, they can shape the future, including the economic transitions necessary to address climate change.

Support Auto Workers As They Stand Up for the Working Class

September 15, 2023

UE stands in full solidarity with the United Auto Workers as they pursue strike action against Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis. Auto workers are standing up for the entire working class as they demand that record profits for the companies should translate into record contracts for the workers who produce that wealth.

Supreme Court’s Undemocratic, Reactionary Agenda Must Be Opposed

July 12, 2023

The six-member right-wing majority of the Supreme Court has made it clear this term that it intends to impose its reactionary views on the American people, regardless of precedent or public opinion. The undemocratic nature of the Supreme Court — an unelected body who serve for life — has never been clearer. After attacking the rights of women when they overturned Roe v. Wade last year, this year the Court’s right wing has attacked the rights of Black people and other people of color, LGBTQ+ people, students, and workers.

Repression of Atlanta Protesters a Threat to All Working People

June 2, 2023

UE condemns the increasing repression being directed towards the “Stop Cop City” movement in Atlanta and their supporters. The violent police attacks on peaceful protesters, including the murder of one activist in January, are unconscionable in a democracy. The charges of “domestic terrorism” against protesters, and the recent arrests of organizers whose sole “crime” was to provide bail for those arrested during the protests, are clearly designed to criminalize and stifle dissent.

Railroads Must Be Brought Under Public Ownership

January 30, 2023

Railroads are a crucial part of our nation’s infrastructure. Nearly every sector of our economy depends on goods shipped by the railroads ... [and] the greater fuel efficiency of using rail to move both people and freight means that moving more of our transportation onto the railroads will be necessary to address the existential threat of climate change.

Yet the private owners of our nation’s Class 1 railroads have shown themselves utterly incapable of facing the challenge of the climate crisis, dealing fairly with their own workers, or even meeting the most basic needs of their customers. Therefore, we demand that Congress immediately begin a process of bringing our nation’s railroads under public ownership.

Congress Must Respect Rail Workers’ Rights

November 30, 2022

Statement of the UE officers

The current move by President Biden and Congress to impose a contract on our nation’s 115,000 railroad workers — a contract that the members of rail unions representing the majority of those workers have rejected — is an unconscionable attack on rail workers, the labor movement, and the entire U.S. working class.

Defending Workers’ Interests in a Rigged System

September 23, 2022

Statement of the UE General Executive Board

The situation working people find ourselves in as we approach the midterm elections — a cost-of-living crisis, broken labor law, and assaults on our rights and liberties — requires decisive action from our government. However, we are prevented from exercising democratic control over our society and economy by a corrupt two-party system that is fueled by corporate cash, and enabled by divisions among working people and increasing cynicism about democracy itself.

Court Decision is Attack on Women, Rights of All People

May 10, 2022

UE condemns the Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. It is an indefensible attack on the right of women and pregnant people to control their own bodies, one of the most fundamental of liberties. Furthermore, the opinion, which overturns a half century of settled law, signals that this unelected group of six right-wing justices sees none of our rights as untouchable.

December 8, 2021

Our country’s democracy is facing the greatest threat in over half a century, as voter suppression, gerrymandering, and the flood of dark money in politics make it increasingly difficult for working people to have a voice in our government. If Democrats in Congress do not act swiftly and firmly by immediately passing the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act — and if President Biden does not provide bold leadership to this effort — the ability of working people to fend off corporate attacks in the political arena will be severely damaged for generations to come.

Progressives Must Hold Firm in Reconciliation Negotiations

October 5, 2021

UE stands in solidarity with the progressive members of Congress who are refusing to buckle under to demands from corporate Democrats to water down the budget reconciliation bill. Working people need the federal government to invest in all aspects of our infrastructure — in child care, paid leave, health care, climate action, affordable housing, and education, as well as roads and bridges.

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