Education

Why is union education important?

Every UAW member has a right to access educational tools that allow full participation in their union.

Union power flows from an educated, well-informed membership.  As members grow in their union education, they recommit themselves to the mission of the labor movement and invigorate their local unions.  Active engagement and solidarity in our membership translates into better contracts, stronger communities, and improved quality of life for working families.

Our union education program is designed to develop members’ understanding of our shared values of unionism in principle, while also learning the mechanics, structure, and function of the UAW.  Members who take advantage of educational opportunities tend to get involved in local union standing committees, step into leadership roles, and take action on important issues that matter to working people.  We work hard to develop members’ skills so that they can be effective in bargaining strong contracts and enforcing them at their worksites.  Importantly, educated members hold their union leadership accountable to them, and they push relentlessly for the continuous improvement of our great union.

We pride ourselves on providing a robust education program for our members in Region 1.  In 2019 alone, Region 1 members logged 2,078 class completions.  We strive to increase those numbers each year.  We also encourage and offer assistance to our local unions in developing their own Education Committees with trained member-facilitators who can deliver educational workshops at their locals.