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UAW members to vote in fall on direct election of leaders

Ford, auto workers union reach tentative contract agreement
Posted at 4:34 PM, Aug 13, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-13 16:34:25-04

DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union’s 397,000 members will vote by mail this fall on whether they want to pick their leaders in direct elections.

In a posting on his website, union monitor Neil Barofsky says ballots will be mailed by an election vendor starting Oct. 12.

They must be returned by 5 p.m. Nov. 12.

They’ll be counted as soon as possible, and Barofsky will announce the results.

Barofsky was appointed by a federal judge as part of a settlement that avoided a government takeover of the union after a wide-ranging corruption scandal.

Currently, union leaders are chosen every four years at a convention, with the delegates picked by local union offices.

But the new slate of leaders is picked by the outgoing president, and seldom is there serious opposition.