University of California grad students: Take the struggle out of the hands of the UAW bureaucracy!
The overwhelming strike-authorization vote by 48,000 University of California academic workers is a powerful expression of class anger.
“Unless people take a stand, nothing will ever change. Take a stand and vote for Will Lehman!”
Volvo Trucks Worker
“Will is a candidate we can count on to put the needs of our brothers and sisters first!”
Tina, Autoworker
“We need the change Will is fighting for. He can’t do this alone. We need a rank-and-file movement.”
Lyle, Retired GM Worker
“I support Will Lehman. He seems like the right guy for the UAW president. He is fighting for unity and wage increases. Go, Will!”
Tammy, Wife of Flint Autoworker
“Will wants to see the power back in the hands of those who do the work. Vote for Will Lehman for UAW President!”
Marcia Walters, Widow of Danny Walters
“If people step up in these rank-and-file committees, they can make a difference.”
Volvo Trucks Worker
The Bureaucracy's Payday
vs the Rank-and-File Worker
Average UAW member$42,000
International reps (500–600)$150,000
Regional directors (9)$220,000
Vice presidents (3)$235,000
UAW Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock$247,000
UAW President Shawn Fain$270,000
Worker
Bureaucracy
6.4x
What the average member earns
That's what the UAW President takes home.
These officials sit in the top 5 percent of income earners in the United States. They have far more in common with the corporate executives they negotiate with than with the workers they claim to represent.
Then there are the 500 to 600 “International Representatives” who each collect $150,000 a year. Their job is not to fight for workers — it's to enforce the decisions of the apparatus and suppress rank-and-file opposition.
Nearly $800 million is invested in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. The UAW bureaucracy has a direct financial interest in the profitability of the very corporations that exploit its members.
This is a business model. And the workers are not the beneficiaries.
UAW President Shawn Fain — $270,000/year
For workers' safety
in America's industrial slaughterhouses
Auto plants have become death traps. Workers are being killed and maimed while the UAW bureaucracy looks the other way and corporations pay negligible fines.
Ronald Adams
Age 63 — Killed April 2025
Crushed by overhead gantry at Stellantis Dundee Engine.
Antonio Gaston
Age 53 — Killed August 2024
Crushed by moving vehicle at Toledo Jeep. Fined just $16,000.
Franklin Logsdon
Age 57 — Killed June 2024
Fell into 21,000-gallon tank at Metalsa plant in Kentucky.
Daulton Simmers
Age 28 — Killed June 2024
Consumed by molten metal at Caterpillar foundry in Mapleton, Illinois.
The strategy
Build rank-and-file committees everywhere
The only way to fight back is to organize independently of the bureaucracy. Rank-and-file committees, controlled by workers themselves, are the vehicle for building real power on the shop floor and beyond.
“You're not putting me in power, you're putting yourselves in power. Get ready to take over your union.”
— Will Lehman
I cannot fight
this war alone
If we want to change anything, we have to fight. Everything will be done to prevent a rank-and-file worker like me from even being nominated. I'm calling on you — every member of the UAW — to get involved.
2022
Lehman runs for UAW president
A rank-and-file Mack Trucks worker challenges the entire bureaucratic apparatus. Wins 4,777 votes despite 91% of members being blocked from voting.
2023
UAW stages phony "stand-up" strike at Big 3
To contain surging worker anger, the UAW bureaucracy limits strike action against GM, Ford and Stellantis to just a few plants, pushing through sellout contracts that paved the way for mass layoffs.
2025
Fain administration in crisis
Chief of Staff resigns amid scandal. 123 deleted text messages. Six locals move to put Fain on trial. The "reform" candidate replicates the corruption.
2026
The 2026 UAW elections
The past three years under Fain’s administration have proven once again that the bureaucracy cannot be reformed. It must be replaced by rank-and-file power. That is what this campaign is fighting for.
