Will LehmanFor UAW President

Will Lehman 2026

The Rank-and-File Candidate For UAW President

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I'm Will Lehman, a Mack Trucks assembly worker running for UAW President in 2026. My goal is to raise workers' living standards, end dangerous working conditions, make it possible to retire, and have genuine industrial democracy. How? By building new structures of rank-and-file power at every workplace and abolishing the UAW bureaucratic apparatus.

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If I'm Elected, Here's What I'll Do

My First
100 Days

I will call regional meetings open to the rank and file, encourage the formation of rank-and-file committees so that you'll set union policy. This will start with the following demands.

Will Lehman speaking to autoworkers

My Demands

01

50% Wage Increase

Demand real wages that match productivity gains. End the race to the bottom.

02

Abolish the Tier System

Equal pay for equal work. No more dividing workers by hire date.

03

Rank-and-File Committees

Elected by workers, accountable to workers. Not the apparatus.

04

Fight All Layoffs

Zero tolerance for plant closures and corporate restructuring.

05

Abolish the Bureaucracy

End $200K+ executive salaries. Transfer control to the shop floor.

06

International Solidarity

Unite autoworkers worldwide. No to tariffs, nationalism, or border wars between workers.

07

30-Hour Work Week

Fight for a 30-hour workweek at 40 hours’ pay. Spread available work, end forced overtime, and defend worker health and family time.

08

Triple-Rate Voluntary Overtime

All overtime must be voluntary, never mandatory. Compensate at triple the normal rate — respect workers’ time and choice.

09

Full Health Insurance

Full, comprehensive health insurance for every worker and retiree. No premiums, no co-pays, no exclusions. Healthcare is a right.

10

Workplace Safety

Massive investment in safety with worker control over line speed and conditions. No more deaths and injuries for corporate profit.

11

Retiree Security

Fully fund all pensions and guarantee comprehensive healthcare for retirees. Decades of labor deserve dignity and security.

12

Defend Democratic Rights

Defend workers’ rights against government repression. Oppose wars and tariffs that divide workers. Build international solidarity across all borders.

Read my statement

“We need the change Will is fighting for”

Rank-and-File Voices

Workers are ready to fight

Volvo Trucks Worker

“Unless people take a stand, nothing will ever change. Take a stand and vote for Will Lehman!”

Volvo Trucks Worker
Tina, Autoworker

“Will is a candidate we can count on to put the needs of our brothers and sisters first!”

Tina, Autoworker
Lyle, Retired GM Worker

“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
Tammy, Wife of Flint Autoworker

“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
Marcia Walters, Widow of Danny Walters

“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
Volvo Trucks Worker

“If people step up in these rank-and-file committees, they can make a difference.”

Volvo Trucks Worker

“We as workers have enormous power. Without us, nothing moves. The machines don't run. The trucks don't ship. The profits don't flow. But we have to use that power consciously. And that means getting organized.”

— Will Lehman

Read my statement
Will Lehman speaking at campaign event
Campaign rally at Michigan Central
Workers at campaign event
Workers protesting for their rights

The UAW Is In Crisis

0
UAW officials convicted since 2018
Including 2 consecutive presidents
$1.25B
UAW assets
Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate
0+
Workers laid off under Shawn Fain
While bureaucrats kept their salaries
0
Bureaucrats with salaries >$100,000
Shawn Fain is paid $276,000

The Bureaucracy's Payday
vs the Rank-and-File Worker

Average UAW member$42,000
International reps (500–600)$150,000
Regional directors (8)$232,000
Vice presidents (3)$245,000
UAW Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock$250,000
UAW President Shawn Fain$276,000
Worker
Bureaucracy

6.6x

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.

Over $850 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.

These are
not normal
times.

Workers under attack

ICE agents are sweeping through workplaces and communities, ripping families apart. Mass layoffs are devastating the auto industry. The government is building a police state, attacking democratic rights, and preparing for war.

Workers face an unprecedented assault on their jobs, wages, and basic rights. The corporations and the government are working together against us — and the union bureaucracy is doing nothing to stop it.

ICE agents conducting workplace raid in Minneapolis
Ronald Adams, Stellantis worker

The death of Ronald Adams, Sr.

Ronald Adams Sr., a 63-year-old skilled tradesman and machine repairman with 19 years at Stellantis, was crushed to death at the Dundee Engine Complex on April 7, 2025. An overhead gantry crane unexpectedly engaged while he was servicing equipment, fatally crushing him.

To this day, his family, coworkers, and the public still have not received answers from Stellantis, the UAW, or state safety authorities. His widow asked: “Why don't I have answers?”

Ronald's story is not unique. Workers are being maimed and killed across the auto industry while the bureaucracy enforces a wall of silence.

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 Sr.

Ronald Adams

Age 63 — Killed April 2025

Crushed by overhead gantry at Stellantis Dundee Engine.

Antonio Gaston

Antonio Gaston

Age 53 — Killed August 2024

Crushed by moving vehicle at Toledo Jeep. Fined just $16,000.

Franklin Logsdon

Franklin Logsdon

Age 57 — Killed June 2024

Fell into 21,000-gallon tank at Metalsa plant in Kentucky.

Daulton Simmers

Daulton Simmers

Age 28 — Killed June 2024

Consumed by molten metal at Caterpillar foundry in Mapleton, Illinois.

We cannot defend our lives and livelihoods while we are bound hand and foot by a union apparatus that works against us at every turn.

The Time For Change Is Now

Join the movement to build a union controlled by workers, not bureaucrats. Sign up for campaign updates.

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The path
forward

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.

Will Lehman speaking at a campaign rally
Workers on the picket line
Workers holding class solidarity signs
Workers demanding control of their union
1

Independent & democratic

Run by workers, for workers. No bureaucrats, no corporate collaborators.

2

Coordinate across job sites

Link up committees across plants, warehouses, and industries for unified action.

3

Take decision-making power

Real power on the shop floor. Workers decide on contracts, strikes, and working conditions.

4

Build a counteroffensive

Prepare the basis for a real fight back by the entire working class.

Will Lehman
“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.

Will Lehman wearing a cap

UAW Constitutional Convention

The UAW Constitutional Convention is approaching. Become a delegate for Will now before slots are filled.

Here's how you can help

01

Organize meetings at your local

02

Talk to your coworkers

03

Form rank-and-file committees

04

Demand open delegate selection at your local

05

Become a convention delegate yourself

06

Nominate Will at the UAW Convention

Get involved nowDonate now

“I am running as a socialist and an internationalist. Socialism means a society run by the working class, not the billionaires, who profit off our exploitation. We must reject every attempt to divide us — by race, nationality, or ethnicity — and fight to unite workers across borders in a common struggle, for we all have the same interests and the same enemies.”

— Will Lehman

Will Lehman speaking at a campaign event
American Revolution historical imagery

Revive our
revolutionary ideals

“This year marks the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, whose great declaration proclaimed that ‘All men are created equal’ and entitled to ‘Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.’ This principle is under attack. As the great Tom Paine wrote, ‘These are the times that try men's souls.’ The time has come to revive our revolutionary ideals.”

— Will Lehman

Workers Speak Out

Hear directly from workers about their conditions on the shop floor.

The Fight So Far

A decade of corruption, suppression, and rank-and-file resistance.

2017–21

17 UAW officials convicted

Including two consecutive presidents. Over $2 million embezzled for luxury travel, golf, and personal expenses.

2021

Federal monitor appointed

DOJ places UAW under unprecedented federal oversight for six years after corruption scandal.

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.

Will Lehman, rank-and-file candidate for UAW President
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.

UAW stand-up strike at Big 3 automakers
2023

Mack Trucks workers strike

Workers reject UAW-endorsed contract by 73%. Rank-and-file committee exposes Fain's false claims of supporting the strike.

2024

Lehman wins federal lawsuit

Judge rules DOL acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" in dismissing election fraud complaint. A landmark victory for rank-and-file democracy.

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.

UAW President Shawn Fain
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.

Will Lehman, 2026 campaign

Campaign Statements

View all

“Transfer power to the shop floor”: Opening remarks at the UAW presidential debate

In opening remarks at the UAW presidential candidates debate, I lay out the scale of the attack on autoworkers—falling wages, mass layoffs, deaths on the job—and the bureaucracy that has left us defenseless against it. What we need is rank-and-file committees in every plant, controlled by workers, to transfer power to the shop floor.

To the striking public defenders: Build rank-and-file committees and expand this strike! Break the UAW bureaucracy’s isolation of the struggle

I send my unconditional solidarity to the more than 230 attorneys, social workers, paralegals and staff of the Neighborhood Defender Service on strike in Detroit, New York City and San Marcos—and warn that the UAW apparatus is isolating this fight from Brooklyn and Bronx legal workers the same way it has isolated autoworkers. Build rank-and-file committees, unite the strike, and take this fight into your own hands.

Watch the UAW presidential candidates debate this Thursday at 6 p.m. Eastern

On Thursday, July 30 at 6 p.m. Eastern, I will take part in a debate of the candidates running for president of the UAW — the one opportunity in this election to hear every candidate side by side. Watch, invite your coworkers, and weigh my program against what the rest are offering before ballots go out next month.

One Year After the Public Hearing into Ronald Adams Sr.’s Death

Marking one year since the IWA-RFC’s Detroit hearing into the death of Stellantis worker Ronald Adams Sr., Will Lehman says the rank-and-file investigation has been vindicated—and warns that with Gregory Knopf’s death at Ford Sharonville and Richard Boyer’s letter downplaying wildfire smoke, only independent rank-and-file safety committees with the power to stop the line can prevent more deaths.

At UAW Local 1700 campaign event in Sterling Heights, Michigan, Lehman outlines fighting program to protect workers from impact of wildfires

At a UAW Local 1700 get-out-the-vote event in Sterling Heights, Michigan, Will Lehman laid out a program to protect workers from wildfire smoke that sickened autoworkers across Detroit-area plants, while UAW President Shawn Fain stayed silent and other candidates offered no serious response to the crisis.

Detroit autoworkers denounce death threat, rally to defense of UAW presidential candidate Will Lehman

Autoworkers at Bridgewater Interiors and the Stellantis Warren Truck Assembly Plant in suburban Detroit rallied to Will Lehman’s defense Monday after a top UAW officer posted an AI-generated image depicting him bound, gagged and held at gunpoint. “They’re trying to shut you up,” one young worker told him. “And they usually only do that when somebody’s telling the truth.”

The bureaucracy won't reform itself. Workers must act.

The 2026 UAW election is the chance to build something different — a union controlled by workers on the shop floor, not career bureaucrats in Detroit.

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Will Lehman

The bureaucracy can't be reformed. It must be abolished. Ready to build rank-and-file power?

Will Lehman for UAW President