Just Transitions: Palestinian Solidarity in the UAW

On the 1st of December, the United Auto Workers International Executive Board, alongside other labor unions & allies, announced the UAW’s support for a permanent ceasefire in Israel & Palestine. The announcement also called for the formation of a Divestment and Just Transition Working Group to study the UAW’s ties to the ongoing violence & terror of the Israeli occupation, and to explore future scenarios for a Just Transition of US workers from the war economy. The endorsement represents an important step forward for international solidarity between US labor unions and Palestine, and is the product of a long, often neglected, history of Palestinian solidarity by rank & file workers organizing within the UAW to pressure its leaders into action and divest its ties to the Israeli state. Tonight, we hear from Mary, a labor historian, filmmaker, and a graduate worker in UAW Local 2865, on the history of Palestinian solidarity by UAW rank & file workers, and how those lessons from our collective past can inspire working people today. We will also hear from Gordon, a labor organizer in UAW Local 7902, on organizing for Palestine in his local and at New York University, and the struggle that lies ahead for the UAW in the new year.