Home > International Directory of Company Histories > UAW (International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America) - Introduction

UAW (International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America) - Introduction

Introduction

8000 East Jefferson
Detroit, Michigan 48214
U.S.A.
Telephone: (313) 926-5000
Fax: (313) 926-5009
Web site: http://www.uaw.org

Private Company—Labor Union
Founded: 1935
Employees: 200 (est.)
Operating Revenues: $325 million (2003)
NAIC: 813930 Labor Unions and Similar Labor Organizations

The UAW (International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America) remains one of the most influential labor union in the United States, although its power has waned since its peak in the 1970s. The union now has about 700,000 active members belonging to more than 950 local unions, as well as over 500,000 retired members. The Detroit, Michigan-based organization negotiates contracts for its members and also offers them education and training programs. Over the course of its history, the UAW has won a number of contract concessions now taken for granted, such as employer-paid health insurance and cost-of-living allowances. In more recent years, however, as economic conditions have changed, the UAW has devoted much of it energy fighting a rearguard action to hold onto the gains achieved in previous decades, while learning how to adapt to life in a global economy. Long allied with the Democratic party, the UAW has always been a politically active organization, not just relating to economic issues but social issues as well, such as civil rights legislation, the Fair Housing act, Medicare and Medicaid legislation, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act.