UAW Labor for Palestine
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: After Blue Wall Collapse, Union Rank-and-File Demands UAW Stand with its Base, Divest from Israeli Genocide
Rank-and-File caucus UAW Labor for Palestine demands UAW leadership put their money where their mouth is by divesting up to $1 million from genocide.
NOVEMBER 6, 2024—After a big night for billionaires, hundreds of UAW members affiliated with the national coalition UAW Labor for Palestine have launched a new campaign, “UAW Divest Now!,” to demand that their union respect the Palestinian trade union picket line by immediately divesting from Israel Bonds.
With the support of UAW leadership, the Harris campaign banked on working people voting for concessions to right-wingers and the wealthy. It failed. The UAW Divest Now! campaign is an alternative to these failed tactics. We represent members who are frustrated that American institutions claiming to represent the working class, including UAW and both political parties, have caved to billionaires by funding US-backed Israeli genocide.
UAW invests between $400,000 to $1 million in Israel Bonds despite being the first major union to support a ceasefire in Palestine. Israel Bonds directly funds genocide and the construction of illegal settlements in Palestine. The UAW Divest Now! campaign calls on the UAW International Executive Board to honor UAW’s stated values and anti-apartheid history by voting to divest no later than November 12, one week from election day.
“Regardless of who’s in the White House, UAW can take on billionaires tomorrow by divesting from the wealthy investment fund that slaughters our siblings in Palestine. If UAW is serious about taking on the billionaire class, they need to put their money where their mouth is and divest from Israel Bonds,” says Dawnya Ferdinansen, an auto manufacturing worker with UAW Local 14 in Toledo, Ohio.
Speaking at Black Lake Lodge, UAW’s conference center, on October 7, President Shawn Fain privately informed UAW Labor for Palestine members that he will support divestment if the IEB puts it to a vote. If the IEB votes to divest, it will make UAW the first major US institution to divest from financial holdings in Israeli genocide.
“Shawn Fain made headlines for his no-concessions approach and solidarity with the working class. We agree – we can’t afford more BS. UAW leadership needs to come home to its base, stop caving to billionaires, and support the least among us in actions as well as words,” says Trip Eggert, a member of UAW Local 2325.
The UAW Divest Now! campaign has reached out to hundreds of UAW members who are calling their IEB representatives to demand immediate divestment. Upcoming actions will roll out throughout the week.
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