UAW Labor for Palestine launches new campaign to divest from Israel
Nov 7, 2024 9:38 AM EST
By Kaitlyn Kennedy
Detroit, Michigan – UAW Labor for Palestine, a grassroots group of United Auto Workers union members, has launched a new campaign calling for direct action to end Israel’s US-backed genocide in Gaza.
The nationwide rank-and-file group announced the creation of UAW Divest Now! on November 6, the same day Republican Donald Trump defeated UAW-endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris to become the 47th president of the US.
“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 group wrote in a press release.
“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 Labor for Palestine formed in October 2023 after Israel launched its all-out assault on Gaza, which is believed to have claimed the lives of more than 200,000 people to date.
The group successfully organized for the national union to pass a ceasefire resolution in December 2023.
UAW Labor for Palestine takes on union investments in Israel Bonds
UAW Labor for Palestine’s new initiative calls on the UAW International Executive Board to vote to divest from Israel Bonds by November 12 at latest – exactly one week from Election Day.
The union maintains between $400,000 and $1 million in investments in the company, which plays a direct role in funding Israel’s genocide in Gaza and illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank.
“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,” said Dawnya Ferdinansen, an auto manufacturing worker with UAW Local 14 in Toledo, Ohio.
UAW Labor for Palestine has generated instructions and a call script for members to contact their union representatives in support of divestment.
Cover photo: MARIO TAMA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP
