What United Auto Workers (UAW) does

The United Auto Workers (UAW) is a private, member-governed, non-profit labor union founded in 1935 and headquartered at Solidarity House, 8000 East Jefferson Avenue, Detroit, Michigan. UAW represents approximately 400,000 active and retired workers across multiple verticals: automotive (the Detroit Three — Ford, GM, Stellantis — plus Southern transplant factories such as Volkswagen Chattanooga, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and BlueOval SK), aerospace (e.g., GE Aerospace), agricultural implement manufacturing (CNH Industrial, John Deere, Case New Holland), academic institutions (Columbia, UC system, Harvard, Metropolitan Museum of Art), and public sector employers (Michigan state employees, Lorain County Job and Family Services). Its activities center on collective bargaining, contract enforcement, strike coordination, organizing campaigns, member benefits administration, political advocacy through the Community Action Program (CAP), and member education and training — all delivered through a network of local unions and regional offices.

The union is funded almost exclusively through recurring membership dues deducted via dues checkoff under its collective bargaining agreements, with auxiliary income from publishing (Solidarity Magazine), convention events, and investment returns on a substantial strike and general fund. Under U.S. labor law, once UAW wins an NLRB certification for a bargaining unit it obtains exclusive representation rights, creating high switching costs and an embedded renewal economics. Since a 2020 settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over corruption, UAW has been operating under federal monitor oversight (Neil Barofsky), and recent monitor reports have flagged governance dysfunction, retaliation allegations involving President Shawn Fain, and the departure of Chief of Staff Chris Brooks.

The organization is led by an elected International President (Shawn Fain since 2023, nominated for a second term at the June 2026 Constitutional Convention), Secretary-Treasurer, Vice Presidents overseeing auto departments, and nine Regional Directors. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed; current economic scale implies annual operating revenue in the mid-hundreds of millions of dollars based on member count and standard labor union dues benchmarks. Strategic posture is defined by an aggressive Southern transplant-organizing agenda (publicly targeting up to 150,000 new members), continued post-Stand Up Strike militancy, defense of worker-safety regulation, and coalition political action — alongside active internal governance reform under federal supervision.

Name

United Auto Workers (UAW)

Legal name

United Auto Workers

Website

https://uaw.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1935

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The United Auto Workers (UAW) is a 90-year-old, member-governed labor union headquartered in Detroit, representing approximately 400,000 active and retired workers across the automotive, aerospace, agricultural implement, academic, and public sector verticals through collective bargaining, organizing, and political advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Detroit

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Member Dues: UAW generates revenue through membership dues from its approximately 400,000 members. The union has been under federal oversight since a 2020 settlement with the DOJ to resolve corruption scandals.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

UAW is a labor union that provides collective bargaining representation, contract negotiation, strike coordination, and worker advocacy services to approximately 400,000 active and retired members across the automotive, aerospace, agricultural implement, academic, and public-sector industries. Its offerings include workplace representation, grievance handling, organizing new bargaining units, member education and training, health and safety programs, retiree services, and political advocacy through the Community Action Program (CAP).

Product overview

The United Auto Workers (UAW) is a labor union representing approximately 400,000 workers across the automotive, aerospace, and agricultural implement industries. UAW does not offer technology products or services in the traditional sense. The organization's primary activities include collective bargaining with employers (including the Detroit Three automakers: Ford, GM, and Stellantis, as well as other employers like Volkswagen, agricultural equipment manufacturers, aerospace companies, and public sector employers), organizing new bargaining units, coordinating strike actions, negotiating labor contracts, providing member benefits, and political advocacy. UAW's member services include health and safety programs, education and training resources, retiree services, and community action initiatives. The union also publishes Solidarity Magazine and maintains a website for member communications and organizing efforts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Collective Bargaining Representation
• Union Organizing Campaigns

Quantifiable outcome

• 25% wage increases secured from Ford, GM, and Stellantis in 2023 Stand Up Strike
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• American Association of University ProfessorsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2026UAW joined a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's 'gold card' visa program, arguing it unfairly prioritizes wealthy immigrants over qualified workers. This represents a coalition of labor and academic organizations opposing immigration policies.
• BlueOval SK WorkersminorOthers · 27 August 2025Workers at BlueOval SK battery plant in Glendale, Kentucky won a majority in NLRB election to unionize with UAW support. This represents organizing efforts at Ford joint venture facilities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• International Brotherhood of Teamsters: The Teamsters are the largest US labor union by membership (~1.3M), representing workers across trucking, logistics, manufacturing, and service industries. They are the closest direct peer to UAW in scale, blue-collar industrial organizing focus, and multi-sector reach, including a recent strategic focus on organizing non-union employers in similar geographies to UAW's transplant campaign.
• United Steelworkers (USW): USW represents ~850,000 members across steel, aluminum, mining, rubber, and manufacturing — a directly comparable industrial union profile. USW has jointly litigated with UAW (e.g., EPA trichloroethylene rule challenge), reflecting overlapping political and bargaining priorities.
• International Association of Machinists (IAM): IAM represents aerospace, manufacturing, and transportation workers — overlapping directly with UAW's aerospace (GE Aerospace) and auto manufacturing segments. IAM's aerospace bargaining and recent high-profile strike activity (Boeing) makes it a highly comparable peer in technical/industrial worker representation.

Broad incumbents

• AFL-CIO: The AFL-CIO is a federation of 60+ unions including UAW itself, representing ~12.5M workers. As UAW's parent federation, it sets broader labor-movement strategy, coordinates political spending, and provides shared organizing infrastructure — making it the principal umbrella peer and the organization that UAW's strategy feeds into and draws resources from.
• Service Employees International Union (SEIU): SEIU represents ~2M workers primarily in healthcare, public services, and property services. While focused on service-sector rather than industrial workers, SEIU is a comparable peer in scale, organizing ambition, progressive political alignment, and confrontational bargaining tactics targeting large employers.
• Communications Workers of America (CWA): CWA represents ~700,000 workers in telecom, media, tech, and public sector. Comparable as a peer in multi-sector industrial organizing, political advocacy, and recent expansion into tech sector organizing — providing a useful contrast in how different unions adapt to changing employer landscapes.
• United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW): UFCW represents ~1.3M workers across grocery, retail, meatpacking, and food processing. Comparable in scale, member-funded dues model, and political advocacy focus, though concentrated in retail/food rather than heavy industry.
• National Education Association (NEA): NEA is the largest US labor union by membership (~3M), representing educators and public-sector employees. Comparable in scale, dues-funded nonprofit model, political advocacy strength, and recent diversification into adjacent professional segments.
• American Federation of Teachers (AFT): AFT represents ~1.7M members across K-12, higher education, healthcare, and public sector. AFT directly overlaps with UAW's newer academic-worker organizing (graduate students at Columbia, Harvard, etc.), making it a peer competing for the same higher-ed organizing targets.

Others

• Change to Win: Change to Win is a federation of unions (including Teamsters, SEIU, UFCW) that broke from the AFL-CIO in 2005 over organizing strategy. As a parallel labor-federation structure, it is a structural peer for understanding UAW's positioning within the broader US labor-movement ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/uaw
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@uawunion
• Facebookfacebook.com/uaw.union
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/united-auto-workers
• Instagraminstagram.com/uaw.union
• TikToktiktok.com/@uawunion

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about United Auto Workers (UAW)