This past summer and fall, unions leveraged their power to win better contracts for US workers across industries. Now, an increasing number of unions are leveraging that same power to demand a cease-fire in Gaza and call for more international solidarity with Palestinian people.

United Auto Workers (UAW) president Shawn Fain called for a cease-fire during a press conference in Washington, DC, on Thursday, December 14, alongside Democratic lawmakers and representatives from other unions, such as the American Postal Workers Union and United Electrical workers. The event was organized by Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Cori Bush (D-MO), who in October introduced the cease-fire resolution urging President Joe Biden to support an immediate end to the violence and send aid to Palestine. More than twenty thousand Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.

Fain, elected last March, has emerged as one of labor’s most prominent voices after leading some 145,000 autoworkers on a six-week strike this fall to secure a historic contract. When the UAW announced its support of a cease-fire on December 1, it became one of the largest unions to do so.