Shawn Fain: “The Working Class Is the Arsenal of Democracy”

United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain: “We win by giving working-class people the tools, the inspiration, and the courage to stand up for themselves.”

UAW Begins Contract Negotiations With Big Three Automakers

United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain speaking with autoworkers at the a Stellantis assembly plant on July 12, 2023, in Sterling Heights, Michigan. (Bill Pugliano / Getty Images)


Something’s happening in this country, something we haven’t seen in a long, long time: the working class is standing up.

Forty-eight hours ago, four thousand workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, did what many people said was impossible. We did what the pundits said couldn’t be done. Every time I was interviewed by people and we talked about organizing the South, they would always do an eye roll and say, “Do you really think you can win in the South?”

You know what? Those workers stood up for themselves, and they voted for a union.

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