Day Four Of the 39th International
UAW Constitution Convention
Text and photos by Region 8 Webmaster John Davis
The final day of the 39th International UAW Constitution Convention kicked off at 9:00 AM on Thursday, June 18, 2026. Region 8 member and Local 862 President Anthony Spencer opened the  proceedings by offering the invocation.
President Shawn Fain introduced Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson who is a candidate for governor of Michigan. She is the former Dean of the Wayne State Law School. Watch Her Address Here
President Shawn Fain came forward to introduce the Dr. Abdul El-Sayed. He is currently a candidate for Senate in the State of Michigan. “I was raised by my father who immigrated here from Egypt,” Dr. El-Sayed stated. “He worked hard and watched his job dissolve as corporations worked to eliminate workers. It’s way too hard to survive here in the richest, most powerful country in the world and it should not be this hard to get by. Too hard to buy groceries, too hard to find affordable health care, too hard to get buy in this economy. We must have an economy  that works FOR ALL. We never ask if there is enough money for war but we always ask where is the money for health care.” Watch His Address Here
President Shawn Fain came forward to present the UAW Social Justice Award to Maria Medina of the  Education Department. Click Here To Watch The Presentation
Next the Ethics Committee came forward and made a presentation from their findings.
Region 1D Director Steve Dawes will be retiring this year. A video and recognition was held for him. Watch the presentation here
The first resolution of the day dealt with whether or not local unions could utilize direct deposit. The resolution committee recommended sending the issue to the IEB to resolve. There was a lively debate on the pros and cons of the issue. The delegation voted to allow the IEB to resolve the issue.
Article 16 Section 10 of the allocates a portion of dues income to the General Fund to set aside funds for certain departments. A resolution to add the Women’s Department to this list of funds was proposed. The resolution passed.
There was a resolution proposed to add LCBTQ+ committee to the list of standing committees listed in Article 44 of the Constitution. The resolution failed to pass.
The afternoon was spent in debating and voting on a variety of resolutions around accounting and housekeeping items.
The convention ended late in the day on Thursday, ending four days of debates, speakers and democracy. The constitutional convention came to a close, as the UAW closed the book on changes to the constitution until 2030.
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