UAW Members Take Working Class Agenda to DC at 2026 CAP Conference
At our 2026 National CAP Conference this week, nearly 1,000 members from around the country joined together to focus on advocating for the four core issues that will guide our union into 2028.
UAW members also took the union’s working-class agenda to Capitol Hill, lobbying political leaders to support legislation advancing our core issues.
UAW Members Take Working Class Agenda to Our Representatives on Capitol Hill
Delegates from each of the UAW’s nine regions met with our respective elected representatives to share personal stories and push for pro-worker policies, including affordable healthcare, protecting and expanding worker rights to freely organize, shorter work weeks and improved paid leave, and real retirement security for every American.
Region 9A members met with elected representatives or their staff from Puerto Rico, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Our delegates highlighted our upcoming contract fights in our states, spoke about Puerto Rico’s struggle against the austerity imposed by La Junta, and pressed our representatives to answer how they’re fighting back against ICE’s violence and repression in our communities.
UAW’s Four Core Issues Take Center Stage at National CAP Conference
UAW President Shawn Fain gave an impassioned keynote address to open the conference. “12 billionaires own as much wealth as the bottom half of society,” he said. “Our democracy is dying at the hands of an authoritarian billionaire class. The question we are here to answer is, how do we rise to the occasion? This is our defining moment. We need to send a clear message as a working class: A Billionaire dictatorship is not an option for the American people. Divide-and-conquer politics has no place in the working class!”
Region 9A Director Brandon Mancilla spoke later in the week on the need to fight for more time off the job for UAW members: “It’s about more than just a paycheck. It’s about more than just our rights on the job. It’s about a much bigger question: What kind of life does the working class deserve? In the richest country in the history of the world, what kind of life can working class people expect to have?”
Guest speakers included SEIU-USWW President David Huerta and Region 9A’s own Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and Senator Bernie Sanders (VT).
“Our country needs a labor movement that is ready to lean in,” Huerta implored, calling for worker solidarity in the labor fights ahead. “We should be preparing now for May Day 2028 to shut the whole thing down. Right now, our union is working to align our contracts with yours. When you go on strike, we’ll go with you!”
“We do not pledge allegiance to Wall Street. We don’t pledge allegiance to greed,” Rep. Ocasio-Cortez told an energetic crowd. “We pledge allegiance to no one president. We pledge allegiance to a nation. Our nation. The United States of America. To the betterment of all people.”
"These are not radical ideas!” Senator Sanders told the crowd as he closed out the conference. “Brothers and sisters, in this momentous, unprecedented moment in American history, let us stand together. Let us show the world what a great country like ours can be, and let us fight for the country that you and I know we can become!”
Members Prepare to Lead the Fight Ahead
Delegates also attended various workshops to sharpen their knowledge on political topics based on the union’s four core issues. Local 2110 member and New York Assemblymember Claire Valdez spoke about her experience running for office as a UAW member.
Earlier this week, I took a day trip to D.C. to join my @UAW family at their National CAP Conference.
That night, I joined Shawn Fain and so many friends at a fundraiser for our campaign.
We’re building this the union way: together. pic.twitter.com/aq0AUBy7kB— Claire Valdez (@claireforny) February 11, 2026
Interested in getting more involved with our union’s political work? Join your state’s next CAP meeting!