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The '''United Auto Workers''' (UAW), headquartered in [[Detroit, Michigan]], officially the ''' United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America International Union''', is one of the largest and most powerful [[labor union]]s in the United States.  It is a major force for liberalism in domestic politics, and takes an active role in state and national politics.  U.S. There is  a breakoff union in Canada. The UAW has approximately 600,000 active members and over 500,000 retired members organized into approximately 800 local unions. The UAW peaked at 1.53 million members in 1969, but has been shrinking steadily as the unionized [[automobile|automobile industry]], the "Big Three" (General Motors, Ford, Chrysler) downsizes.  

The '''United Auto Workers''' (UAW), officially the ''' United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America International Union''', is one of the largest and most powerful [[American labor unions|labor unions in the United States]].  It is a major force for liberalism in domestic politics, and takes an active role in state and national politics.  U.S. There is  a breakoff union in Canada. The UAW has approximately 600,000 active members and over 500,000 retired members organized into approximately 800 local unions. The UAW peaked at 1.53 million members in 1969, but has been shrinking steadily as the unionized [[automobile|automobile industry]], the "Big Three" (General Motors, Ford, Chrysler) downsizes.  

In 2007 the UAW agreed to new contracts with the Big Three that created a two-tier wage rate. New workers beginning in 2010 will get much lower salaries than old workers. Average annual wages for production workers at the Big Three were $67,480 in 2007, and $81,940 for skilled workers, which are much higher than wages paid to non-union workers at rival firms in the South, such as Toyota and Honda.  The UAW joined with the Big Three in November 2008 to plead for a "bailout" for the industry, warning that GM is on the verge of bankruptcy.  Republicans, long the political enemy of the UAW, blocked the bailout, but another effort will be made in early 2009.

In 2007 the UAW agreed to new contracts with the Big Three that created a two-tier wage rate. New workers beginning in 2010 will get much lower salaries than old workers. Average annual wages for production workers at the Big Three were $67,480 in 2007, and $81,940 for skilled workers, which are much higher than wages paid to non-union workers at rival firms in the South, such as Toyota and Honda.  The UAW joined with the Big Three in November 2008 to plead for a "bailout" for the industry, warning that GM is on the verge of bankruptcy.  Republicans, long the political enemy of the UAW, blocked the bailout, but another effort will be made in early 2009.

===Primary sources===

===Primary sources===

*Christman, Henry M. ed. ''Walter P. Reuther: Selected Papers'' (1961) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=80977414 online edition]

*Christman, Henry M. ed. ''Walter P. Reuther: Selected Papers'' (1961) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=80977414 online edition]

==See also==

==See also==

* [[Automobile]]

* [[Automobile]]

* [[CIO]]

* [[CIO]]