DETROIT — Months ahead of a federally mandated referendum that could alter how the UAW selects its leaders, President Ray Curry said he supports the current election system over the potential one-member, one-vote model.
“We believe the current delegate system represents every local union around the country having the ability to elect their respective delegates to attend constitutional convention events and bargaining conventions and, as the need may arise under the constitution, any emergency meeting that would need to be facilitated,” he said in his first media roundtable as UAW president. “We would advocate for that to continue to be in process.”
The union is expected in November to hold a referendum vote on whether to adopt a different system, a condition of its six-year consent decree with the federal government following a yearslong corruption scandal that has landed two former presidents and 13 others behind bars.
Curry’s predecessor, Rory Gamble, also supported the current system.
The union’s court-appointed monitor, Neil Barofsky, recently issued interim rules for the referendum, which noted that secret ballots would be sent to members Oct. 12 and that they must be received by Nov. 12.
Traditionally, union leaders have come from a caucus handpicked by outgoing leaders. Former U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider argued that the union needed a more open, transparent process to prevent corruption in the future.
Curry, 55, on Thursday reiterated the union’s stance of not mandating a COVID-19 vaccine for members, noting, however, that it would recommended members get the shot and would continue to offer vaccine clinics at plants.
“Our ultimate goal, because of so many different reasons, be that religious or personal preference or medical, is that we would respect the wishes of our membership.”
Curry said the union has not tracked how many members have received shots at the at-work sites and did not plan to require workers to report their vaccination status.
He noted that there have been no recent outbreaks at any Detroit 3 plants.
Curry, who became the union’s fourth president in the past three years when he succeeded the retiring Gamble in June, said his goals as president were to continue to grow the union’s ranks and continue to restore members’ trust.
“I had the opportunity under President Gamble as secretary-treasurer to be part of the reforms. I’d like to be able to see the continuation of those reforms … and see the true value come,” he said. “The success is going to be the opportunity to grow our membership, to see if we can get beyond 400,000. Is there potential to get back to our high days of 1.5 million members? Not sure, but I’d really like that opportunity.”