Who are we?

Collective action is how we win. Rank and File for a Democratic Union is a group of workers in UAW 4811 (formerly 2865) at UCLA who believe in nourishing the power and growth of our union’s rank and file members. Our vision is one of a union that’s run by an active and involved membership, fighting for our best interests as undergraduate and graduate workers, and that has the courage to hold accountable those who would make decisions for us without us.

In Fall 2022, our union came together in an unprecedented strike, and with thousands of our co-workers, we stepped up to act in solidarity with each other at this scale for the first time. Now as we fight against the UC’s retaliation in implementing our new contract, it’s critical to keep our union connected to membership —beyond mass texts or emails. In order to grow and sustain the kind of mass participation we saw in the strike, we need leadership that reflects our union and gives rank-and-file members agency to shape our union’s long- and short-term directions– from contract enforcement and meeting agendas to our organizing priorities and strategic vision to build labor power at UC.

Democracy and mass organizing go hand-in-hand. We are workers first. Not everyone has the time to be in elected office or to be staff, but every worker should feel empowered to participate in our union. Workers get involved and stay involved when they have a say over decisions. We believe in leadership that centers worker demands and needs, makes points of entry into union organizing accessible and clear, and offers more engagement and support to organizers at the department and lab level.