The Center for Worker Freedom’s Executive Director, Matt Patterson, has a piece in Forbes today titled “Next UAW Chief an Obama Organizer.” Patterson writes about the intention of the union to elect as its next president Dennis Williams, an Obama ally.
“Williams is a former welder, but also boasts an another impressive credential on his resume, a credit indicative of the UAW’s true nature and an indication of where its loyalties and aspirations lay: Williams has a long history with Barack Obama, and was even a key member of the Obama’s organizing team for the Iowa caucuses in 2008.”
Not only is the UAW intending to elect a leader with ties to the current administration, but Patterson also unveils the deep rooted pockets of this union, which helped to re-elect President Obama.
“Barack Obama –unsurprisingly — was a beneficiary of UAW largess, receiving $148,967 from the union in the 2012 election cycle alone. After the election, UAW chief Bob King even bragged that he and his “progressive allies” had “scored a huge victory… when we re-elected President Barack Obama.”
In other recent news the UAW’s current boss Bob King, recently stated in that union members will “overwhelmingly” support a raise in dues. This dues raise may be up to 25 percent and would be the first time since 1967 that they have been raised. Struggling for membership and support, the union has to raise dues on its members just to get its message across and stay afloat. Patterson writes about the union's decline “from a membership peak of 1.5 million in 1979, the union now boasts fewer than 400,000 members.”
In other news regarding union's Democratic support, the Detroit Free Press is reporting that the King says the UAW will likely endorse Democratic candidate Mark Schauer in the Michigan governor’s race.