Retired Worker Chapter of Local 699, UAW

06/13/2026

06/09/2026

06/09/2026

Thank you! Chris Swanson for Governor!

06/07/2026

06/06/2026

With the 39th UAW Constitutional Convention right around the corner, we're taking a look back at some of the most iconic and memorable moments from past conventions.

In 1959, a young and charismatic junior Senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy, was invited to speak at the UAW's Constitutional Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Kennedy was a leading candidate for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination the following year — a nomination he would ultimately secure. He would go on to become the 35th President of the United States.

"I come to you as a friend of labor," Kennedy told union delegates at the convention. "I have never apologized for that friendship, and I don't intend to start today."

📸 Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor & Urban Affairs

06/06/2026

Today, we remember former UAW REGION 1A Director Robert "Buddy" Battle, born on June 4, 1917.

Robert "Buddy" Battle III was born in Detroit, the son of a cleanup crew supervisor for railroad cars. He went to work as a sand-slinger in the Ford Rouge plant foundry in 1936 and quickly became an organizer for the UAW.

Beginning in the early 1940's, he was elected to a number of positions at UAW Local 600, including district and bargaining committee person, chairman of the special foundry unit, and local vice president, culminating in his election as Director of Region 1A in 1976.

Recognizing the inhumane conditions of foundry labor, Battle helped establish the union's Foundry Wage and Hour Council in 1946, which fought for and won paid sick leave and a 25-and-out retirement for foundry workers. A skilled and aggressive negotiator at the bargaining table, he served on the UAW Ford national negotiating committee in 1967, 1970, and 1973.

Battle worked to increase African American leadership in the UAW and, with Horace Sheffield and others, formed the Trade Union Leadership Council in the late 1940's, which became the nucleus of the national Negro American Labor Council. As TULC president, he oversaw the organization's pre-apprenticeship training program designed to help Black and other minority individuals enter the skilled trades.

Buddy Battle was also active in Democratic Party politics as UAW CAP chairman in the 1st and 13th congressional districts of Detroit and, later, chairman of the 1st congressional district. He played a prominent role in the campaigns to elect Detroit's first black City Council member, William Patrick, and its first black mayor, Coleman Young.

After he retired from the UAW in 1983, Brother Battle served as Young's executive assistant. He died on August 4, 1989, at the age of 72.

📸 Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor & Urban Affairs

06/06/2026

Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer visited the UAW Local 2093 picket line in Three Rivers to stand in solidarity with our members as they fight for a fair contract at American Axle.

We appreciate Governor Whitmer taking the time to meet with our members, hear their concerns, and show support for working families who are standing together for fair wages, economic justice, and respect on the job.

The members of Local 2093 have demonstrated tremendous strength, unity, and determination throughout this fight. Their message is simple: the workers who make this company successful deserve a fair share of the value they create.

Thank you, Governor Whitmer, for standing with UAW members and recognizing the importance of collective bargaining and workers' rights.

06/06/2026

Delegates from Local 525 in Ontario sport iconic windbreakers and bolo ties for this dripped-out photo with UAW President Walter Reuther at one of the union's Constitutional Conventions in the 1960s.

📸 Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor & Urban Affairs