How a Union of White-Collar Workers Is Reshaping New York Politics

The United Auto Workers (UAW) has defied a decades-long decline in American labor membership by recruiting white-collar professionals in New York City, and in doing so, it has upended the city's political establishment. The union's regional branch, Region 9A, has backed a string of insurgent, democratic socialist candidates in recent primaries, challenging the dominance of established labor-backed incumbents.

This strategy has produced notable victories. Claire Valdez, a UAW member and state assemblywoman, won a congressional primary in Brooklyn and Queens, defeating Antonio Reynoso, the Brooklyn borough president who had the support of most of the city's unions. Darializa Avila Chevalier, also a UAW member, upset Representative Adriano Espaillat in a district covering Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx, despite Mr. Espaillat's widespread labor backing.

How did the UAW expand its membership?

The UAW's growth comes from organizing workers in private universities, museums, and public-interest law practices. Region 9A, which covers eastern New York, New England, and Puerto Rico, now counts only 1,000 of its 35,000 active members in the auto industry, according to Brandon Mancilla, the region's director. Roughly 20,000 members are based in New York City, up more than 50 percent from 2022.

This expansion has helped the union reverse its own decline. After peaking at 1.5 million members in the 1970s, UAW membership fell to 370,000 in 2023, its lowest level since 2009. By the end of 2025, it had risen to more than 390,000, according to a report filed with the U.S. Labor Department.

Why is the union backing insurgent candidates?

Mr. Mancilla, 32, argues that organized labor's diminished power helped fuel Donald J. Trump's victory in 2024, as he capitalized on working-class economic frustrations. He told the New York Times that many members feel the establishment has failed them. The union's regional branch has responded by supporting candidates who challenge the status quo, even when it means breaking with other labor organizations.

Region 9A has fought for contracts for legal services professionals, helped unionize student workers at Columbia University, and is trying to organize low-wage employees at a popular New York City bakery. It also represents gunmakers in Connecticut and submarine builders in Maine.

“You might say, what do they have in common with auto workers?” said Diane Savino, a labor leader-turned-politician who later served as an adviser to Mayor Eric Adams. “Doesn't matter. If a union wants to remain relevant, it has to have members, and if the work that you originally started doesn't exist anymore, well, there are lots of people out there who need representation.”

What political tensions has this growth created?

The union's new, politically active members have pushed it toward progressive causes, sometimes creating friction. Some of Region 9A's newer leaders are members of the Democratic Socialists of America, and the union has taken divisive positions, most notably on the Israel-Hamas war.

In December 2023, the union declared support for a cease-fire resolution and formed a working group to study its economic ties to the conflict. At the union's international convention in June, a resolution to cut ties between union funds and Israeli bonds passed by a narrow margin of 321 to 287, after earlier versions were struck down for vilifying defense workers represented by the UAW.

This debate highlights an inherent contradiction. Local 376 in Connecticut represents workers who produce firearms for Colt's Manufacturing Company, which sells weapons to Israel. Another local in Maine represents marine draftsmen who design nuclear-powered submarines for Bath Iron Works. That local abstained from the cease-fire vote.

How do other unions view the UAW's success?

The UAW's political wins have drawn suspicion from other New York unions. Their leaders privately contend that it is easy for a union with politically active members and high turnover to back insurgents, while larger unions maintain longstanding relationships with incumbents.

Kevin Elkins, who recently left his job as political director of a New York City-based carpenters union, dismissed the UAW's performance, noting that its most competitive elections were in districts with younger, more college-educated voters prone to supporting far-left candidates.

What does the future hold for the UAW?

With a budget of $1.2 billion, a strike fund of over $850 million, and international president Shawn Fain mentioned as a long-shot progressive presidential candidate, the UAW has become an undeniable, if complicated, force. It remains under a federal monitor following a national corruption scandal that preceded Mr. Fain's rise.

Despite the tensions, some members embrace the union's diversity. William Bobrowski, an official with Local 2179, called it “wonderful” that his union includes defense workers who make guns sold to Israel.

“It creates a more volatile dynamic, there's more debate, there's no Stalinist, one-party line,” he said. “Life is full of contradictions and paradoxes.”