The trade unionist who shook America: Who is Shawn Fain?

Fain's union launched a gradual strike at three auto giants based in Detroit, the heart of the American automotive industry: General Motors and Ford, and one plant each of Stellantis, which produces the Jeep, Ram, Dodge, and Chrysler brands. The union has 145 thousand members, but there are not 15 thousand workers on strike. But for now…

Shawn Fain (born 1968 or 1969) is an American labor unionist who has served as president of the United Auto Workers (UAW) since 2023. An electrician by trade, he worked at a Stellantis automotive parts plant in Kokomo, Indiana. He has been a UAW member for 29 years, and held a leadership role in a local chapter of the reform group "UAW Members United".

The previous union leader was involved in scandals and was accused of accepting bribes from large companies against workers. For 20 years, the union has stayed away from a tough fight for workers on the grounds that car companies are in a difficult situation. However, Fain, who took office this year, draws a very different profile. “In the past four years, the CEOs of these companies have received a 40 percent raise,” Fain said. "Now it's our turn," he says. CEOs of these companies earned a minimum of $21 million last year.

His grandfathers were also automotive factory workers

One of the things that makes Fain different from the Union lords is his origins. Two generations ago, Shawn's parents migrated from the South during the Great Depression and worked at Chrysler and General Motors in Indiana. He already carries his grandfather's pay slip in his pocket for the sake of those days.

Now he wants to leave a lasting impact on the payrolls of his generation. Today, new hires at three major factories earn $18 per hour. It will take eight years for this to reach the maximum level of $32. In addition to a total raise of 40 percent, 10 percent of which will be given this year, Fain insists on closing this gap and introducing inflation adjustments to salaries. Because he has personally experienced the suffering of beginners. He started his career as an electrician in 1994 at a factory that belonged to Chrysler at the time.

“Our vote is not free”

In videos he shot for members before the strike, he appeared to throw contract offers from automakers into the trash can, calling them "insulting". The American press wrote that the strike could affect next year's election. President Joe Biden has been accused of being too supportive of workers. However, Fain also refuses to declare that they will support Biden in the election. “Our vote is not free,” says Fain.

There were also those who said that the companies had increased their offers and accused the union of subversion. But Fain has an answer for them, too: “We're tired of seeing the rich get richer while the rest of us struggle to get by. We are tired of corporate greed and together we will fight to change it. We will destroy their economy, not the economy. An economy that only benefits the billionaire class, not the working class.”