The UAW mourns the passing of Rev. Jesse Jackson, a leader who never wavered in his commitment to working people and the labor movement, and whose bond with the United Auto Workers spanned decades of shared struggle for justice.
In 2023, we had the honor of welcoming Reverend Jackson to UAW Local 551 in Chicago to rally with hundreds of autoworkers during the Stand Up Strike. His leadership and solidarity in that moment reflected a lifetime of commitment to the cause of the working class, and the cause of humanity.
Throughout his life, Reverend Jackson knew exactly which side he was on: that of the working class. He spoke out against the hollowing out of manufacturing in the United States and the damage done to communities when jobs were shipped overseas, calling for fair trade deals that put workers first. He carried that conviction across the globe, traveling to South Africa to investigate the firing of 700 Black workers from a Ford Motor Co. plant in 1979 and helping to lead the international movement to end apartheid. In 2010, he joined UAW President Bob King on a multi-city tour calling for jobs, justice, and peace, a message he embraced across decades of work. He stood with workers in the streets from Detroit to cities nationwide, demanding industrial policies that create jobs, enforce workers’ and civil rights, and put people before profit.
Rev. Jackson’s life’s work grew from roots deep in the intertwined traditions of civil rights, labor organizing, anti-apartheid activism, and the global peace movement — all grounded in the same belief: that dignity, fairness, and opportunity belong to all of humanity.
May we honor him not only in memory, but in action.
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