What we do
For nearly all of our 75 years the UAW has been organizing all kinds of workers. And whether we are academic student employees and T-shirt silk screeners or health care professionals and zookeepers, we have one thing in common: We are all card-carrying UAW members.
In this issue's cover story we feature what our members do in a wide variety of UAW workplaces. We provide child care and help renew your driver's license. We are EMS technicians, ferry-boat captains and firefighters. We produce beer, butter and ice cream, and we make construction and forestry equipment, and rockets.
Belonging to our union of all workers, UAW members know that no matter what the job, the benefits of having a voice in the workplace is something all workers deserve.
UAW Local 7127
Child care providers
'A loving, nurturing early start in life'
Some may wonder what child care workers could have in common with the UAW. Mary Jones knows it's a combination that makes sense.
"I know that by being a child care provider who is a member of the UAW I have a voice and representation," said Jones. "It makes the difference, and it makes sense when you know your voice will be heard."
Jones, a home-based child care provider for 10 years, is a General Motors Co. retiree and member of UAW Local 735. Now, she's also a member of UAW Local 7127, which represents the 40,000 members of Child Care Providers Together Michigan (CCPTM).
"What we do is make sure children get a loving, nurturing early start in life," Jones said.
CCPTM formed in 2006 as part of a joint effort of the UAW and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
The child care providers union is working to improve the quality of child care and child care work in Michigan through unionization and collective negotiations.
Among the group's goals is to gain collective bargaining rights for family day care homes, group day care homes, relative care providers and day care aides to ensure they have a voice in the decisions that impact them.
Also, CCPTM encourages growth in licensed and registered home child care, works with advocacy groups, employers, providers and all stakeholders to find innovative solutions to Michigan's child care problems.
And it uses the strength of its numbers to lobby for state funding required to support high-quality child care services.
Child care workers are more than babysitters. They provide structured activities, nutritional meals and teach children important tasks, such as how to properly wash their hands.
"We are professionals," said Patricia W. Grant, owner of Little Steps Day Care in Detroit and a Michigan child care provider for 27 years.
"Being a member of the union helps us keep abreast of changes in state licensing, new regulations and other information that helps us do our jobs," said Grant.
"It gives us an organized way to make sure our needs are addressed and that children benefit from the services of Michigan's excellent day care providers."
