By George Barta September 12, 2025 10:16 am
United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain recently held an online town hall in which he celebrated the union’s 2023 contracts and promised to fight for even more in the next round of contract negotiations. Fain is ambitiously promising retirement healthcare and “a real pension” when the next UAW contracts are ratified with the Detroit Three automakers in 2028.
“Let me be crystal clear on this,” Fain said on the 45-minute livestream on Thursday, according to The Detroit Free Press. “On May Day (May 1) 2028, the UAW will not settle for anything less than retiree health care and a real pension.”
Fain is referring to UAW benefits that went away during the Great Recession, when two of the Detroit Three filed for bankruptcy. Workers who have been UAW members since 2008 or earlier are still entitled to these benefits, but not newer members.
“Our goal is to win retirement health care back for every single worker. Our goal is to give every worker a pension that isn’t at risk of evaporating when the market crashes,” Fain said.
With a retiree health care benefit, the employer pays for a retired employee’s healthcare for the rest of their life. What Fain means by “a real pension” refers to a defined-benefit (DB) pension with a lifetime guaranteed income, which is not contingent on investment performance or how much a worker has contributed to a retirement fund.
The existing pension system for the United Auto Workers is tiered. Pension benefits depend on the retiree’s age and years of service. Fain’s goal is to eliminate tiers and give every UAW worker the same pension, regardless of the age of retirement or how long they’ve been a member.
“That’s not solidarity. That’s not justice, and it’s not the future of the UAW,” Fain said. “Ending retirement tiers will be the defining fight of 2028.”
