Something powerful is taking shape across the UWUA. With the Region V conference held in late March in Redondo Beach, California, and the Region II/III conference concluding in Cleveland earlier this month, members returned to their locals with sharper skills, stronger networks, and a renewed sense of what it means to be part of our union. With Region IV set to meet in Detroit in early August and Region I following in Jersey City in September, the energy generated at these gatherings is doing exactly what it was intended to do — power the union forward, one local at a time.
The UWUA’s 2026 regional conference cycle is built on a simple idea: stronger locals make a stronger national union, and stronger leaders make stronger locals. Every speaker and every presentation is centered on the same goal — sending members home better equipped to fight for their brothers and sisters at the bargaining table, on the job, and in their communities.
The conferences are designed to be highly interactive and practical. Topics include leadership development, team building, training initiatives, political action, and workplace safety.
Participants also discuss artificial intelligence (AI) and share their own experiences with the growing role technology plays in their workplaces. Conference sessions explore how locals can better understand these technologies, demand transparency from employers, and bargain protections that safeguard members’ rights on the job.
Updates from national committees and initiatives are also a major part of the conferences. Representatives from the Veterans Committee, Safety Committee, Women’s Caucus, Young Workers Initiative Committee, and Human Rights Committee share progress on their work and encourage broader participation from members across the union. Presentations on a new national training initiative and COPE political action efforts reinforce the importance of member engagement at every level of the organization.
Beyond the formal programming, some of the most valuable moments happen between sessions. Members exchange bargaining strategies, discuss organizing campaigns, compare contract language, and share solutions to common workplace challenges. New relationships form, ideas circulate, and members return home with tools and perspectives that can immediately strengthen their locals.
The energy coming out of Regions II, III and V has already demonstrated the value of these gatherings. Attendance at Region V nearly doubled participation levels from 2022, reflecting renewed enthusiasm and engagement throughout the union.
As the UWUA looks ahead to 2027 — and the union’s 33rd Constitutional Convention — the momentum generated through the regional conferences will help carry the organization forward. The relationships built, lessons learned, and leadership developed at these conferences will strengthen the union not just in the months ahead, but for years to come.