UAW chief criticizes mass arrests of pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses

Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers (UAW), criticized the mass arrests of pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses across the country while emphasizing the union's call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

“The UAW will never support mass incarceration or intimidation of those who exercise their right to protest, strike or speak out against injustice,” Fain wrote Wednesday on the social platform X. “Our union has been calling for a ceasefire for six months. This war is wrong, and this reaction against students and academic staff, including many UAW members, is wrong.”

Hundreds of students and faculty have been arrested in the past two weeks as pro-Palestinian protests rocked college campuses across the country. Demonstrators have taken to university courtyards and streets and set up camps to protest Israel's war effort in the Gaza Strip and demand a halt to U.S. aid to Israel.

Tensions rose in New York and California on Tuesday evening, leading to the arrests of hundreds of protesters.

New York police entered Tuesday through a second-floor window of a building in Columbia that had been seized by protesters. Police cleared out the protesters and videos quickly circulated on social media showing the arrests at Columbia, which served as the starting point for mass university protests that quickly spread across the country.

New York Mayor Eric Adams confirmed on Thursday that around 300 people had been arrested.

At the University of California, Los Angeles, clashes broke out between counter-protesters and pro-Palestinian demonstrators as they tried to break up the camp on campus. Los Angeles Police Department officers responded, but it was not immediately clear how many arrests were made or whether there were any injuries.

The leadership of UAW 4811, the union group that represents postdoctoral students and researchers at the University of California campus, voted Wednesday to hold a strike authorization vote as early as next week if “circumstances warrant.”

“Should the University decide to restrict the right to participate in protected, concerted activities; discriminate against union members or political positions; and, among other things, creating or permitting threats to the health and safety of members, UAW 4811 members will take all necessary actions to enforce our rights,” UAW 4811 wrote in a statement.

Fain said Wednesday that the UAW is demanding the release of students and staff.

“And if you can’t stand the outcry, stop supporting this war,” Fain added.

The UAW supported a long-term ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in December. The war has lasted nearly seven months since Hamas' attacks against southern Israel on October 7, in which the militant group killed about 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.

Israel's retaliatory campaign in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities.

– Updated at 5:04 p.m

Find the latest news, weather, sports and streaming videos on The Hill.