Scientists for a Democratic Union

Click to view the SDU candidates for the Spring 2026 election.

Who are we?

Scientists for a Democratic Union (SDU) includes 35 proud CAPS-UAW 1115 members from across the entire state of California who are current officers and candidates for the CAPS-UAW Joint Council, candidates for the CAPS-UAW Constitution and Bylaws Committee, and candidates for UAW Constitutional Convention Delegates.

SDU is united by the goals of union democracy, super-majority participation in actions, and unyielding organizing. We believe that as organized workers we must be a united front fighting against unprecedented attacks on workers and scientists. We are committed to building a mass-participatory labor movement that will give workers more control over our lives and make California the best place in the world to be a working public sector scientist.

What Have We Done?

Priorities:

Worker led democracy

We are committed to a democratic, participatory union in which the members are the highest authority and decisions are made transparently. We believe that unions should be powerful forces for democracy. Too often in our lives we are only allowed the opportunity to participate in shallow, superficial democratic systems. CAPS-UAW should be organized around meaningful mass participation from members. Only by uniting people from across the state, across departments, and across classifications will scientists have the power to confront the power of the boss. We are committed to maintaining an inclusive, equitable, and welcoming culture that organizes all members for super majority participation.

Mass worker actions

We are committed to building power through mass actions that include a supermajority of members. The SDU slate includes leaders who helped organize the first ever strike of a California state civil service union, led the organization to affiliate with UAW, led the contract campaign that resulted in a historic contract, organized to defeat RTO, and protected our hard fought 2026 salary increases. These wins were only possible because of members like you who committed to showing up to actions, talking to your coworkers, and standing together in solidarity. We are committed to building on this success and organizing our workplaces from wall to wall to prepare for mass action to protect and expand our rights.

Build institutional power

We are committed to equipping our union with the capacity to strategize, sustain, and build long-term institutional power. We will work across the state to identify, develop, and support leaders, integrate them into our union’s new steward structure, and empower them to organize their workplaces. We are committed to taking advantage of and growing the institutional power of UAW Region 6. We will work to ensure that CAPS-UAW is a high membership union that enables State Scientists to turn the resources we have into the power we need to achieve the change we want.

Flex our political power

We are committed to fighting for pro-worker politics. As public sector workers, our working conditions are subject to the whims of politics. We are committed to becoming a force for workers in the realm of politics so that we can win better conditions for State Scientists and workers everywhere. We want to ensure the next governor and legislators are pro-worker and will champion our union’s political priorities. We will engage members in mass politics and use our collective strength to advance a pro-worker political agenda.

Be strike ready

We are committed to being ready to utilize super-majority, high participation strikes as a tool. Strikes are the ultimate tool for exerting pressure on the boss. As member leaders who helped organize and participate in the November 2023 Defiance for Science strike, we know that strikes do not occur spontaneously. They are the result of deep organizing and membership solidarity. We are committed to having an organization that is capable of calling a strike for members legally entitled to participate when it is strategic.

Click here for SDU Candidates for the Spring 2026 Election.

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