Why It Matters

The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America filed an amended lobbying disclosure for the first quarter of 2025, reporting $210,000 in lobbying activity. The amendment, signed May 1, 2026, lists no specific issues or legislation, which is a notable contrast to the union's other recent filings, which span a wide range of labor, trade, and manufacturing policy concerns.

The UAW operates at the intersection of some of the most contested policy debates in Washington: auto tariffs, the electric vehicle transition, trade enforcement, and worker organizing rights. With the USMCA joint review on the horizon and the Trump administration reshaping trade and labor policy, the union has a direct stake in federal decisions that could affect hundreds of thousands of members. The blank issues field in this particular amendment suggests it is likely an administrative correction rather than a substantive lobbying report, but it reflects an organization that has been consistently and actively engaged on Capitol Hill.

By the Numbers

The UAW handles its lobbying in-house, with no outside firms retained. The three lobbyists listed on this filing (Alex Foley, Chris Zatratz, and Rajiv Sicora) are all UAW employees. This is one of the two first-quarter 2025 disclosures filed by the union; a separate first-quarter 2025 report was filed earlier and reported the same $210,000 figure. This amended filing appears to be a corrective submission.

Looking at the broader lobbying activity report across recent quarters, the UAW's spending has been consistent:

The union has reported a total of approximately $1.84 million in lobbying activity across nine filings dating back to early 2024, making it a longstanding and consistent participant in federal lobbying.

Two of the three lobbyists have congressional staff backgrounds. Alex Foley and Rajiv Sicora both previously served as Legislative Directors for Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY-16), though at different points in time. This congressional staff lobbying background gives both lobbyists direct experience with the legislative process. Chris Zatratz has no congressional staff record in available databases.

The Agenda

Because this particular filing is an amendment with no specific issues listed, the lobbying agenda must be drawn from the UAW's other recent disclosures. Across those filings, the union has been active on a broad front.

On automotive and manufacturing policy, the UAW has lobbied on auto tariffs, the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, Domestic Manufacturing Conversion grants, Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards, and electric vehicle tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. The union has also engaged on the USMCA's implementation and upcoming six-year review, as well as Section 232 national security investigations into imports of trucks and other goods.

On labor and worker rights, the union has lobbied on the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, National Labor Relations Board appropriations, federal workers' collective bargaining rights, heat injury and illness prevention standards, and the Faster Labor Contracts Act. It has also opposed the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

On healthcare and retirement security, the UAW has engaged on Medicare and Medicaid, NIH funding, pension plan stabilization, and Social Security. On immigration, the union has lobbied on international student work visas and humanitarian parole programs.

Broader Context

The backdrop for the UAW's lobbying activity is a federal policy environment in significant flux. The Trump administration's rollout of auto tariffs in early 2025 prompted the UAW to engage directly with the White House. UAW President Shawn Fain stated in March 2025 that the union was "in active negotiations with the Trump Administration about their plans to end the free trade disaster," according to a UAW statement. The union has also called for a renegotiation of the USMCA ahead of its mandatory 2026 joint review, arguing the agreement has "continued to pit Mexican and US workers against one another."

Congressional engagement with the UAW has been notable. At an April 2026 Senate Finance Committee hearing on the Trump administration's trade policy agenda, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer cited UAW support for Section 301 investigations into Mexico and Canada, stating, "The UAW applauds us for doing this." A separate House hearing on domestic robotics and manufacturing automation also referenced the UAW's history of negotiating worker protections during technological transitions in auto plants.

On Capitol Hill, lobbyist Rajiv Sicora was quoted directly in a February 2026 press release for the Make Congress Drive Union-Made Act, introduced by Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), which would require members of Congress to use union-made vehicles. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) also reported meeting with UAW representatives in February 2026 to discuss healthcare, outsourcing, wages, tariffs, and year-round E15 fuel standards.

The Bottom Line

This amended lobbying disclosure is likely administrative in nature, given its blank issues field and the existence of a separate substantive first quarter 2025 filing. The UAW remains a consistent and well-resourced in-house lobbying operation, spending between $210,000 and $250,000 per quarter on federal lobbying. With trade policy, EV transition rules, and labor law all in active play in Washington, the union's congressional engagement is unlikely to slow down.

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