Community Action Program
Political action, powered by members.
CAP is where members carry our union power into legislation, the ballot box, and the broader movement. From housing fights to voter education, research funding to cross-union solidarity, this is where strategy becomes collective action.
About CAP
Our union's political and legislative action hub
UAW's Citizenship and Legislative Committee - most often called the Community Action Program, or CAP - is the Local's member-driven political and legislative committee.
CAP organizes members around the decisions that shape our lives at work and beyond it: voting rights, public research funding, housing, healthcare, collective bargaining, and the other issues members choose to take on together.
Member-driven priorities
Members set the agenda - and build the campaigns
Political action is tied to member needs and member power. CAP creates the space to learn, choose priorities, and move together.
Expand voter education and participation
Help Fellows understand registration, elections, and the issues affecting working people.
Advance pro-worker policy
Organize around collective bargaining, healthcare, housing, research funding, and other member-endorsed issues.
Build campaigns that can move quickly
Bring worker visibility and collective pressure to political moments that affect our jobs and communities.
Our projects
Five ways members are building power
Housing justice
Renters' rights, tenant associations, housing resources, and member-led campaigns.
Explore housing →Why NIH science matters
Protect funding, defend research, and lift up Fellows' stories.
Protect science →Political education
Voting information, tax resources, workshops, and practical guides.
Find resources →Political events
Rallies, town halls, phone banks, coalition actions, and member turnout.
See past action →Lobbying & issues
Member visits, scripts, legislative one-pagers, and endorsement processes.
Bring our voice →Housing justice & tenant rights
A union approach to housing: information, organization, power
Like workplace unions, tenant associations give renters more power through collective education and action. CAP connects Fellows with resources and helps members organize around the housing issues they choose.
Housing resources for Fellows
- Housing-only email list and member groups
- Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit resources
- Renter checklists, flyers, and infographics
- Links to official local tenant resources
Tenant associations
Tenant associations help renters learn the law, address unsafe conditions, support neighbors in hardship, respond to rent hikes, and advocate together.
Does your building have one? CAP is building a member-informed tenant association list.
Renters' rights
State and local rules differ and change. CAP can help members find official resources for Maryland, D.C., and other places where Fellows live.
Housing equity
Connect marginalized members with resources that support safety, stability, fair treatment, and access to housing.
Protecting NIH research funding
Why NIH science matters
Our research, jobs, and ability to communicate science are shaped by political decisions. Fellows are organizing to protect public research and show what unionized NIH science contributes to our communities.
Your research story belongs here
Share what you study - and why defending science is a worker issue
Member profiles can connect the work happening at NIH with the people, patients, and communities it serves.
Share your storySuggested profile prompts
- Name, Institute or Center, and position type
- In one sentence, what do you study?
- Why does your research matter to you and your community?
- How has being part of a union helped empower your work?
- What future are we building by defending public science?
Political education
Tools for participating with confidence
CAP helps members find trustworthy information, ask practical questions, and take the next step - whether that means checking registration, understanding taxes, or joining political action.
Voter registration
Vote.gov routes eligible voters to official state information for registering, updating information, and checking registration status.
Tax resources for Fellows
Tax situations vary, especially across appointment types and immigration statuses. Start with official IRS fellowship and estimated-tax guidance, then seek qualified advice for your circumstances.
V-CAP
V-CAP is the UAW's voluntary political action program. Member contributions support pro-worker candidates who have earned UAW CAP's endorsement.
Voting and political giving are not the only ways to participate. Members can also join issue campaigns, political education, housing work, events, coalition-building, and legislative outreach. Contact CAP with questions about eligibility.
Political events
Our action extends beyond the ballot box
Members build campaigns with other union locals and community partners to defend our rights, our science, and the public good.
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SEP
20Science Funding Town Hall - 2025
UAW 2750 members joined UMD-GLU, Johns Hopkins PRO, elected leaders, and community partners to make the case for protecting government-funded science and the workers who carry it out.
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APR
08Kill the Cuts Rally - 2025
Members joined a national day of action against proposed science-funding cuts, bringing Fellow voices into a nationwide movement for public research.
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MAR
07Stand Up for Science - 2025
A UAW 2750 member addressed thousands at the Reflecting Pool as workers and community members called for NIH funding, strong unionized science, and science for the public good.
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FEB
19Fund Don't Freeze Rally - 2025
After sweeping winter firings, members picketed outside HHS to defend research jobs. Fellows ultimately won their jobs back through collective action.
Regional solidarity
Our fights are connected.
CAP builds relationships across campuses and workplaces because research funding, collective bargaining, housing, and public investment are regional and national fights—not isolated ones.
Lobbying & endorsed issues
Bring Fellows' voices into political decision-making
Members can join trainings, visit lawmakers, use call and letter-writing tools, propose issues, and vote on what our Local endorses.
How members take part
- Join lobbying and representative-relations training
- Use issue one-pagers, call scripts, and letter templates
- Share how policy affects your work, research, and community
- Propose and vote on priorities for Local action
- Build relationships with offices across party lines
Past action: UAW 2750 members from Maryland, Montana, and North Carolina participated in a congressional appropriations visit on September 10, 2025 to advocate for robust NIH funding and oversight.
Member-endorsed issues
UMD collective bargaining
Solidarity with University of Maryland graduate workers seeking collective bargaining rights.
Medicare for All
Support for affordable, universal healthcare and the broader UAW endorsement.
Future candidate endorsements can be published here after the Local's member-led endorsement process.
Meet your CAP
Open meetings. Member leadership. Room to build.
CAP meetings are open to all members. Current teams include Political Events, Political Education, Representative Relations, and Housing Stability - and members can build new teams around priorities adopted by the membership.
Haley Chatelaine
Postdoc Fellow, NCATS
Vice President & Committee Chair
Danielle Buglak
Postdoc Fellow, NHLBI
Deputy Chair, Political Events
Colby Luiz
Postbac Fellow, NHLBI
Deputy Chair, Political Education
Ian Morgan
Postdoc Fellow, NHLBI
Steward & Deputy Chair, Representative Relations
Lilly Shatford-Adams
Masters Fellow, NIA
Deputy Chair, Housing Stability
Get involved
Bring your issue, your skills, or your curiosity.
CAP is for members who want to learn how political decisions shape working life - and organize with coworkers to change them. You do not need prior political experience to join.