According to my financial accounting textbook, a fund is “an asset or group of assets set aside for a specific purpose.”
The UAW Constitution sets up several funds. These funds each have a stated purpose and means of funding them.
Article 16, Section 10 lists several funds that are funded through the dues allocated to the General Fund. The rate at which these are funded is per member per month. So, for example, the Citizenship Fund is funded at $ 0.05. This means each month that a member pay dues, $ 0.05 will be put into that fund. Over the course of a year, that would be 12 * $ 0.05 = $ 0.60 for that member into that fund. With 400,000 members, that would be 400,000 * $ 0.05 = $ 20,000 per month, or 400,000 * $ 0.05 * 12 = $ 240,000 per year. The rest of these funds and their funding rate are in the table below:
| Fund | Rate per Member per Month |
| Communications | $ 0.05 |
| Civil and Human Rights Fund | $ 0.01 |
| Education Fund | $ 0.03 |
| Recreation Fund | $ 0.01 |
| Citizenship Fund | $ 0.05 |
| Retired Workers Fund | $ 0.01 |
Each of these funds is used only for the specific purpose listed in the Constitution. If a fund needs more money, the IEB can move money into it. Note that the Communication isn’t a “fund” as such, but is money allocated for communications programs.
Other funds include the Family Education Center Fund, Regional Activities Fund, and Councils Fund. The Family Education Center Fund is funded with receipts from Educational Center activities and the General Fund on an as-needed basis. The Regional Activities Fund is supported by activities in the regions, and the Councils Fund is supported by dues from locals in those councils and the General Fund.
The General Fund is the fund used for most operations of the UAW. It is the fund that dues (except those allocated to the Strike and Defense Fund) and most realized appreciation on investments are normally funneled into. As other funds need infusions of money, the IEB can authorize the transfer of funds from the General Fund into those other funds as necessary.
The Emergency Operations Fund was set up in the Constitution with a one-time transfer of $75,000,000 from the Strike Fund in 2002. Appreciation on investments from this fund are allocated to this fund. This fund is used “to finance operations of the International Union in the event Operating Fund resources are insufficient to sustain operations due to the effects of a protracted or expensive strike, a series of strikes, or other events posing a serious threat to the economic viability of the International Union.” In reality, it is also used to cover shortages in the General Fund. Most recently, transfers were made from the Emergency Operations Fund to the General Fund in November 2022, March 2023, and June 2023 (more about this later).
The UAW has 11 funds altogether. Six of them, the General Fund, Citizenship Fund, Recreation Fund, Education Fund, Civil and Human Rights Fund, and Family Education Center Fund, are often referred to as “Operating Funds”.
The International Union Strike and Defense Fund, or Strike Fund, is the largest of UAW funds. In fact, it is also the largest strike fund in all US unions. Article 16, Section 11 lays out the purposes of the Strike Fund:
(1) aiding Local Unions engaged in authorized strikes and in
cases of lock-outs, and(2) assisting by donations or loans other International Unions and non-affiliated Local Unions similarly engaged, and
(3) meeting financial obligations or expenditures which this International Union or its affiliated Local Unions incur as a result of authorized strikes or in cases of lockouts, and
(4) providing direct material support to members seeking a fair contract who are legally prohibited from striking, and
(5) defend the rights of members to collectively bargain.
Please note, and I refer to this later, that of the 5 purposes of the Strike Fund as noted above, not a single one of them is to provide funds for the General Fund. Yes, interest and earnings on investments are normally allocated to the General Fund or elsewhere, but this in not one of the purposes of the Strike Fund. This is not why we have it, or what it is for. I believe this is important in determining what level of risk is appropriate for Strike Fund investments (my opinion–investments should be low-risk and liquid, so the money is always there for [a] big strike[s], and earnings from investments are a secondary consideration if at all).
Also, please note that the interest and earnings on investments from the Strike and Defense Fund are allocated constitutionally to the General Fund or other purpose the IEB determines to be in the best interests of the UAW. As a matter of routine, this investment income goes to the General Fund, but it doesn’t have to be this way. These investment earnings could just as easily be allocated to go back into the Strike and Defense Fund or Emergency Operations Fund, for example.
This section also authorizes the International to withdraw up to $60,000,000 in between conventions, for specific organizing purposes.