--- description: Find out why Shawn Fain is one of the 100 most influential people of 2024. title: Shawn Fain: The 100 Most Influential People of 2024 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c38741bae851908/698a5591b3fce361a40cd06f/time-100-2024-shawn-fain.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 17, 2024 # Shawn Fain by Joe Biden  UAW (US Auto Workers) president Shawn Fain speaks with members of the media and members of the UAW outside of the UAW Local 900 headquarters across the street from the Ford Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan on September 15, 2023\. The US auto workers' union announced the start of a strike at three factories just after midnight on Friday, September 15, as a deadline expired to reach a deal with employers on a new contract. "Tonight, for the first time in our history, we will strike all three of the Big Three at once," UAW President Shawn Fain said in a webcast two hours before the midnight contract expiration at the three major automakers. (Photo by Matthew Hatcher / AFP) (Photo by MATTHEW HATCHER/AFP via Getty Images) UAW (US Auto Workers) president Shawn Fain speaks with members of the media and members of the UAW outside of the UAW Local 900 headquarters across the street from the Ford Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan on September 15, 2023\. The US auto workers' union announced the start of a strike at three factories just after midnight on Friday, September 15, as a deadline expired to reach a deal with employers on a new contract. "Tonight, for the first time in our history, we will strike all three of the Big Three at once," UAW President Shawn Fain said in a webcast two hours before the midnight contract expiration at the three major automakers. (Photo by Matthew Hatcher / AFP) (Photo by MATTHEW HATCHER/AFP via Getty Images)Matthew Hatcher—AFP/Getty Images Last September in Michigan, UAW president Shawn Fain told his fellow striking workers, “In this union, the members are the highest authority. In this country, the people are the highest authority.” I know because I was there when he said it, as the first American President to walk a picket line. Shawn and I share a basic view of how workers deserve to be treated. Just as they sacrificed when their employers were on the brink, they deserve record contracts when those companies have record profits. It’s only fair. The historic wage increases the UAW won under Shawn’s leadership carry forward the powerful legacy of labor leader and fellow [UAW president Walter Reuther](https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,989782-1,00.html "undefined"), and have led virtually every auto-maker across the country to follow suit. They remind us that when unions win, all workers benefit. Shawn represents the hard-won success that unions—from the Teamsters, to the SEIU, to [writers and actors](https://time.com/collection/time100-voices/6323410/wga-strike-lessons-for-unions/ "undefined"), dockworkers and health care workers, baristas, warehouse workers, and more—had in making [2023 the year of the union](https://time.com/6240846/2023-workers-strike/ "undefined"). They proved what I’ve always said: Wall Street didn’t build America. The middle class built America. And unions built the middle class. _Biden, a Democrat, is President of the United States_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964232/shawn-fain/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964232/shawn-fain/"},"headline":"Shawn Fain","datePublished":"2024-04-17T11:00:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:29:01.086Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964232/shawn-fain/","keywords":["TIME100","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","2024TIME100","T100Innovators2024"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c38741bae851908/698a5591b3fce361a40cd06f/time-100-2024-shawn-fain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c38741bae851908/698a5591b3fce361a40cd06f/time-100-2024-shawn-fain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964232/shawn-fain/","name":"Shawn Fain"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See Everyone on the TIME100 2024 list","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/73p9kgIN/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-04-17T11:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/73p9kgIN.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964232/shawn-fain/","duration":"PT1M59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964232/shawn-fain/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```