DETROIT — United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain on Sept. 7 called on all union members to support Democrats in November's key midterm elections, where control of Congress and key Michigan races for governor and the state Legislature are at stake.
Fain delivered the message to thousands gathered at Detroit's annual Labor Day march and rally. "This moment matters," Fain said, speaking at Detroit's Roosevelt Park after the city's Labor Day march through the Corktown district. "This election in November matters."
The UAW's president argued that the working class needs champions and leaders willing to use the power of government to strengthen workers. "Union family, we need Jocelyn Benson in the governor's office fighting for us," Fain said. "We need Abdul (El-Sayed), Jocelyn, Garlin Gilchrist and Eli Savit in office fighting for our future."
Fain's endorsements line up with the field of major Democratic candidates running in Michigan this cycle. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson, the current secretary of state, and U.S. Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed marched in the parade but did not address the crowd after the march outside Michigan Central Station.
El-Sayed is opposed by Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers in a bid to replace U.S. Sen. Gary Peters of Bloomfield Township. Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II is running for Michigan secretary of state against Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini. Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit is the Democratic nominee for attorney general against Republican Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd.
Rogers did not attend the Labor Day events. He previously told a Republican unity event after the primary elections, "This is a change election for Michigan. This is our chance to change it up."
Metro Detroit AFL-CIO officials estimated that about 11,000 people attended this year's event, a celebration of Michigan's union members, their families and the state's labor movement, which traditionally has backed Democrats.
The parade began at 9 a.m., and the rally in front of the former train station, now Ford Motor Co.'s innovation hub, started just before 11 a.m. Marching bands were joined by large commercial trucks in the procession down Michigan Avenue.
Several attendees told the Detroit News they came to celebrate workers and families. Natasha Pina-Pena, 25, a construction worker in the Laborers' Union, said she could not agree more that workers are the backbone of the country. Keith Sterling, 51, of Lathrup Village, said he spent years in corporate work where unions were demonized but now owns a business and sees how important workers' rights, wages and benefits are.
Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer in Michigan as students return to school and public pools close for the season. The holiday celebrates the social and economic achievements of American workers, and it carries special meaning in Michigan, the cradle of the modern labor movement. The first Labor Day was celebrated on Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City, and Detroit's first rally was held in 1884, according to the Reuther Library at Wayne State University.
The holiday also marks the traditional launch of general election campaigning for the midterms. This year, Democrats will try to hold seats in the U.S. Senate, governor, attorney general, and secretary of state while trying to gain seats in the U.S. House. Republicans control the White House and hold narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress. The state Legislature is divided, with Republicans controlling the state House and Democrats leading the Senate.
Over the years, the labor movement has attracted high-profile Democrats to Detroit's Labor Day parade. In 2024, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris told supporters at a rally in Detroit that she wanted to enact new legal protections for labor. Former President Bill Clinton led the 2016 Labor Day parade.
Adrian Hemond, a Democratic political consultant with Lansing-based Grassroots Midwest, said the parade "certainly doesn't seem like it's a priority anymore, for labor or for potential headliners."