DEARBORN, Mich.—Facing a MAGA administration that attacks workers at home and fuels wars abroad, union members from across Michigan gathered at United Auto Workers Local 600 this past Saturday to map out a working-class response ahead of the November midterm elections. The Labor Town Hall became a rallying cry to leverage union power not just in the workplace but at the ballot box and in the streets.
The event, co-organized by the Detroit Union Education League and Metro Detroit DSA and moderated by Em Barnes from People’s World, brought together a diverse panel of labor leaders and progressive voices: Mich. District 26 State Rep. Dylan Wegela, a former Arizona Education Association local president; Kayla Sharpe, a building representative for the Ferndale Education Association; Byron Osborne, business agent for IBEW Local 58; Michael Joseph, president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unions Detroit; and AJ Freer, recording secretary of UAW Local 600.
The discussion spanned the most urgent crises facing the working class—from the fights against fascism and the accelerating threat of artificial intelligence and data centers to workplace safety and the fight for peace and international solidarity.
Electoral power and accountability
With the pivotal U.S. Senate race heating up in Michigan, the town hall made clear that electoral politics is a central front in the democratic and class struggles. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, who is running a fiery progressive campaign against Republican Mike Rogers, was highlighted as a crucial ally for workers. El-Sayed has secured endorsements from numerous unions, including the UAW.
“Since being in office in Michigan for three and a half years, the issue we face is whether we have a government that is democratic and controlled by the working class,” Wegela remarked. “Under Democrats and Republicans, I’ve seen the state give $6 billion in corporate tax breaks and subsidies. I’ve seen them pass tax breaks for data centers and other industries.
“If we really want to see long term change from the working class,” he said, “it will require a mass movement of organized unions and workers and electing those who are tied to our movement.”
As Freer emphasized, the labor movement’s strategy goes far beyond just casting a ballot for progressives.
“The unions are not going to wait…. We’re getting progressive candidates elected, but that’s not the end of the story—we’re going to hold them to it that they will do what they said they’d do,” Freer declared.
Electing pro-labor candidates is only step one; the real work is forcing them to deliver on policies that protect workers from AI displacement, secure community benefits, and shift funding from the now $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget to badly needed public services, healthcare, housing, and jobs.
Tech giants and the fight for community benefits
On the topic of data centers and AI, the panel addressed how unions can ensure that technological developments benefit working people rather than only the ultra-wealthy like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
“We need to make sure that not only we as labor leaders talk to elected officials but also our own members to leverage their power and make sure they’re sitting on these committees to get community benefit agreements,” Osborne said.
“We know what we need in our communities and what we need in our workplaces. Don’t burn us out trying to get Meta, Google, any other corporation a data center and wiping out our environment for it.”
Freer added that the immense wealth generated by tech monopolies proves bosses can easily afford to invest in their workforce. “Elon Musk needs to realize that the workers are making the products that are making these billions of dollars,” he said. “The bosses can afford to pay workers. They can afford to invest in safety and post-retirement healthcare for every worker.”
International solidarity
The discussion sharpened as it turned to international issues, with panelists condemning the Trump administration’s role in fueling imperialist wars and humanitarian crises—from the U.S. on Iran to the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the illegal blockade of Cuba.
“Trump has bombed children, alongside the government of Israel,” Freer said. “Our soldiers are sold on the battlefield in an unjust, unprovoked war, when we could have built schools with the money that’s being spent on it.
“We [the UAW] stand behind Palestine and the people there unabashedly. The economic costs do not even compare to the cost of the loss of lives,” he added.
When an audience member asked how unions can respond to continuous ICE attacks on immigrant communities, Osborne’s answer was unequivocal: “Abolish ICE.”
“Our union hall sits in Corktown, right by Southwest Detroit. There’s a lot of electrical work that we do in Southwest, and we have to be there to protect the workers,” Osborne said. “If ICE comes for our brown population today, they’re coming for the Black population tomorrow, and for everybody. We need to be a part of the movement to abolish ICE.”
Building the next generation of troublemakers
The town hall wrapped up with a focus on how the working class can build an economy of peace and a society that prioritizes human need.
“We need more socialists, troublemakers, and progressives to take on strategic jobs in important sectors of the economy, such as teaching,” Sharpe said. “The most powerful thing I have my students do in the classroom is use their imagination—to picture a better world.”
She continued: “I tasked my students with the question, ‘If you had the power to redesign the society we live in, what would you create?’ They’ve never been asked to do that before. Kids know the world as it’s presented to them, and we have to push them to think outside of the box. We deserve a peaceful world, and that is our role as parents, teachers, and workers.”
Joseph reminded the crowd that the path forward requires sustained, militant action. Yet, he said, the first part of that process is a massive turnout on Nov. 3 for the midterm elections.
“We need to realize our power against the likes of Bezos and Trump and realize we have the power to vote them out, because that’s what they fear,” he said. “We can’t sit back down. We are slowly and surely waking up now.”
Several organizations hosted information tables at the event, including People’s World, Michigan Money Out of Politics, and the Michigan AFL-CIO. Attendees had the chance to sign up as volunteers for election defense efforts to protect the vote, ensure that every vote is counted, and to mobilize, if necessary, to make sure the results of the election are honored.
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