ICYMI: U.S. Senate Candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed Delivers Unifying Speech at UAW’s Constitutional Convention in Detroit
DETROIT, MI – This morning, U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed delivered a unifying speech at the United Auto Workers (UAW) constitutional convention in Detroit to 880 delegates from UAW regions across the county, including the 3 Regions in Michigan. Today’s speech was Dr. El-Sayed’s first opportunity to address the union’s membership directly since receiving their endorsement.
“When it came time for our union to make an endorsement for U.S. Senate, there was one candidate who, like us, refused to back down,” said UAW President Shawn Fain in his introduction of Dr. El-Sayed. “He refused to accept that a better life for the working class is impossible, and he believes, as we do, that when we fight, we’ll win. He believes in health care for all. He believes in a dignified retirement. He stands with the working class, and I’ll tell you this: he was the only one of the three candidates that doesn’t accept corporate PAC money and wants to see stock dividends and buybacks outlawed, so we’re staying with him.”
Photo credit: the UAW
“I know the power of a union, my dad taught me that. I watched it myself as a union member, and it is damn past time for us to decide that we as a party are going to be firmly on the side of working people,” Dr. El-Sayed said before a crowd of thousands of UAW members from Michigan and across the country. “Unions teach us two things: that in solidarity, when we come together around the things we have in common, we cannot be beaten, and that we will not get what we will not fight for. And if we are willing to stand up, fight back, we also can win. We can win the kind of America that beats in the hearts of all of us who believe that this place ought to be the place driven by ideals to the kind of greatness we can yet have, my friends.”
As has been a hallmark of his campaign, Dr. El-Sayed centered his remarks on the struggles that Michiganders face each day and how many working families in Michigan feel left behind by a broken political system that too often prioritizes corporate interests. Dr. El Sayed’s speech was well-received – you can find quotes from some conventions attendees below, as reported by the Detroit News:
“He knows what the working-class needs,” a 28 year old UAW member and Muskegon resident said of his support for Dr. El-Sayed. “He knows to make it happen, we just need to get in there first and then fight it head on.”
“That really affected my world – they both said when being in the grocery store, and you have to choose between buying food or paying DTE to keep the lights on, it’s the same price,” said a 60 year old UAW member and Romulus resident of Dr. El-Sayed and Michigan gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson, who also spoke at the convention following her endorsement by the union. “What they stand on and believe in are the same as what I do.”
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