WAYNE (WWJ) — Vice President Kamala Harris and her recently announced running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, continued their tour of Metro Detroit on Thursday afternoon, showing their support for the UAW and organized labor.
A day after speaking to a reported crowd of 15,000 supporters at a Detroit Metro Airport hangar, the Harris-Walz ticket spoke to about 200 members of the United Auto Workers at Local 900 in Wayne, which represents the Michigan Assembly Plant.
Harris said she was “deeply honored” to receive the union’s endorsement last week from UAW Shawn Fain, calling her presidential run “a fight for the working men and women of America.”
With the race for the White House officially heating up, Fain told members this is not a moment to be silent in their support of the Harris-Walz ticket, saying “we’ve got 89 days to ensure that we put Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the White House.
Walz called the fight against former President Donald Trump and VP candidate J.D. Vance a “fight against those who sow chaos and division.”
Harris drew the biggest applause of the afternoon when she told the crowd it was unions who shaped our country.
“Even if you’re not a member of the union, you better thank unions,” she said. “That five-day work week… you better unions for that eight-hour work day, you better thank unions for that vacation time. So I’m here to say thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you to the sisters and brothers of UAW for all you are and all we will do over these next 89 days. God bless you”
The UAW and other members of the organized labor movement have rallied around Harris after she became the Democratic party’s candidate when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race amid growing concerns over his age and health.
During Wednesday’s rally in Romulus, Harris was briefly interrupted by a group of chanting pro-Palestinian supporters. After the moment went viral on social media, Palestinian activists are weighing in.
While Wayne County Deputy Executive and Muslim American, Assad I. Turfe has since endorsed Harris, activist Lexis Zeidan -- who is also the co-chair of the Uncommitted National Movement -- told WWJ’s Darrylin Horne policies to stop the war in Gaza matter more than the election.
“At the end of the day, VP Harris might be campaigning to become our next president, but that doesn’t happen until January and right now US-funded bombs are being dropped on Palestinians and so our work is gonna continue to engage the Biden-Harris administration in relation to trying to change course on that policy as quickly as possible to save as many lives as possible,” Zeidan said.
Members of the Uncommitted National Movement say they spoke to the Vice President during her visit, noting she agreed to meet with them and have discussions about an arms embargo and a permanent ceasefire.
The Uncommitted National Movement is encouraging Americans to vote “uncommitted” in November as they push for an end to the Israel-Hamas war.
