Kamala Harris hosts campaign rally in Oakland County

The Oakland County rally was Harris’ third campaign event of the day, following a “Fall Fest” rally in Grand Rapids and a meet and greet with union workers in Lansing.  

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, also held three campaign events that day, ending with a rally in Detroit. Last Friday marked the first time that both candidates have concurrently hosted campaign events in the same state. 

Harris’ visits to Michigan this week aimed to build support among union workers as well as Muslim and Arab American voters. Michigan is home to more than 564,000 union members and has the highest number of Arab American residents in the country. Harris has not been polling as well as Democrats historically have among union members, and she has been struggling to gain Muslim and Arab American support due to the Biden-Harris administration’s policies on Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. 

Redford resident Marlisa Green, United Automobile Workers member, told The Michigan Daily she is frustrated other union members are not supporting Harris like they have Democratic candidates in the past. Unions have backed Democratic candidates since the 1930s, and many endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020. This year, multiple unions have declined to endorse a presidential candidate, though Harris has been endorsed by the UAW, Service Employees International Union and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, among others. 

“This is our livelihood,” Green said. “Everything that we fight for in our contracts, it can literally be lost in the legislative halls. … I don’t understand why so many union brothers and sisters (are) literally going against what’s best for them, their own interests.”

Green said she chose to attend the rally because she believes Harris’ policy proposals would support her as a UAW worker.

“I am a UAW worker, and I believe in the whole Harris campaign and everything that it stands for,” Green said. “They support workers, they support labor. … That’s where my family is. That’s what supports me.”

The rally also featured remarks from Oakland County Executive David Coulter; U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham; Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich; Lisa Joseph, One Campaign field organizer; and Mia Reid, gun safety advocate with Moms Demand Action.

At the beginning of her speech, Harris addressed the recent killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and what it means for the future of cease-fire negotiations.

“Sinwar’s death can and must be a turning point,” Harris said. “Everyone must seize this opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza, bring the hostages home and end the suffering once and for all. And I continue to believe diplomacy is the answer to beginning lasting stability across the Israel-Lebanon border.”

Harris then transitioned to a discussion of the importance of the election, emphasizing the differences between her campaign and Trump’s. 

“We understand what is at stake,” Harris said. “This election is about two very different visions for our nation. One, Donald Trump’s, that’s focused on the past and the other, ours, that is focused on the future. We are focused on a future where we bring down the cost of living, invest in small businesses and entrepreneurs and protect reproductive freedom.”

Harris then discussed her experience as a caregiver for her mother, which inspired her plan to expand Medicare to cover the cost of home health care workers for seniors. She also plans to expand the child tax credit from $2,000 for each child under 17 to $6,000 per child within the first year of their life.

“My plan is to say that we are going to fix it so that Medicare covers the cost of home health care workers for seniors (because) it’s about dignity,” Harris said. “So more seniors can live at home with dignity. Our plan will lower costs on everything from health care to groceries. … My plan will also give middle-class tax cuts to a hundred million Americans, including 6,000 dollars in the first year of a child’s life.”

Natasha Richardson, a United Food and Commercial Workers union member and Detroit resident, told The Daily that she believes Harris’ middle-class background makes her well-suited for the role of president.

“I believe she’s the right person because she knows where we come from,” Richardson said. “She’s been where the grocery lines are long, and standing in the lines and standing, going picketing with people, like she knows how much a gallon of milk costs. She can tell you what it’s like to not be able to buy something. Trump is not.”

Harris discussed her plans to keep auto jobs in Michigan, as many factories have outsourced labor overseas. She also emphasized her role in protecting pensions for union workers under the American Rescue Plan, which provided a federal bailout to save the full pensions of 22,500 Metro Detroit carpenters and millwrights.

“I will invest in communities like Oakland County and Detroit,” Harris said. “We will retool existing factories and hire locally and work with unions to create good paying jobs including, by the way, jobs that do not require a college degree. … I will also protect the pensions of union members and retirees.”

Engineering senior Jayden Elliott told The Daily he came to Oakland because he is excited by Harris’ vision and candidacy. 

“I guess I’m just super excited about Kamala Harris as a candidate,” Elliott said. “I feel like I’m a big supporter of the Democratic Party, and so it seems pretty exciting to be able to see her speak here.”

Raul Zamarron, an international union representative at the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers and a Park resident, intended to attend all three of Harris’ campaign stops on Friday, but couldn’t due to timing conflicts. He told The Daily that he traveled throughout the state to support Harris because of the work the Democratic Party has done to protect union workers. 

“(I’m here) to support Harris and support what they’ve done in the past,” Zamarron said. “What the Democratic Party here in the state has done, which is brought back prevailing wages, got rid of Right to Work and the tax on the retirees … and many other policies that they’ve passed and continue to work for … (they) work in our favor, not just as union members, but as the Michigan workers in general and the middle class.”

Zamarron explained that as they consider who to vote for, he and other union members are looking at what the candidates have done for workers. 

“For us, it’s mainly all the policies that they’ve passed, as far as the workers,” Zamarron said. “That’s the number one thing for us. We’re looking (out) for our members and their pocketbook and when we get better wages, when we negotiate better wages, it affects the whole community.”

Daily News Editor Rebecca Lewis can be reached at rebeccl@umich.edu. 

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