This year’s election has all the makings of a full blown presidential campaign for Michigan Democrats. The candidates running for Governor, U.S. Senate, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Supreme Court and the education boards of the three public universities — Wayne State University, University of Michigan and Michigan State University — are canvassing for votes across the length and breadth of the state, and explaining how high the stakes are in this year’s election. For Democrats, this is an opportunity to turn the Republican tide and put the state back in the blue column after the devastating 2010 midterm election.
So far, some of the biggest and most respected names in national Democratic politics have jetted into town to get the vote out, starting with the Labor Day visit of Vice President Joe Biden who talked about the importance of the auto industry and how this administration prevented the industry from going under.
Then came First Lady Michelle Obama’s get-out-the-vote campaign held at the Music Hall in downtown Detroit, urging Detroiters to go to the polls, which was followed by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s appearance at Oakland University to galvanize Democrats in Oakland County. That act was followed by former President Bill Clinton’s visit in Flint, another major urban center.
On Saturday, Nov. 1, President Barack Obama will come to Detroit, at Wayne State University, to campaign for the Democratic ticket, notably Mark Schauer, the Democratic candidate for Governor, and Gary Peters, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.
“This election is going to be all be about turnout in Detroit. I just left Wisconsin to come to Detroit. Last week I was in Pennsylvania. I’m going to Massachusetts and Florida after this. Is all about getting the base out, mobilizing and organizing our community,” said Lee Saunders, national president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) during an exclusive interview Monday afternoon in Detroit. “There is a stark difference between the extremist politicians who are in governor seats and the Senate and those who are supporting working families, basic rights that have been taken away from us. We just have to get our votes out. This election is the most important election in our lifetime.”
Many reviews leading up to the Nov. 4 election have pointed to the importance of the Black vote in handing victories to Democrats. Cornell Belcher, a prominent African-American pollster, wrote a memo warning Democrats that they will receive “crushing Democratic losses across the country,” if they fail to energize Black voters to the polls on Election Day.
“African-American surge voters came out in force in 2008 and 2012, but they are not well positioned to do so again in 2014. In fact, over half aren’t even sure when the midterm elections are taking place,” Belcher wrote in his memo.
“This is our natural base. We are spending a lot of time within the African-American community, talking to them about the importance of voting,” Saunders the labor leader said. “You’ve got labor rights under attack, Black workers enjoy the benefits achieved by being in the labor movement. Voting rights are under attack state after state.”
Saunders, one of the nation’s leading labor voices said the economy in the African-American community is “still suffering based on the extremist policies of the last four years. We’ve just got to educate our community. Our forefathers died for the right to vote. We can never take it for granted. It is extremely important that people participate in the voting process.”
Saunders, who is the first African American to serve as president of AFSCME and has been with the labor movement for almost 40 years, said the movement that helped to create the African-American middle class is now under attack in ways never before seen.
“The system is stacked against us,” Saunders said. “In the public sector we still have about 35 percent of public sector workers who are organized. When you have that kind of bullseye on the back of public sector unions, we can’t have healthy public and private sector unions. We’ve got to go back to basics. We’ve got to organize our members into unions. People see the benefits of being union members because they know that their wages will increase and working conditions will be better.”
Labor has had the backing of President Obama ever since he first ran for the highest office in the land and the President noted that when he said, “It was the labor movement that helped secure so much of what we take for granted today. The 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, family leave, health insurance, Social Security, Medicare, retirement plans. The cornerstones of the middle-class security all bear the union label.”
Speaking at Milwaukee’s Laborfest this year, Obama said labor has represented the dignity of workers.
“If I were busting my butt in the service industry and wanted an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work, I’d join a union. If I were a firefighter or police officer risking my life and helping to keep my community safe, and wanted to make sure I came home safely to my family, I’d join a union. I’d want a union looking out for me,” Obama said.
“I’m asking you to believe in you. Because even when our politics just ain’t right, there’s a whole lot that is right with America. America is that dad who punches in every morning to put food on the table. America is the mom who’s working the graveyard shift to provide for her kids. America is the child who dreams of being the first in his family to go to college. America is the teacher who stays after work and dips into her own pocket to help that child get there. America is the autoworker who thought she’d never make another car again, and now she can’t make them fast enough. America is the construction worker who’s helping build more homes and businesses to get solar panels on the top. America is on the move.”
The President’s visit this weekend to Detroit, known as the home of labor, is supposed to climax the get-out-the-vote effort for African- American voters.
“I think his coming to Detroit is extremely important because he is going to be able to mobilize and energize the base that we are talking about,” Saunders said. “He will talk about the importance of the gubernatorial race here in Michigan and also the Senate. There is a stark difference between the candidates.”
Saunders, a native of Cleveland who prides himself as a child of labor, growing up in a union household, stressed the difference between Schauer and Snyder as well as Peters and Terri Lynn Land.
“You look at Mark Schauer, who has stood with working families, stood with labor and believes in collective bargaining, doesn’t believe pensions should be taxed. He has made his positions clear against the governor who has been in office for four years and believes in clearly the opposite,” Saunders said. “On the Senate side you have Gary Peters who believes in and has worked closely with our working families. He believes in a strong Social Security system, a strong Medicare system and doesn’t want to privatize either. We have to get behind those who support us. They had our back. We’ve got to have their back.”
Bankole Thompson is the editor of the Michigan Chronicle and author of a forthcoming book on Detroit. His most recent book, “Obama and Christian Loyalty,” deals with the politics of the religious right, Black theology and the president’s faith posture across a myriad of issues with an epilogue written by former White House spokesman Robert S. Weiner. He is a senior political analyst at WDET-101.9FM (Detroit Public Radio) and a member of the weekly “Obama Watch” Sunday roundtable on WLIB-1190AM New York. Email [email protected] or visit https://www.bankolethompson.com.
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