Abdul El-Sayed wins key UAW endorsement in tight US Senate race

United Auto Workers union endorses Abdul-El Sayed in competitive Democratic US Senate primary
The powerful union called El-Sayed “someone we can trust to have our backs, including when we need it most.”
The UAW also endorsed Jocelyn Benson for governor

The United Auto Workers union is backing Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s US Senate race, marking a key endorsement for the progressive candidate locked in a competitive primary for the Democratic nomination.

Citing El-Sayed’s support of a Medicare for All single-payer health care system and his refusal to accept political donations from corporations, the powerful union called El-Sayed “someone we can trust to have our backs, including when we need it most.”

“UAW members in Michigan want a fighter in Washington, DC who isn’t afraid to push forward a strong working-class agenda with moral clarity,” the union’s member-elected Community Action Program board announced Friday morning.

The union on Friday also endorsed Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic frontrunner, in the governor’s race.

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El-Sayed, a former public health official and onetime candidate for governor, said in a statement he was “deeply honored and proud.”

“Michigan union autoworkers built the American middle class and proved that when people stand together, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish,” he said, adding that he aims to strengthen collective bargaining and “ensure that the future of Michigan manufacturing is built right here by union workers.”

“Solidarity forever,” he continued.

The UAW is the most influential union so far to take a stance in Michigan’s Democratic US Senate primary that pits El-Sayed against US Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow.

Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will face Republican Mike Rogers, who narrowly lost a 2024 US Senate bid and is no longer facing competition in the GOP primary.

Union endorsements don’t guarantee victory or unequivocal support from rank-and-file members — Republican President Donald Trump has directly appealed to the working class when unions endorsed his Democratic opponents.

More recently, Michigan attorney general candidate Karen McDonald lost the Democratic nomination to Eli Savit at last month’s party convention despite picking up endorsements from nearly every major statewide union.

Observers have told Bridge Michigan it’s unlikely any candidate can count on support from a fully united union voting bloc in such a divisive primary.

Still, the labor movement continues to play an outsize role in shaping Democratic politics, with backing from key union groups counting among candidates’ most coveted endorsements.

All three US Senate candidates have actively courted union voters and touted support for labor.

Most recently, Stevens and McMorrow have separately joined striking UAW Local 2093 American Axle workers on the picket line in Three Rivers, and El-Sayed is expected to do the same Friday afternoon.

At a recent a UAW forum, UAW Region 1 Director LaShawn English said politicians must “earn” the right “to have our endorsements.”

“If we don’t fight, we will continue to see workers get trampled on, we will continue to see rights be disregarded, violated, attacked,” English said at the time.