SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Walter Usakowski was mowing his lawn in a northern suburb of Detroit when three canvassers from the United Auto Workers approached.
“I don’t even need to talk to you,” Usakowski said. As a retired member, he was already supporting the union’s slate of Democratic candidates in the Nov. 3 midterms.
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But he is not sure how many of the other “guys in the shop” will vote for Democrats. He worked at Ford Motor Co.’s Sterling Axle Plant for more than 45 years, and he knows many members who backed Republican President Donald Trump.
The election-year canvassing was one part of the UAW’s efforts to reassert its political power in Michigan, a premier political battleground. Although the union generally backs Democrats, its membership is more divided over which party best represents working-class interests. It also is reckoning with past corruption scandals, a drop in membership and a lack of transparency that has eroded trust within its ranks.
“It’s not going to be an overnight thing,” said JJ Jewell, who is part of the UAW’s Community Action Program executive committee. “Even if this election goes fantastically, that’s not mission accomplished. That means we’re 1% of the way done.”
