SENATOR MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST WOMAN OF COLOR TO RUN FOR VICE PRESIDENT
Making history, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris stood before DNC delegates and accepted the nomination to be Joe Biden’s running mate last evening almost 100 years from the day that the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote in America.
As delegates gather online for this year’s historic Democratic National Convention, UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada says this online-only convention is key to success in November, especially for women.
Leadership matters, especially when working families are struggling with the worst public health crisis in a century, which has spurred the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
Just after sunset on a resurgent Detroit, UAW Secretary-Treasurer Ray Curry and U.S. Senator Gary Peters called the Michigan roll for Joe Biden at the 2020 Democratic National Convention live from Belle Isle’s Sunset Point.
UAW Vice President Gerald Kariem, who directs the union’s National Ford Department, sees the Biden-Harris ticket as a change for the country to get back to steady, measured and effective leadership.
“We need folks with a steady hand, empathy and intelligence to be able to do that job,” Kariem said. “This current health care and economic crisis that has been caused by Covid-19 has shifted us into a new way of living. We need strong leadership that guides us, not confuses us.”
For Kariem, both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have the kind of upbringing that relates to the needs of working families. In fact, Kariem noted that both have a long history of being on the correct side of issues that are particularly important to UAW members.
“The most important thing UAW members should know is that a Biden-Harris ticket will be sensitive to the needs of working families,” he said. “Joe Biden has been in solidarity with the UAW for decades.”
However, Kariem stressed the importance of UAW members participating in the process and voting. “Nothing concerns me more than people who don’t take advantage of their opportunity to vote,” Kariem said, adding that he understands why people would have doubts about the importance of voting given the doubts and confusion sown by those who want to keep people from the polls.
“We have to help our members, their families and our friends understand what the candidates stand for and how they will help UAW members, working Americans and their families. That has always been a strong part of the UAW’s mission,” Kariem said.
It’s a cliché to say that this is the most important election of our lifetimes, but Kariem says what makes this election important is the constant turmoil the nation has been experiencing in recent years.
“I would like to double down on that statement and say this is the most important election in the history of this country,” he said. “We are looking to find a less confusing and less chaotic society, as well as less chaotic political discourse.”
With Biden winning the nomination and his selection of Harris as his running mate, Kariem said he sees hope for UAW members and America on the horizon.
Aug. 16, 2020
Sisters and Brothers:
For UAW members this year's election is about how we rise to the challenges of tremendous changes we can expect over the next four years. The notion of living through a pandemic was something that I doubt any of us ever thought we would experience. We took our national health and many of our freedoms for granted.
