Daughter of a Ford autoworker, Rep. Tlaib is true to her roots in standing with striking autoworkers
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About 50,000 autoworkers are striking against General Motors across the country, including in Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s Michigan district. Striking workers have set up picket lines at warehouses and plants as they rally for livable wages and health caDaughter of a Ford autoworker, Rep. Tlaib is true to her roots in standing with striking autoworkers
About 50,000 autoworkers are striking against General Motors across the country, including in Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s Michigan district. Striking workers have set up picket lines at warehouses and plants as they rally for livable wages and health care from the corporate giant that flourishes while they struggle to survive. Unlike Donald Trump, who noted that he feels “sad” about the strike and does absolutely nothing to help workers, Rep. Tlaib is passionately—and consistently—behind workers. And as she told Daily Kos during an exclusive interview in July, her background continues to influence her political priorities. Namely: She’s in office to fight on behalf of the disenfranchised, not to boost her own ego, unlike some people. “I can tell you,” she told Daily Kos behind the scenes at Netroots Nation, the nation’s largest conference for progressives, held this summer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, “being not only a proud Palestinian American as well as a Muslim, but also just even as a mother, as somebody that is the eldest of 14, the fact that I am a daughter of a UAW worker at Ford Motor Company, the fact that my mom came here pregnant with me as an immigrant from Palestine … All of those things define who I am and define the fact of why I fight so hard for those in my district that live in poverty, that feel very much they haven't had a seat at the table. All of that is so interconnected.” Today, she hasn’t forgotten her roots—or her constituents. Rep. Tlaib, whose district includes a GM facility in Romulus as well as an assembly plant in Detroit-Hamtramck, stands in strong solidarity with the workers. In a press release, she put it succinctly: «Autoworkers at GM have consistently stood up to help the company stay afloat and reach billions in profits. This is the time for GM to put people first and reject the disease of corporate greed — GM needs to take care of its workers now.» Read more