UAW Leader Says 'It's Going To Take A Lot' Before Stevens Can Return To Their Halls
(Source: MIRS.news, Published 10/30/2026) (DETROIT) – United Auto Workers (UAW) Region 1 Director LaShawn English called U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) a code-switcher today, saying "it's going to take a lot" before she can return to union events and halls in the future after endorsing Republican Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate.
At 4 p.m. today, union and legislative Democrats gathered outside the UAW Solidarity House on Detroit's Jefferson Avenue, along with U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) and former U.S. Rep. Andy Levin. Their message to reporters was that they remain unified behind Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed despite Stevens' decision.
Stevens' relationship with the UAW goes back to her time as chief of staff on President Barack Obama's U.S. Auto Rescue Task Force. English said Stevens is a representative in her UAW region and has been there for autoworkers, but after today's endorsement, "It's gonna take a lot" to ever return to those connections.
“I'm gonna call her a code-switcher because up until Thursday she said she was supporting Dr. Abdul," English said. "It's going to take a lot for her to bring herself back here to us."
English also referenced some suspicions that Stevens' choice to support Rogers today might be linked to her fiancé, Jason Turkish, a disability lawyer and political donor who shared on Oct. 30 that he would be voting for Rogers. Turkish cited concerns around Jewish safety and El-Sayed's rhetoric against Israel.
"If she really was for us, you don't let no man change your voice and your opinion," English said.
Speaking today were Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Bloomfield Twp.), who's running to succeed Stevens in Oakland County's 11th U.S. House seat, and Levin, the Bloomfield Township Democrat whom Stevens defeated when the two were drawn into the same district in 2022.
Four years ago, Levin was seen as the more progressive candidate against Stevens, with high-profile progressive U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders campaigning for him. Meanwhile, today, Moss – who's backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) – has spoken out against the antisemitic language he sees coming from the party's growing progressive wing.
Both are Jewish and chose today to stand in solidarity against Stevens' decision to endorse Rogers.
"In my community, March 12 casts a very long shadow. It's the day that Temple Israel was attacked, and there are people who are looking at their ballot right now and feeling genuine anguish. I understand this, believe me," Moss said. "But Mike Rogers is not the solution to this problem right now. Mike Rogers would be a rubber stamp for the worst things in Donald Trump's second-term agenda that I abhor."
Moss pointed to Trump's immigration enforcement operations, "disastrous" economic plans and raised requirements for accessing federal food assistance and Medicaid coverage.
Levin described growing up in Berkley, where his family was the school district's only Jewish family. His neighborhood was in the shadow of the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica, the Catholic Church founded by the Rev. Charles Coughlin, who made antisemitic claims on his national radio show in the 1920s and '30s.
"I was told, 'You can't be Jewish. You don't have horns,'" Levin said. "When I was a congressman, I had a guy during COVID come and knock on our locked door of our office in Warren, Michigan, and say 'The Jew boy has to come out,' and I won't even say all the other things he said."
Today, Levin called for Black, Brown, Jewish, Muslim and other minority Michiganders to "stick together."
Also speaking was Abbas Alawieh, who won the Democratic primary in the Dearborn- and Taylor-based 2nd Senate district. As Republicans have tried linking El-Sayed to terrorist and controversial groups in the Middle East, as well as using his full name in negative messaging, Alawieh explained there are Muslim families fearful about what they should tell their children about this U.S. Senate race.
"Mike Rogers is running the most hateful campaign of this modern history in our state, a campaign whose cornerstone is hate and division and Islamophobia," Alawieh said. "There is real fear in our communities, among communities of color, Latino children here in Detroit, Jewish children across our region, who are wondering what is the answer to this fear that I'm feeling."
Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), who ran with Stevens and El-Sayed in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary, said some national reporters are treating this election "Like it is an episode of "The Real Housewives of Michigan." She said neither the race nor people's emotions should be treated as a reality TV show.
"This is not about people trying to get their last five minutes before they no longer have a title. It's not. This is about Michiganders," McMorrow said. "Let's lock in Michigan. We're united, and we're ready to win."
McMorrow attended South Carolina U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn's "Souls to the Polls" church event in Detroit today, where news started to break that Stevens was in another church in the city with Rogers and his wife Kristi.
She said one of the elders asked her what could be done to stop Trump, who she saw as focused on himself and making himself richer as Michiganders can't afford gas, groceries and home ownership. McMorrow said that was what's on the line with this year's U.S. Senate race.
Meanwhile, Republicans praised Stevens for making the bipartisan decision to back Rogers. Michigan Republican Party spokesperson Greg Manz said Stevens knows “Conman Abdul” better than most, having run against El-Sayed in the Democratic primary.
“It was a courageous decision that puts Michigan’s best interests ahead of partisan politics," Manz said. ”Her support underscores a growing reality: traditional Democrats who no longer recognize their values in Conman Abdul’s radical Islamic ideology can find common ground with Mike Rogers."
Rogers said he's honored to have received Stevens' backing and that he welcomes her into his campaign.
“Congresswoman Stevens showed courage and bravery in putting Michigan first,” he said. “She spent her career in Congress delivering for Michiganders, and her decision to support our campaign is no different. We agree on our love of Country, supporting minority businesses, investing in Michigan’s future, fixing Michigan’s crippling education system, and putting Michiganders first.”
