UAW Reboots Lansing Political Activist Convening as Union Scales Up Statewide Electoral Push

LANSING – For the first time since 2018, the UAW is holding its Michigan Community Action Program (CAP) Conference in Lansing, MI from September 14-16. The UAW’s MI CAP Conference is bringing together hundreds of union members from across the state as Michigan is lifted into the national spotlight with a high-profile U.S. Senate race ahead of the midterm elections. 

Members of the press are invited to attend on Tuesday and Wednesday for the main speakers, including UAW President Shawn Fain, Abdul El-Sayed, and Jocelyn Benson. RSVP is required. 

WHO:  UAW’s Michigan Community Action Program (CAP), hundreds of UAW members from across the state, UAW President Shawn Fain, Abdul El-Sayed, Jocelyn Benson

WHAT:  The first UAW MI CAP Conference since 2018

WHERE:  DoubleTree Lansing, 111 N. Grand Avenue, Lansing, MI 48933

WHEN: September 14-16 (Mon. 9/14 is NOT open to press – only Sept. 15 and 16 will be open for media RSVPs)

Media may join these speakers (a workroom will be available):

• 9/15 at 8:45 a.m. for Abdul El-Sayed
• 9/15 at 12:30 p.m. for Shawn Fain (after lunch)
• 9/16 at 10:00 a.m. for Jocelyn Benson

On Monday, the conference will kick off with UAW’s Michigan Regional Directors and other leaders outlining the vision to the hundreds of members in attendance.

On Tuesday, the morning will kick off with a speech from candidate for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed, with a keynote from UAW President Shawn Fain to follow that afternoon. The day will focus on intense training and discussions with the goal of building out the game plan for 2026 and beyond. 

On Wednesday, the conference will wrap up with a speech from candidate for governor, Jocelyn Benson, before conference attendees disburse into the field for an afternoon of door-knocking in the Lansing area. 

With a newly reinvigorated political program built off the success of the 2023 stand-up strike, the UAW is reasserting its place at the center of Michigan politics. This is right as Michigan lands an early presidential primary date for the Democratic nomination process in 2028, becoming even more of a central player in national electoral politics. The conference agenda will lay out the UAW’s model for building political power to the Union’s most active current and retired membership in the state.

As the largest union in the state, the UAW has a significant footprint in Michigan’s electorate. The UAW is engaging its over 350,000 active and retired members along with hundreds of thousands more UAW household voters. Under the leadership of President Shawn Fain and his administration, the UAW’s Community Action Program (CAP) in Michigan is reasserting the political power of the union for the midterm elections.

# # #

DH:sr:opeiu494afl-cio