A coalition of low-wage workers and immigrants in Wisconsin is pushing back in anger against President Joe Biden's handling of the Gaza war and are urging an "uninstructed" vote in the state's Democrat primary on Tuesday, The Guardian reported Monday.
Inspired by the Michigan campaign to reject Biden during its February primary over his military support for Israel, Listen to Wisconsin also has earned the backing of rank-and-file trade unionists upset by Biden's actions.
"Individuals in labor have been very active," said Janan Najeeb, who has spearheaded Listen to Wisconsin.
The labor movement has been divided by the Israel-Hamas war, with many in its rank-and-file opposing the war and turning to their unions as a vehicle for political action to urge the Biden administration to pressure Israel to end the conflict.
Jacob Flom, president of the union representing workers at the Milwaukee Public Museum, sits on the board of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council. He said: "As trade unionists, we feel like it is our obligation to stand in solidarity with them and to pressure our electeds and our unions to do more and to do better to stop the U.S. support for the genocide in Gaza."
However, nearly every major U.S. union has refrained from endorsing the protest vote, and Wisconsin's affiliated unions have largely followed suit, according to The Guardian.
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, the executive director of Voces de la Frontera, whose advocacy arm is backing the Listen to Wisconsin campaign, said that for members of the Latino voter network, selecting "uninstructed" is also a way to show disapproval of Biden's rightward shift on immigration, as the president has touted legislation this year to crack down on the southern border and limit the number of asylum seekers accepted on a daily basis there.
Neumann-Ortiz said that Biden should use his executive authority to expand protections for undocumented immigrants.
In the 2022 midterm elections, Voces de la Frontera Action was crucial in mobilizing support for Democrats, with volunteer members directly contacting nearly 30,000 voters in their network and reaching an additional 30,000 through phone-banking and door-knocking, according to the organization.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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