Labor unions in the United States were starting to build some momentum in recent years after decades of decline when Donald Trump took office again. Despite his pro-worker pretensions, the president quickly began his onslaught on labor, among a growing list of government targets, to weaken and demobilize the American working class. The United Auto Workers (UAW) represents over 400,000 members and 580,000 retirees in over 600 locals across the country. Thanks to its members’ organizing, the UAW was one of the first unions to come out strongly against Israel’s genocide in Gaza in November 2023. Since then, many UAW members have become a target of the Trump administration’s detention, firing, and persecution campaigns.

Brandon Mancilla, director of UAW region 9A, which represents fifty thousand active and retired members in the northeastern United States, talked to Palestine organizer Sumaya Awad about how UAW is responding to the attacks from Trump, what role unions should be playing in this moment, and why we can’t separate foreign politics from domestic politics.