NAACP events call for pro-union voting in the NC midterm elections
During the peak of a 90-degree day, labor union speakers on Monday called for attendees to vote for candidates who are in favor of labor unions in the upcoming North Carolina midterm elections.
“It may be hot outside but we’re going to turn up the heat,” said Jamal Watkins, senior vice president of NAACP’s strategy and advancement, as attendees swatted handheld fans and AFL-CIO members passed out bottles of water.
The AFL-CIO’s “It’s Better in a Union: Fighting for Freedom, Fairness and Security” nationwide bus tour began on July 9 and made its first stop at the NAACP National Annual Convention, held in Charlotte this year. Altogether, the bus tour will visit 26 states over the next two months using three buses, for the western, southern and central areas of the United States.
The bus parked outside of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Monday following its launch in Washington D.C.
“Our jobs, contracting, workplace protections, are all on the chopping blocks under this Trump administration,” said Charles Clark, southern regional director for the national AFL-CIO. “And our essential social services are being slashed to pay for the billionaires tax breaks.”
Clark said the tour’s mission is to bring awareness to how labor workers are being affected by the Trump administration. He said the executive orders firing federal workers and ending the collective bargaining agreement along with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are some of the changes that most affect them.
Voting
Speakers at the bus tour stop and at a Labor Town Hall, held during the convention on Monday afternoon, called on residents to get engaged by contacting elected officials and vote in the 2026 midterms for state congressmen.
“If we don’t like the policy, get rid of the politician,” said Hasan Solomon, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers director.
With Thom Tillis not running for re-election Clark believes there’s opportunity for North Carolina.
“Therein lies a major opportunity to change the dynamics there,” he said. “We’re thinking North Carolina is going to be one of the primary political states when it comes to elections.”
Impact on NC rural hospitals
Twelve million people could lose Medicaid coverage by 2034 because of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Newsweek reported, citing the Congressional Budget Office.
The reduction in Medicaid funds will not only affect thousands of labor workers but also the rural healthcare facilities they rely on, Solomon told The Charlotte Observer, listing hospitals, clinics and nursing facilities.
“Substantial cuts to Medicaid or Medicare payments could increase the number of unprofitable rural hospitals and elevate their risk of financial distress,” leaders at The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research wrote in a letter to four U.S. Senators last month. “In response, hospitals may be forced to reduce service lines, convert to a different type of healthcare facility, or close altogether.”
“When Trump ran for office, he said he would make America great again,” Solomon said. “With these significant cuts to medicaid, he’s going to make America sick again.”
This story was originally published July 14, 2025 at 7:15 PM.
