President Donald Trump is attacking unions at the federal level in a way not seen since the Reagan administration.

Claiming it was in the interest of national security, Trump banned collective bargaining for employees at 18 federal agencies in an executive order issued last week. The move comes as Trump has cut pro-worker members of the National Labor Relations Board and replaced them with pro-business, anti-union lobbyists.

So what does all this mean for workers in the state of Michigan?

Ron Bieber is the president of the Michigan AFL-CIO. He told WDET that he’s seen this anti-union playbook before.

“If you remember, after 2010 the Republicans took total control of state government. They went after seniors and instituted a pension tax. They went after kids and attacked public education. They went after the working poor and gutted the Earned Income Tax Credit; went after workers and unions and passed Right to Work; and they did all that so they could give business and corporations and their wealthy friends a huge tax cut,” he said. “Working folks organized. We had each other’s back. We stood together and fought back together. We clawed our way back together, and then finally, in the last legislative session, we restored those workers rights.”

However, all that took time. Michigan Democrats didn’t have full control over the state legislature until after the 2022 election. So fighting back can take a while.

On whether Democrats are doing enough to push back against the Trump agenda:

“They’re pushing back. I mean, they’re in the minority,” he said. “…There’s only so many tools you can use when you’re in the minority.”

On whether he agrees with the United Auto Workers that tariffs on the auto industry are a good thing:

“(UAW President Shawn Fain) is fighting to bring back manufacturing and auto manufacturing back into the U.S. And I think that he’s on a good path, and that he’s going to push this through the end, and wherever he goes, trust me, we will have his back, and we will follow his lead, and we’ll support the way he wants to support, auto manufacturing.”

Bieber says the AFL-CIO has been out to several anti-Trump protests already — including a recent one at the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs medical center.

More protests are planned for this Saturday, April 5 and on May 1.

Editor’s note: The above audio incorrectly states that the Detroit Department of Transportation is seeking $2 million budget increase to hire more bus drivers and replace old buses. The correct figure is $20 million.

Tonight on The Detroit Evening Report, we share the latest on the shooting at Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital; a rally against cuts to Medicaid outside Michigan Congressmen John James’ office and more.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Suspect arrested in Troy hospital shooting

Police have arrested a man suspected of shooting a co-worker inside a parking garage at Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital Thursday morning. Troy police say the shooting took place just after 7 a.m. The 25-year-old victim is in stable condition after being shot in the arm. The hospital, nearby schools and some roadways were locked down during the search.

Rally for Medicaid

Roughly 100 unionized health care workers and others depending on Medicaid payments gathered outside the office of Michigan Congressman John James on Wednesday, asking him to vote against cuts.

Protesters say cuts to the federal portion of Medicaid could cost health care workers their jobs, and force nursing homes to close. Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib joined the rally — miles away from her own constituents — to argue that the votes of three or four of her Republican colleagues could save the insurance program.

“Because Medicaid cuts would devastate so many of my families in my district. And I know if John James could just join us to choose the people that elected him, not Trump or Elon Musk, and all of us will have his back if he chooses to do the right thing,” Tlaib said.

Congressional Republicans are considering changes in Medicaid to help cover the cost of President Trump’s planned tax cuts. 

Auto industry braces for layoffs

Car dealers and UAW local leaders are bracing for possible layoffs as a result of the Trump Administration’s tariff war.

Inventory on car lots are high and consumer confidence is weakened as buyers contend with potential price increases. Many UAW leaders told the Detroit Free Press they are concerned the tariff war will disrupt production at plants. Last week, President Trump announced a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports from all countries, which will impact carmakers. 

RenCen’s Tower 600 sold

The Renaissance Center’s Tower 600 was sold in a small auction Wednesday for $9.2 million. The winner is currently unknown.

The bidding started Monday at $2.75 million. The auction comes at a time when the future of the rest of the Renaissance Center is in limbo. Tower 600 has 334,000 square feet and is only 11% occupied. 

DDOT seeks budget increase

The Detroit Department of Transportation is asking for a $20 million budget increase to hire more bus drivers and replace old buses. DDOT officials told city council they expect to hire 63 more drivers and replace 45 buses. The department is also looking to add or upgrade at least 60 shelters with solar lighting, USB charging ports, and improved access and benches. DDOT runs 169 buses in the morning and 179 in the afternoon. The department’s current budget is near $170 million.

Volunteers sought for Southwest Detroit care packages

The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) is holding an event on Saturday to collect and assemble care packages for the residents that were affected by the recent flood in Southwest Detroit. ACCESS will be accepting donations of items such as personal, feminine, and dental hygiene products; pillow and blankets, and non-perishable food items. The nonprofit is still looking for volunteers. The event will be held between noon and 2 p.m. at the ACCESS Headquarters Gym in Dearborn. 

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

February is Black History Month and WDET’s Detroit Evening Report is collecting Black History stories from listeners.

Iola Corbett, also known as Sister Ameedah, is the author of the book “Growing Up Muslim and the Journey Continues,” a story about being born and raised in Detroit.

Corbett’s family was a part of the Nation of Islam when she was a child.

“That was unbelievable, because I remember it like my first time going with [my father] to the temple. At that time, because it was we had a restaurant, the temple was right around the corner,” she shared.

Over the years she met Malcolm X, who visited her family’s restaurant in Detroit often.

“My mother was an excellent cook, so he had dinner with my dad every day, so I got to hear him, and I would serve him. He was a big influence in my family’s life,” she said.

As part of growing up in the Nation of Islam, Corbett said she was a part of something bigger.

“It still gave me a purpose of who I was, who I wanted to be close with my community,” she explained.

There were many businesses, an apartment building and a bookstore that were part of the network.

“We were about African American people, because back in the day, and I’m sure when my dad come up here, I was amazed that he came here and drove, you know, because I remember going down south with him, and it was you couldn’t go in the bathroom. You couldn’t drink out of the faucet. So when we got around people that looked like us and were happy to and treated us royally, you couldn’t have anything but love for that,” she said.

“When we got around people that looked like us and were happy to and treated us royally, you couldn’t have anything but love for that.” — Iola Corbett

Her family converted to Sunni Islam as part of a mass conversion under the guidance of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed in the 1970s.

Corbett worked in Detroit in several roles, including as a factory worker and machine operator for the Detroit Oil Company. She also became first Black female president of Local Lodge 82 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW).

“I conduct the meetings and all that. But I also went on a tour of some of the unions around the city. I got to go to Halifax, Nova Scotia, you know, you travel to see what other unions or other of your union members were doing,” she explained.

The larger union 698 took over local union 82.

She says she wrote “Growing Up Muslim” as a way to preserve her family’s legacy.

“We need to know things about our history, and I wanted the community to know children and my grandchildren, and now I have lots of great grandchildren. I got to really expound about how I grew up, so they would know. Because, you know, my mom is gone, my dad is gone, so they never met him. I want them to know what great people that they were.”

Corbett said she’s working on a new book expanding on her life in Detroit.

Hear our full conversation with Corbett using the audio player above.