CHICAGO — The United Auto Workers, a powerful labor union that is backing Vice President Kamala Harris, has thrown its support behind an effort by pro-Palestinian Democrats to feature a speaker on the final night of the Democratic convention that would address the human cost of Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

Democrat Officials Earlier Deny Request

Democratic officials had earlier denied a request by pro-Palestinian Democrats — including about 30 delegates representing uncommitted voters in the Democratic primary who opposed President Joe Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza — for a speaker slot. That had represented a major setback for pro-Palestinian Democrats who had pushed for the Harris campaign to support a total, immediate cease-fire in Gaza, as well as an arms embargo against Israel, in exchange for their support.

But the backing of the UAW, a union wielding powerful organizing muscle with large presences in key battleground states like Michigan and Wisconsin, could boost the movement’s prospects for a last-minute addition to Thursday night’s speaker schedule.

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Keith Ellison, the Minnesota attorney general who led an official convention panel on the war in Gaza and spoke on the convention stage Wednesday, also threw his support behind featuring a pro-Palestinian speaker.

“A Palestinian-American sharing his or her story, calling for cease fire and release of all hostages,” Ellison said on social media, “would be powerful.”

Abbas Alawieh, an uncommitted delegate from Michigan who had been negotiating with the Harris campaign, held a sit-in with other delegates outside the convention arena as high-profile Democrats spoke from the main stage Wednesday night. Alawieh grew emotional as he described the death toll of the war in Gaza and continued his negotiations with Democratic officials even as he sat on the pavement outside the convention arena.

“Tell the vice president that I’m sitting outside,” Alawieh said, speaking to a Democratic official on the phone whom he addressed as “Roger.” “I’m not going anywhere. I hope she changes her mind. The Palestinian children need to be heard.”

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Alawieh and others remained at the sit-in outside the United Center through Thursday morning. Progressive House Democrats — including Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Cori Bush of Missouri and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York — appeared either virtually or in person to support the sit-in.

Democratic officials did not directly address questions about the speaker slot. Michael Tyler, a Harris campaign spokesperson, said at a news conference Thursday morning that the campaign was not taking the votes of Palestinian supporters for granted and that Harris supported a cease-fire in Gaza. But he did not answer a question about granting a speaker slot to a pro-Palestinian Democrat.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Chris Cameron/Jon Cherry
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