The Triangle Left and Allam’s Second Run

Image credit: UE Union

During Nida Allam’s second attempt to unseat Rep. Valerie Foushee, the Triangle’s major labor unions and leftist parties did not unify or mobilize on her behalf. Progressive media, organizations, and politicians on the national level were enthusiastic about Allam, but this outside support didn’t make up the difference. During the election, canvassing capacity was divided between three different organizations. Many of the Triangle’s most capable organizing groups were focused on other priorities and didn’t engage with the electoral process. However, the local left has recently shown flashes of promise that could prove useful during the next attempt to drive the corporate establishment from the NC-04 Congressional seat. The Durham Association of Educators showed that a high level of mobilization is possible when an organization recruits and runs its own candidates rather than waiting for self-selected leaders to appear. And the Durham Rising coalition’s recent victories showed that the area's progressive institutions can cooperate successfully if they choose to.

UE Local 150

UE 150 endorsed Allam, in theory giving her the support of many Durham city workers, UNC graduate students, and NC DHHS workers. However, the endorsement did not translate into rallies, canvassing, or positive word of mouth by union members. Nyssa Tucker, a UE 150 member and UNC graduate student, attended the Sanders-Allam Fighting Oligarchy rally on February 13, but there isn’t evidence of other forms of concrete support [1]. Other initiatives from the union continued during the campaign: a major petition from NC DHHS workers was delivered to management on January 13 [2].

The union, particularly the Durham city workers, has political sway when its members are mobilized. When the city skipped raises during COVID, UE 150 held a series of rallies, conducted a strike that was technically illegal, and successfully pressed the Durham city council for bonuses in October 2023 [3]. Over the next few years, the union secured significant wage increases for its members and reasserted itself as a real force in Durham politics [4].

To its credit, UE 150 endorsed across one of Durham’s most difficult divides. Alongside Allam, the union backed DeDreana Freeman for state senate. Allam helped push Freeman off Durham city council, where she had been a dependable ally of the union and city workers in budget fights. Freeman has a following in non-mainstream but politically active Durham circles. She is supported by Black activists outside of the orbit of Durham Committee for the Affairs of Black People as well as progressives who oppose the city’s approach to development issues, especially on annexation and rezoning cases.

Durham Association of Educators

During the 2026 election cycle, DAE endorsed four Board of Education candidates, many of them handpicked, and successfully installed all of them. The school staff union said it had “filled over 500 canvass shifts, knocked almost 10,000 doors, organized our school buildings, poll greeted during early voting and today on Election Day, and committed 3,000 votes for our slate” [5]. Among the newly elected board members are Natalie Bent Kitaif, a democratic socialist, and Nadeen Bir, the first Palestinian elected to office in North Carolina.

DAE shared credit for its school board sweep, saying, "Making this vision for Durham Public Schools a reality will only be possible because of the coalition that came together to earn us this victory: Durham for All, Carolina Federation, and thousands of union members, neighbors, parents, and community supporters who put in the hard work these last few months to make this moment of hope possible."

The school staff union only endorsed for the Durham school board and didn’t take a position on the Congressional race. Allam did not endorse in the Board of Education races. DAE endorsed Allam for county commission in 2020 and 2024.

Allam and DAE were not publicly at odds. However, both ran sizable door-knocking operations, drawing from the same limited pool of progressive and left-wing activists. That pool was winnowed by a campaign window that was three months long, interrupted by the Christmas and New Year holidays, and marked by freezing or rainy conditions on several weekends.

In September 2024, Allam and Christy Patterson of DAE both spoke at the launch of the Duke Respect Durham campaign [6]. Now called Durham Rising, the coalition calls for improved working conditions for Duke University staff and payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) from Duke to local government for priorities such as education, housing, and infrastructure. The Durham Rising coalition includes DAE, UE 150, the Duke Graduate Student Union, the Union of Southern Service Workers, Siembra NC, Durham for All, and Sunrise Duke.

Image credit: Durham Rising

Durham Rising saw several partial wins in March 2026. Duke University announced it would raise its minimum wage to $20 per hour, short of the coalition’s demand for at least $25. The university also announced a $203 million, three-year investment initiative called HomeGrown. The money is split across four areas: $120 million for partnerships with Triangle-based construction companies, $45 million for contracting with local businesses, and $38 million for affordable housing development and first-time homebuyer assistance [7]. Durham city council member Nate Baker has questioned whether the headline figure is overstated. Also, the university's concessions ignore Durham Rising’s demand for Duke to respect workers' rights to organize and hold contractors to the same standard.

DAE’s recent rise has been striking. Between fall 2023 and May 2024, an organizing drive lifted membership from 15 percent to over 50 percent [8]. That is impressive for North Carolina, where unions cannot automatically collect dues and public sector workers lack collective bargaining rights. In 2024, a DAE letter-writing campaign flooded the county commission with over 1,000 letters and helped push the Durham Public Schools budget from a proposed $13 million increase to $27 million. As a county commissioner, Allam voted in favor of that record-breaking increase [9]. In May 2025, after campaigns by DAE and community supporters, the Board of Education agreed to meet-and-confer sessions. That type of meeting is the closest that North Carolina public sector workers can legally get to formal union-management negotiations.

On election night, before DAE’s sweep was announced, the union posted a picture of members and supporters. Many held signs reading “A New Era for DPS” or making horns with their hands. Two banners were draped on the wall in the background: the flag of the Landless Workers’ Movement of Brazil and the flag of Palestine.

Triangle Democratic Socialists of America

Allam did not seek the endorsement of Triangle Democratic Socialists of America and has not publicly identified as a democratic socialist. However, her campaign made a significant effort to court DSA members. In December 2025, she backed a new effort from the organization called the Solar Bond Campaign, which calls for ballot initiatives to fund solar panels for public school rooftops. That same month, Allam attended the group’s Socialists in Office winter gala at Namu. In January 2026, she joined a DSA-led protest calling for the closure of the Durham location of Gateway Women’s Care, an anti-abortion center [10].

Triangle DSA currently claims three officeholders: Danny Nowell on the Carrboro City Council, Nate Baker on the Durham City Council, and Natalie Bent Kitaif on the Durham Board of Education. None of the three endorsed Allam.

The Chapel Hill High School Young Democratic Socialists of America did endorse Allam. Its president, Finn McElwee, became a fixture on the campaign trail and delivered a speech at the Fighting Oligarchy rally.

In this election cycle, Triangle DSA’s only endorsement was Natalie Bent Kitaif for Durham Board of Education. The group reported knocking 430 doors in their first canvass for Kitaif on February 15, followed by an additional canvass on February 21, a poll greeter training on March 2, and poll greeting on election day [11, 12].

Strong Support from National-Level Progressives

At the national level, the progressive movement was enthusiastic about Allam. She came into the race with strong relationships across a wide range of media figures, nonprofits, and politicians.

Allam appeared on many media outlets that would have reached her target audience. She joined the Majority Report with Sam Seder on February 18, as well as Breaking Points and Hasan Piker on February 26. Major social media accounts, including Rogue DNC, Dear White Staffers, MoveOn, and People for Bernie, amplified her campaign. Progressive journalists with national profiles, including Ryan Grim and David Dayen, closely tracked the NC-04 race, and helped to quickly publicize the story of AIPAC-linked donors and Anthropic pouring millions into Foushee's campaign in the final days [13].

On the organizational side, Justice Democrats, the Working Families Party, and Sunrise Movement repeatedly intervened on behalf of Allam, framing her candidacy as part of a wave of progressive challengers nationwide. David Hogg, who founded Leaders We Deserve to promote young progressives for office, personally campaigned for Allam, and the group's PAC spent $270,000 on her behalf. American Priorities, a newly formed pro-Palestine PAC, became her campaign's largest outside financial backer, spending close to $1 million [14].

Allam’s most important endorsement from an individual politician was Sen. Bernie Sanders, who brought a packed Fighting Oligarchy rally in Durham on February 13. Well-known figures such as former Rep. Jamaal Bowman and former State Sen. Nina Turner also endorsed Allam.

Sunrise Duke, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh

The Sunrise Movement endorsed Allam, and its local chapters at UNC, Duke, and Raleigh offered varying levels of support. One chapter found itself largely pulled toward other priorities by the Trump-era crises unfolding around it. The national organization held several phone banking events for Allam that chapters were able to promote and participate in.

Sunrise UNC organized a rally in the Pit, promoted a Young Democrats forum featuring Allam, and held a march to the polls during early voting. The group also led several canvasses. These efforts reflected dedicated work for a small club. It doesn’t appear that Allam's campaign managed to inspire a political phenomenon effect among UNC students, although she was certainly more popular than Foushee.

Sunrise Duke is the most active Triangle chapter, and supported Allam, but was pulled toward pro-immigrant advocacy during the campaign. The group hosted a discussion at Tsaocha on February 28 where Allam discussed her positions on immigration, which included a call for the abolition of ICE. Sunrise Duke's main efforts were directed into the wave of anti-ICE rallies that followed the killings of Renee Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on January 24. The chapter also worked to draw attention to the cases of Luis Juarez and Margoth Erazo, two widely beloved Duke staff members who lost their TPS status and work authorizations during Trump's immigration crackdown [15]. There is no public evidence that Sunrise Duke engaged in door-knocking on Allam's behalf.

Sunrise Raleigh's limited social media presence makes its activities and role in the Allam campaign difficult to assess.

Duke Graduate Student Union

DGSU has shown support for political efforts beyond just graduate worker pay and conditions. The graduate worker union is part of the Durham Rising coalition, has participated in anti-ICE efforts, endorsed the No Kings rallies, and more. However, DGSU has never made electoral endorsements, and Allam’s race was no exception. The only moment of alignment was when DGSU member Rachel Kaufman was pictured with Sanders and Allam at the Fighting Oligarchy rally on February 13 [1].

Durham Rising stepped into city council politics during the last election cycle. In September 2025, the coalition held a candidate forum and asked attendees to publicly support its five core demands. Fifteen candidates came and fourteen signed on. The one holdout was a Republican. Mayor Leonardo Williams did not attend the forum [16].

Image credit: Durham Rising

No equivalent forum was held for the congressional race. Allam has backed Durham Rising, which evolved out of Duke Respect Durham. Foushee has not taken a public position on whether Duke University should make payments in lieu of taxes to the local community.

DGSU won its NLRB election in August 2023, becoming the first officially recognized graduate workers union at a private university in the South. It instantly became one of the most important labor unions in the Triangle. A second major milestone came in August 2025 when DGSU and Duke University agreed on a first contract, a three-year agreement that was reached despite Trump’s destabilization of the higher education system [17].

Party for Socialism and Liberation Triangle NC

Allam engaged sparingly with PSL Triangle. On January 24, she attended a PSL-affiliated "Stop ICE Terror" rally in Durham, where hundreds marched in freezing temperatures to condemn the killing of Alex Pretti by ICE agents [18]. She was absent from a PSL-sponsored rally on January 3 in Raleigh's Moore Square protesting the U.S. bombing of Caracas and the abduction of Venezuela's president.

Since October 2023, PSL Triangle has held large, well-organized anti-imperialist rallies in Raleigh’s Moore Square on a biweekly or monthly basis. It is an unsung achievement without clear precedent in North Carolina history. The events are co-organized with a rotating cast of smaller allied groups and typically draw hundreds of attendees, though several have reached into the low thousands. The rallies have at various times focused on U.S. foreign policy in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, Sudan, Congo, Haiti, Venezuela, and Cuba. PSL opens the stage to speakers from a wide range of groups, even when their messaging diverges from the party line. The Green Party, for instance, showed up consistently for PSL's Gaza rallies and used the platform to promote their own candidates.

PSL Triangle presents a particular challenge for progressive candidates like Allam. The group has shown extraordinary capacity for mass organizing, but the national organization prohibits local branches from endorsing outside candidates. PSL campaigns only for its own. Its 2024 presidential nominee, Claudia de la Cruz, drew just 528 North Carolina write-in vote, a number that far understates the group’s capacity. Is there a way for progressive campaigns in the Triangle to access PSL's energy? Nobody has done so yet.

Union of Southern Service Workers

USSW has not historically endorsed candidates and did not break that pattern for Allam. Even so, leading figures such as Mama Cookie and Keith Bullard took part in the “Fighting Oligarchy” rally with Sanders and Allam on February 13. Mama Cookie gave a speech, while Bullard was photographed backstage with the two politicians and other labor leaders [1].

In her remarks, Mama Cookie highlighted the demands of the Durham Rising coalition, which USSW is a part of. She said, “Duke sits on a pool of investments valued at $21 billion. I’m going to say that real loud: $21 billion. Meanwhile, the people keeping this city running, we’re struggling every day” [19]. The figure she cited exceeds Duke's endowment, which is valued at approximately $12 billion.

USSW is a labor organization that advocates for low-wage workers across a range of workplaces, offering those without a union a way to build class consciousness and worker militancy. The SEIU-affiliated organization also help workers launch organizing efforts by mobilizing rallies and protests larger than they could manage alone.

In November 2025, around 40 workers and supporters marched to Durham Food Hall, where they read a demand letter aloud to management on behalf of USSW and the Durham Hospitality Worker's Alliance. The protest was triggered when an ICE recruitment advertisement played on a screen inside the downtown Durham venue, but workers used the moment to raise a broader set of grievances. Their letter called for a public apology and anti-ICE stance from management, as well as action on unsafe working conditions (including extreme heat, frequent burn and cut injuries, and inadequate facilities), protections against sexual harassment and racism, an end to a practice of splitting workers' hours across multiple corporate entities to avoid paying overtime, and direct communication with MDO Holdings, which owns Durham Food Hall [20]. In apparent retaliation, Durham Food Hall vendor Ex Voto and Patty Boy fired Kai Bradley, one of the worker leaders [21].

Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment

During the Congressional campaign, both Allam and Foushee issued statements backing CAUSE’s effort to unionize Amazon facilities in Durham. The organization did not endorse a candidate, using the election to bring both politicians to its door.

On February 7, around 100 Amazon workers and supporters marched onto the grounds of DRT8, a massive fulfillment center on Person Street [22]. In the parking lot, they held a rally calling on management to hold a town hall where workers could address unionization and union-busting directly. After speeches were given, a small delegation of CAUSE members entered DRT8 to deliver that message in person.

Three Durham city council members attended: Nate Baker, Javiera Caballero, and Matt Kopac. CAUSE leaders present included Rev. Ryan Brown, “Ma” Mary Hill, Italo Medelius, Orin Starn, and Juno Rondelli, alongside trade union representatives Jason Davis of IAFF 668 and Keith Bullard of USSW. Allam did not attend the February 7 rally due to a conflict with a candidate forum sponsored by the Chatham County Democratic Party.

CAUSE spent years attempting to organize the RDU1 facility in Garner without success. The union is pivoting to Durham, where the political climate and community sentiment are more hospitable to organized labor. A CAUSE victory in an NLRB election against Amazon would create a new center of gravity in the Triangle's labor movement. Even without a victory, the union is well-respected by the local left.

Since November 2025, management at three Amazon facilities in Durham has moved to suppress the organizing drive [23]. According to CAUSE, company propaganda now runs on a loop on warehouse televisions and Amazon has brought in anti-union consultants that cost $2,200 per day [24].

Close

The Triangle's left has the power to decide who represents NC-04 in Congress, but only if its most important labor unions and socialist organizations cooperate. The Durham Rising coalition, which has successfully extracted resources from Duke University, provides a model for future collaboration. DAE’s 2026 sweep of the Board of Education offers another lesson: participate early to identify and draft candidates instead of waiting for self-selected ones to appear, and your membership will fight hard for them. UE Local 150 did the right thing by endorsing Allam, but the lack of a participatory drafting process meant that formal backing didn’t translate into rank-and-file mobilization. A tougher nut to crack is that many of the Triangle's most capable groups, such as PSL and USSW, tend not to endorse candidates. A candidate drafted by a Durham Rising-type coalition might at least arrive with greater credibility among those organizations. The NC-04 primary also showed the tendency of the local left to fragment its canvassing capacity. Allam, DAE, and Triangle DSA each ran independent door-knocking operations, drawing from the same small pool of activists during a compressed window of time. Whatever the obstacles, greater unity and mobilization will be required during the next attempt to eject the corporate establishment from the NC-04 Congressional seat.  Rep. Valerie Foushee is unlikely to serve many more terms, so the chance could come soon.

Works Cited

1. UE – The Union for Everyone (@ueunion). "UE Local 150 Members Attended a Meeting with Congressional Candidate Nida Allam and Senator Bernie Sanders on His Fighting Oligarchy Tour Stop in Durham on Friday, February 13." Instagram, 13 Feb. 2026, www.instagram.com/p/DU1j8SrkfwN/?img_index=1.

2. UE Local 150. "DHHS Newsletter – February 2026." UE Local 150, 29 Jan. 2026, ue150.org/2026/01/2907/.

3. Carroll, Ben. "North Carolina Sanitation Workers Strike for $5K Bonuses." Labor Notes, 5 Oct. 2023, labornotes.org/2023/10/north-carolina-sanitation-workers-strike-5k-bonuses.

4. United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE). "Durham and Charlotte Chapters of Local 150 Win Largest Wage Increases in Years." UE News, 2024, www.ueunion.org/ue-news/2024/durham-and-charlotte-chapters-of-local-150-win-largest-wage-increases-in-years.

5. Durham Association of Educators. "Tonight Begins a New Era!" Facebook, 3 Mar. 2026, www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=968366985762016&set=pcb.968367055762009.

6. Pellegrini de Paur, Chase. "With Strong Backing from Labor, Duke Respect Durham Campaign Holds Kickoff Event." Durham Dispatch, www.durhamdispatch.com/post/with-strong-backing-from-labor-duke-respect-durham-campaign-holds-kickoff-event.

7. Duke University. "Duke Commits $203 Million Over Three Years to Expand Economic Opportunity in Durham and the Triangle." Duke Today, 18 Mar. 2026, today.duke.edu/2026/03/duke-commits-203-million-over-three-years-expand-economic-opportunity-durham-and-triangle.

8. Worker Organizing Center. "Durham Association of Educators (DAE)." Premajority Unionism: Case Studies, workerorganizing.org/premajority-unionism/case-studies/durham-association-of-educators-dae/.

9. Moore, Mary Helen. "'Big Win for Our Children': Durham Budget Will Help Schools Increase Teacher, Staff Pay." The News & Observer, 11 June 2024, www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article289072999.html.

10. Durham Dispatch. "Activists Picket Gateway Women's Care, a Fake Abortion Clinic, in Durham." Durham Dispatch, 27 Jan. 2026, www.durhamdispatch.com/post/activists-picket-gateway-womens-care-fake-abortion-clinic-durham.

11. NC Triangle DSA (@nctriangledsa). "Last Weekend We Knocked 430 Doors for @nbk4dps Help Us Beat Our Record at Today's Canvass and Join Us for a Social at Ponysaurus Durham After!" Instagram, 21 Feb. 2026, www.instagram.com/p/DVBlEnYjUUR/.

12. DSA North Carolina. "Calendar." DSA NC, Feb.–Mar. 2026, www.dsanc.org/calendar.

13. Dayen, David. "AI Goes to Bat for Valerie Foushee." The American Prospect, 25 Feb. 2026, prospect.org/2026/02/25/ai-anthropic-claude-super-pac-valerie-foushee-congress-north-carolina/.

14. Washington, Jessica. "Nida Allam Concedes to Valerie Foushee With Razor-Thin Loss for Progressives in Key Midterm Primary." The Intercept, 5 Mar. 2026, theintercept.com/2026/03/05/nc-house-primary-valerie-foushee-nida-allam/.

15. Duke Beyond Borders (@dukebeyondborders). "IMPORTANT COMMUNITY UPDATE: Read through to Better Understand the Situation Luis and Margoth Are In Due to a Repeated Attack on TPS from the Federal Administration." Instagram, 12 Feb. 2026, www.instagram.com/p/DUqFhAHkal3/?img_index=1.

16. Pellegrini de Paur, Chase. "Durham Rising Pushes Council Candidates to Turn the Heat Up on Duke." INDY Week, 15 Sept. 2025, indyweek.com/news/durham/durham-rising-pushes-council-candidates-to-turn-the-heat-up-on-duke/.

17. Tendler, Max. "Duke Grad Student Union Ratifies Historic Contract." The Duke Chronicle, 3 Sept. 2025, dukechronicle.com/article/duke-university-dgsu-scores-contract-with-administration-duke-graduate-student-union-salary-increase-20250902.

18. Allam, Nida (@nidaallam). "Marching for Alex Pretti Today. Immigrants Are Welcome Here!" Instagram, 24 Jan. 2026, www.instagram.com/p/DT6Sp6dgfCr/?img_index=1.

19. Union of Southern Service Workers. "Today, Durham Rising Met with @berniesanders in Durham to Talk about What Working People Here Are Facing and What Must Change." Facebook, 13 Feb. 2026, www.facebook.com/reel/1549479419444989.

20. Durham Dispatch. "Workers March on Durham Food Hall with Demand Letter." Durham Dispatch, www.durhamdispatch.com/post/workers-march-durham-food-hall-demand-letter.

21. @rockn_roll_dude. "We Started Organizing as Coworkers after an ICE Recruitment Ad Played in Our Workplace about a Month Ago." Instagram, 21 Nov. 2025, www.instagram.com/p/DRVrdXhDA8_/.

22. Durham Workers (@durhamworkers). "Durham Amazon Workers March on Delivery Station DRT…" Instagram, 7 Feb. 2026, www.instagram.com/reels/DUdqykGkR7J/.

23. Kingdollar, Brandon. "'We Didn't Lose, We Learned': Amazon Union Campaign Expands to Durham." NC Newsline, 3 Nov. 2025, ncnewsline.com/2025/11/03/we-didnt-lose-we-learned-amazon-union-campaign-expands-to-durham/.

24. The Labor Force (@the.labor.force). "Since Workers Began Organizing at the Company's Durham Warehouses, Amazon Has Come down Hard with Its Worn, Orwellian Union-Busting Playbook." Instagram, 17 Feb. 2026, www.instagram.com/p/DU3XmnglYCU/?img_index=1.