About Libbi Urban

Hi, I’m Libbi Urban, a steelworker, a wife, and stepmom.  I’ve lived in southern Michigan for 28 years.  And I’m running for Congress to provide real leadership and a voice for my all my neighbors in the 5th District.

Given the immense challenges facing our District and our nation, I feel the need to step up and look out for working people.  I understand the everyday challenges that families here face because mine faces them, too.

I spent much of my childhood exploring the fields, barns, and pastures on my grandparents’ farm in Carroll County, Indiana, and I learned my work ethic from my grandfather.

When he died, the family had to sell part of the farm to make ends meet. When we lost my uncle a few years later, we lost the rest of the farm as well.

I graduated from a small rural high school and then from Indiana State University with a degree in electronics technology.  After moving to Michigan, I commuted to my job as a maintenance electrician at the I/N Kote steel mill.

That job gave me deep appreciation for America’s manufacturing economy. It also taught me the importance of enforcing U.S. trade laws and of safeguarding the rights of working families.

I became active in the United Steelworkers union while working at the mill, and my co-workers ultimately elected me vice president of our local.

After being one of few women elected to a leadership position in my USW Local, I was elected four times as the only woman to the negotiating team.  We secured better pay, job security, healthcare, and pension benefits that improved the lives of over 100,000 workers, retirees, and their families across six states.  I was directly involved in gaining coverage - for the first time - for mammograms, pap smears, contraception, expanded IVF, lactation pods, two weeks of paid parental leave for fathers and mothers on the birth or adoption of a child, and domestic violence policy.

I also became active in the union’s Women of Steel program, helping to empower women at our mill and other workplaces in their fight for equality and security for their families.  I learned to listen to my co-workers, serve their interests, and deliver on addressing their needs.

Just as employers must honor contracts with workers, I believe the U.S. government must get back to respecting the rights and freedoms of the American people.  That includes:

• The right for individuals to make health care decisions without government interference.
• Seniors’ right to the full Social Security and Medicare benefits that they spent their lifetimes earning.
• Farmland preservation programs that facilitate the passing of family-owned farms from generation to generation and provide entry opportunities for beginning farmers.
• Americans’ universal right to affordable and excellent health care.
• A tax system requiring the ultra-wealthy to pay their fair share, just as working people pay theirs.
• Robust investment in public education, enabling all students to leverage their skills, pursue their passions and help build the nation’s future.
• Common-sense, practical practices to safeguard our air, land, and water.
• Reasonable gun laws and universal background checks that not only protect residents but respect Second Amendment rights.

As a union leader, I fought like hell for my co-workers.  And as a member of Congress, I’ll fight like hell for you, too.  Electing me means ensuring southern Michigan’s working people have a representative who’s fierce, fearless and fair.